List of Different Grades of Plywood – Plywood refers to a board of wood that is produced by arranging thin sheets of wood by applying formaldehyde, melamine or Phenolic glue. The glue is liberally applied on the thin sheets or ply of wood as they are commonly called and pressed under high pressure. This ensures that the layers do not split even when hammered with a nail. There are a number of factors that would determine the quality of the plywood and the plywood grades.
Testing- This goes hand in hand with the certification and the plywood is tested on various properties it claims to feature such as boiling waterproof, fire retardant properties etc and plywood grades are assigned accordingly.
The plywood grades you come across are indicative of the presence or absence of the factors that are markers of the quality of the plywood in the board of plywood in question. It goes without saying, higher the grade, better is the quality of the plywood
The grades of plywood
The plywood grades you can access in the Indian market include
BWP – This refers to boiling waterproof boards that are almost similar in construction and glue used to the BWR plywood grades. But, one distinguishing factor is that BWR refers to plywood grades while BWP stands for block board grade. Hence, it is important that you do not get confused with the two grades.
Marine grade plywood- The marine grade plywood differs from the MR plywood in that it is highly waterproof and is quite strong enough to be used in marine applications as well. it includes even making boats. The marine plywood grade acquires these properties owing to the unextended or undiluted Phenolic resins that are used for bonding of the plies under pressure. The high-quality wood veneers that have good weight are used in the manufacturing of the plies which make it an ideal choice for making home furniture that would be placed in areas where it would be in constant contact with water, for decks that are closer to the swimming pool, for making boats and ships owing to the properties that prevent it from danger even when it is submerged in water for more than 72 hours. It is suitable for use both in the interiors and exteriors and is the most expensive and high-quality plywood that you can ever have.
However, you have FR grade which is indicative of the fire retardant properties, Structural plywoods meant for industrial use, flexible plywood that can be rolled into sheets. Depending on the consistency with which the different brands produce different grades of plywood they may be termed as the best in producing a particular grade of plywood. The MR, BWR, and Marine are three plywood grades that are commonly used.