[dave k]

About to order 63 sheets of the stuff for our new wall- will it do the job

Quality coated/finished ply will cost us an extra £400 +vat - but don`t want to get it and find we get splinters and have trouble with drilling holds or spinning nuts.

What are your experiences?

[dave]

i've no idea what CDX is - however from experience of building mine here goes - I can't remember what grade I used but it was probably the grade just above the bottom-grade stuff used for packing cases etc. its easily good enough - i've never had splinters using it or even this week taking it down. never had any problems with voids, t-nuts pulling thriough or anything. you don't need a high grade ply for a woody. plus mines been sat for 3 years in a damp cellar (albeit with plastic sheeting keeping it away from the floor) and its not rotted or owt like that, the ply got a tiny bit of light-coloured fluffy superficial surface mould in places (you can just brush it off) but the untreated 2x4s are as good as new, so i doubt you need anything coated unless its for outside. the wood in the schoolroom looks like it was found in a skip and thats been going strong for over a decade.

[Jaspersharpe]

Yeah we used shuttering ply which is pretty low grade and it was absolutely fine.

[Krank]

Is this wall in mac by any chance

[Eddies]

Possibly 

[Krank]

Oh the suspense

[Percy B]

I have bought a little plywood this year, and have a number of suggestions that might help.
I don't know what CDX is - never heard of it. However, a good exterior ply will be fine. The more laminates in the boards the better.
Shuttering ply (Eliottis, technically speaking) is shite, but a good material for making gussets and box beams for the framework. The boards for the face of your board should be half decent though, so don't bother with shuttering ply - it looks awful, and is full of filler, lumberjacks foreskins, dust, knots, etc.
Likewise, steer clear of any Chinese hardwood ply - although cheap it is super variable in quality (from poo, to utter poo!). I speak from bitter experience...
Hardwood ply from the far east is normally a bit better that the Chinese stuff, and not too expensive - a lot of walls are made of this. Check out some samples before you buy though. Quality varies massively from batch to batch.
Scandahoovian spruce ply is a reasonable choice (from a sustainable source, made of wood unlike the chinese shit) but quite soft. Lightweight and easy to work with though.
Birch ply is the stuff, but super pricey. Given the choice, this stuff will make a wall that will double as a bomb shelter for us all to hide behind if nuclear war breaks out!
Above all, go visit your local timber merchant and haggle. If you let them know you need a load and let them know what its for, they should be able to style you. You should be paying between £15 a sheet (for good eliottis, if there is such a thing) and £25 for a good stuff. Birch ply will be probably be £40 a sheet, but it is worth it if you're going big!

Or finally the option for the board builder for whom money is no object - inch thick birch ply.Our campus board is made from it - it was so heavy it took 2 of us just to lift one sheet, but is awesome stuff. A must for the super rich wood fetishists out there........they do exist....

[leek_lad]

Is this wall in mac by any chance

Ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.................

[leek_lad]

CDX ply will be fine.

[mini]

From my old days of building climbing walls, for basic walls such as yours we used shuttering ply, but as Percy B mentioned it is full of filler, lumberjack foreskin etc. You can have problems should you be trying to fix t-nuts where there is filler or knot in the laminate. Can get some splintering along the edges, depending on how its been handled, though generally okay for this purpose.

CDX is an exterior grade ply so would suspect that that would be more than sufficient, while not being top grade, it shouldn't splinter too much nor be full of filler. All depends on your budget, no point going ott on timber but then not be able to by enough holds to cover it!!

I've had a preview of the plans (version 8!) and its looking pucker mate! Glad ya got hold of the matting too, though I think a token crack-house, piss stained, rat infested mattress would add to the ambience of the place!

[dave k]

Just had to check- definitely save us money for a few holds.

[leek_lad]

I've had a preview of the plans (version 8!) and its looking pucker mate! Glad ya got hold of the matting too, though I think a token crack-house, piss stained, rat infested mattress would add to the ambience of the place!
[/quote]

Sounds like my bed at home! :-)

[ww]

I used CDX on my wall.  It has held up great