Looking for plywood in California for art piece

[ecoita]

Hello all,

As we countdown to the final days before returning to the playa, I have committed to assisting with constructing an art installation project with a team this year and look forward to bringing this vision to life. Unfortunately, our initial resource will not be able to support our wood requests, so we are now looking for options to complete our designs. We are looking to purchase 120 sheets of 1/2 plywood 4x8 (This was the info given to me - I'm not a wood expert) in or around the Carmarillo, California area (or at least we'll need to ship it there).

I figured I could get some direction, referrals, or advice from this experienced group. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

EA

[Token]

You have two choices:

Big box retailer like Lowes or Home Depot

or

Traditional lumber yard like Dixieline or similar.

Now, depending on what you actually need, you may or may not find it at the big box retailer.

There are about a dozen common types of plywood and each has a dozen different grades. As you can imagine, all those combinations are available to satisfy various needs and capabilities of the wood product and final design.

So, before you go any further please get exact details on what specific plywood you need.

For example:


1/2” Plywood Sheathing in 4x8 is common enough, really weak and flimsy, has lots of knots and burr’s … and costs ~ $40 per sheet. Performs like crap on Playa, warps like crazy in the near-zero humidity.

1/2” Plywood ACX in 4x8 is also common enough, a bit stronger but still rather flimsy, but nicely sanded and less knots n burr’s … and costs ~ $60 per sheet. Better but still a problem out there.

1/2 Marine Plywood in 4 x 8 with a 5-ply grade is good and stiff, silky smooth and strong, survives all kinds of environmental abuse … and will set you back $150 per sheet. The only plywood I would use on Playa for structural projects for safety reasons.

BTW, OSB boards (a type of plywood) are probably the best choice for the Playa. Low warpage, good strength, not good if it rains but that is rare.

So, get with your architect, designer, engineer … whichever you got, and get an exact specification for the type of plywood, grade and insist on two alternatives.

[HarryN]

For that quantity, you might want to look at a commercial warehouse supply source.

They might even deliver.

It is a non trivial amount of material to deal with and will likely come on pallets that need a fork truck to deal with.

[ecoita]

Everyone.

Thanks so much for the tips and advice. I shared it with the team and we went with the Plywood ACX in 4x8... Looking forward to the final product. Just finished hammering out all the logistics with the printer today.