Thread: cd ply - any good for the weather?

I would be looking at form ply that is used for concrete work as the glue will have some resistance to the weather. However, no matter which ply you use it will have to be protected by painting the sides and covering the roof in a waterproof material such as asphalt shingles. The roof should have a good overhang to shed any water away from the walls. Dont leave the floor of the kennel in contact with the ground but build it on treated pine joists. This will help prevent the damp from creeping into the plywood and make it warmer for the dog.

The CD in CD plywood refers to the grade of the faces. While this is fine for a doghouse, it isn't weather proof. The weather resistant (nothing is truely weather proof) stuff is called CDX. The X is for exterior grade and accually refers to the glue used.
You don't really want any wood sitting on the ground if you can avoid it. And the whole thing will need to be painted or protected in some way from the weather.

ron

I built a kids cubby from cheap CD pine ply. Just make sure you seal it well. I used gloss exterior enamel (marine) on the roof and sides and marine gloss on the floor.

As the others have said, paint it, and DON'T sit it in direct contact with the ground.

Build it as a box and sit it on a couple of bricks and it will be OK.

OH, and as has already been said, CD denotes the grade of the respective faces (C & D), so make sure that it is exterior grade so that the glue will do the job.

After that, remember it's layers of thin timber, so if it gets exposed to weather it will degrade in thin layers if it's not sealed.

Cheers,

P

Formply is about as cheap as you can get for the application. The surface veneers are often pretty crook but the knots and cracks are easily filled with builders bog and you have to paint it anyway. Check out Mr Ply & Wood, they'll even cut it to size if they're not busy.
Cheers
Graeme

If you get a CD ply with and "A" bond this denotes an exterior grade adhesive. You can also buy ACQ treated ply that is rot and bug proof, but it is not cheap to get the one where the individual veneers are treated before glueup (can't remember the name) as opposed to the inferior envelope treatment where the treatment is applied to the plywood. I would still be painting it.

Cheers
Michael