BuildEx Plywood

How this notebook came together

BuildEx Plywood started as a shared folder of board notes between a shopfitter in Gauteng and a cabinetmaker working the KZN coast. The questions were always the same: which sheet, which thickness, which glue line, and what happens after the first rain.

  1. Early notes

    2019 to 2020

    A folder of failed sheets

    The first entries were photographs of delaminated boards pulled off site, each one tagged with the supplier trade name, the grade printed on the edge stamp and how long it had been in service. No brand was paid to appear. If a sheet failed, it went in the folder with the date and the job it came from.

  2. Cutting plans

    2021

    Drawing before sawing

    A run of kitchen carcasses in Pretoria pushed the notes into nesting layouts. Kerf width, grain direction and edge-banding allowance were drawn on paper first, and the offcuts were cut to standard sizes so they could be reused on the next job instead of becoming firewood.

  3. Climate split

    2022

    Same board, two provinces

    Comparing moisture readings from a Highveld winter against coastal humidity made it clear that storage and sealing advice could not be one-size-fits-all. Edge sealing schedules were split by region, and the notes on WBP versus interior glue lines were rewritten around actual site conditions rather than spec sheets.

  4. Open submissions

    2023 onward

    Readers send the next problem

    Photos of delaminating sheets and awkward cut lists now arrive from builders, shopfitters and DIY woodworkers across Gauteng, KZN and the Western Cape. Each one gets worked through in a following post, with the grade, thickness and failure point named plainly. Suppliers are still mentioned by trade name only.

How this notebook came together

BuildEx Plywood started as a shared folder of board notes between a shopfitter in Gauteng and a carpenter working the KZN coast. The dates below mark the points where it turned into something worth publishing.

  1. Early 2021

    First delamination photos

    A batch of cheap import sheets came apart on a van fit-out after one wet week in Durban. We started photographing edges, glue lines and voids instead of just complaining about them.

  2. Mid 2022

    Cutting plans became a habit

    Shelving runs and kitchen carcasses were eating whole 2440 x 1220 sheets with nothing usable left over. We began drawing nesting layouts on paper first, kerf and edge-banding allowance included, and kept the offcuts in standard sizes.

  3. Late 2023

    Grade notes across three provinces

    Marine, structural and shuttering boards were compared side by side with suppliers in Gauteng, KZN and the Western Cape. Names get mentioned by trade name only, and nobody pays for a mention.

  4. 2024 onward

    Reader sheets worked through in public

    Photos of cupped panels and awkward cut lists now arrive from readers. Some get worked through in the next post, moisture readings and all, so the next person choosing a board has something concrete to go on.

Jobs we have worked through on paper

These are the builds that keep coming back to the notebook: a shopfitting run in Germiston, a van fit-out that had to survive a Cape winter, a deck sub-frame where the wrong sheet would have shown up within a season. Each one started as a photo, a cut list or a complaint about a board that failed.

BuildEx Plywood mission

Marine vs structural, decided at the edge

A KZN shopfitter sent in two sheets that looked identical in the yard. The edge told the story: one had voids, the other did not.

BuildEx Plywood mission

Shelving run from one 2440 x 1220 sheet

Grain direction and kerf width changed the whole layout. The offcuts stayed in standard sizes for the next job.

BuildEx Plywood mission

Edge sealing for a coastal van fit-out

Same board, different climate. Sealing the edges before assembly was the difference between flat panels and cupped ones.

BuildEx Plywood mission

Shuttering ply for a three-pour formwork job

No point paying for marine grade on a pour that only needs to survive a week. Grade matched to the job, not the label.

BuildEx Plywood mission

Kitchen carcasses that stayed square

Moisture content checked before machining, thickness specced for the span. Two small habits that saved a full re-cut.

BuildEx Plywood mission

Deck sub-frame that got wet before it was covered

A cheap import board delaminated after one Highveld storm. The replacement spec is in the notes.

Got a sheet that failed or a cut list that will not nest? Send it through and it may get worked through in the next post.

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