Advice For Using Plywood For External Use

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

I have a number of long 18mm Plywood boards about 2m+ long & 600mm wide that have either been treated, stained or oiled - not sure which. They were boards placed in my loft which have been replaced.

Not convinced by the expensive plastic Keter types of garden storage boxes, I wish to use the Plywood instead to make them but would guess it would need to be weather & water-proofed - can anyone advise me on what would be the best way to do this & ensure a lasting result please?

Many Thanks

[big-all]

dont use ply as an outer layer its ok as long as it stays fully dry so you need an outer layer to protect the ply like cladding' tiles 'felt whatever you fancy but not the ply

[dewaltdisney]

I second that, ply will delaminate if it gets wet and it blows, even boards made for marine use can fail. The ply you have is likely to be the normal flooring grade ply that may fail over time. I would pop an offcut into some water and see what happens before moving on.

DWD

[London mike 61]

Not convinced by the expensive plastic Keter types of garden storage boxes,

I’ve had two keter storage boxes for about 6 years and they are as good as the day we bought them.

Mike

[ahfix]

Not convinced by the expensive plastic Keter types of garden storage boxes,

I’ve had two keter storage boxes for about 6 years and they are as good as the day we bought them.

Had mine for 7

Mike

Mine has been great too, a couple of hinges broke due to not securing the doors ... my fault ... which I'll fix one day.

I bought a similar style box from Aldi because the keters we're not in stock, probably stuck in the suez canal at the time. I have to say the keter is superiour. I also thought about building a timer one but with the price of timber climbing by the day it would have cost at least 50% more + the time to build.

ah

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies so far! What sort of cladding should be used then to cover the plywood - are there specific types designed for this that I can reference please?

With timber prices so high these days, I just did not want to waste such a large amount of plywood (which I know is strong) & by making use of it, it would save me a fortune in new timber costs). Also any garden storage boxes & sheds we make with it give the extra benefit of knowing people can sit on them for when we have BBQ's etc in Summer.

Sadly, we do have a fair bit of rat/rodent activity in our garden (neighbours keep putting plenty of food out for birds which attracts rats) & I know of cases where they have chewed through these plastic type of storage boxes so wanted something a bit more sturdy. The 480L/560L strong Keter ones which have sufficient storage & strong enough to sit on are quite expensive (I would need 3 or 4) plus a tall storage shed about W2.5m x H2m x W600mm & buying ready made would be cost prohibitive.

Is there some type of paint, coating etc that can be applied to all the surfaces/edges of the Plywood to make it weather proof?

Many Thanks!

[Someone-Else]

I "painted" my shed, looked good at first, but what I found was over the course of a year the timber moved (as it does) opening tiny gaps, rain gets in the gaps, and in winter it expands making the gap bigger, so more rain can get in........... The only way to prevent it was to paint it every year (All sides).....which very few people do. I should guess plywood will be worse. I now have a brick shed.
Your neighbours may like to feed the birds, and yes it does attract vermin, but no one says you can't put out rat traps

[big-all]

your floor 'roof'walls on the inside along with shelves could use up i assume 18mm thick ply
i used txg shiplap as my outer cladding not cheap but 16 years on looks as new treated with "ducks back " 3 coats first then 2 coats every 4 or 5 years after