Most Common Use For Softwood Plywood

Softwood plywood is a common building material for roofs, walls and floors.

Softwood comes from various species of evergreen conifers including spruce, pine and fir. Plywood made from softwood is a building product commonly found in home construction and is also used for other purposes. Softwood plywood is available in different grades for various applications. The finish on softwood plywood ranges from fully sanded to not sanded at all, depending on the intended use.

Exterior Home Sheathing

The most common wall construction on a new home consists of a 2-by-4 or 2-by-6 frame covered by exterior-grade sheathing. This type of wall forms a structural panel that performs well at high wind loads and during earthquakes. Plywood panels fastened to each stud and to the top and bottom plates of the wall frame strengthen it and resist vertical, horizontal and diagonal shifting. Strict adherence to building codes for fastener placement, distance between studs and the joints between panels ensure strong, solid walls.

 

Home Roofing and Flooring

Plywood for building construction has a span rating that governs how it is used to build subfloors and to sheath roofs. On floors, the plywood panels have tongue-and-groove edges that fit together. On a roof, the plywood carries less load and the tongue-and-groove edges are not required. The manufacturer-assigned span rating for roofs and floors specifies the maximum allowed distance between rafters for a roof and between joists for a floor.

 

Other Construction

Softwood plywood has other applications in home building in addition to roofs, walls and floors. Eaves and soffits are often covered with plywood. Some plywood is manufactured specifically as a siding product, most notably T-111 siding, a grooved sheet product made to appear similar to reverse board and batten siding. Builders also use plywood for building detached garages and sheds, temporary flooring and concrete forms. Plywood is also used for many of the same purposes in commercial building construction.

General Projects

Softwood plywood has many uses beyond building homes and is used for a wide range of projects from skateboard ramps to doghouses. In the workshop, softwood plywood covers work tables and is used to build sawhorses and general-purpose shelving. It is inexpensive, available in a wide range of thicknesses and grades, ranging from exterior with exposure to the elements to interior dry areas.