25
Rant: Cheap pine vs. oak plywood for Edmonton garage shelves - learned the hard way
I built garage shelves last summer and used regular pine plywood because it was $45 a sheet compared to $80 for oak. Six months later, that pine stuff is sagging between the supports on my 4-foot spans, holding my winter tires and totes. My buddy used oak plywood with the same span setup and his stuff is still dead flat. Now I gotta rip mine out and redo it, costing more time and money than if I just spent the extra upfront. I know oak is heavier and harder to cut, but does the longevity actually make up for it in a freezing garage? Anyone else deal with cheap plywood failing after one Edmonton winter?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
alex5241mo ago
That Calgary thread got me rethinking my whole garage setup honestly.
3
Honestly, I read a thread on a woodworking forum where a guy from Calgary had the exact same problem with pine plywood in his unheated garage. He said the constant freeze-thaw cycles here make the cheap stuff delaminate and sag way faster than you'd think. Tbh, oak plywood is way more stable because the core plys are denser and the glue is usually better quality. Ngl, I think the extra $35 a sheet is worth it if you plan on keeping those shelves for more than a year or two. I'd rather spend the money upfront than deal with ripped drywall or a busted tire landing on my foot later.
2