Re: Marine Ply from Wickes

[RichardS]

Hi,

> Just looking at getting some marine ply (I think thats what its called) to > place over floorboards so I can tile. But just went to Wickes and asked > the lad in there which one is waterproof as they dont say, unfortunately > he couldnt help and at that point I decided to leave. But what do I look > for when I do decide to go back apart from a staff member with an ounce of > sense.

Probably not Marine Ply for this application.

Proper marine ply is certified to a certain BS - this guarantees various things such as the absence of voids (gaps within - not between - the layers) etc. It's horrendously expensive, something knocking on £100 per 8x4 sheet. It's used for specific tasks where these things are important, but of course this doesn't stop home & garden improvement programs specifying "marine ply" for all manner of jobs.

I think for this application you're probably looking for exterior grade ply, or WBP (water & boil proof). Some far-eastern hardwood WBP ply can also be horrendously expensive - you don't need that grade of stuff either.

[Rob Morley]

[Alan]

In message , RichardS wrote

On the home/garden makeover programs you can often see the ply de-laminating in the first light shower of rain :)

[Steve Firth]

They don't sell marine ply at Wickes. Very few places sell it, it's a very expensive plywood which is made to be free of voids and each sheet has to be certified as conforming to specification.

You don't need marine ply for that, you need WBP plywood.

You need WBP, but I doubt if Wickes droids even know what that is. Wickes did use to sell it, but given your usage, any ply sold as "exterior" grade should do.

[chris French]

In message , Steve Firth writes

I've noticed that a lot of the sheds seems to only sell WBP ply anyway