subject: What Is Fsc Certified Plywood? [print this page] Weve all seen plywood beforeor have we? You see, not many people have really seen plywood for what it isand what it is, is an absolutely magnificent material!
What you may not realize is that plywood is not always the sopping wet gunk that looks like a poorly glued wood collage. In fact, it can look just as lovely as real wood.
But, the secret that many people may not know is that plywood isnt just as good looking as real wood in a lot of cases, but that it can actually be a lot stronger than real wood and less likely to warp and bend and distort!
A lot of plywood is also FSC certified plywood. What this means is that this plywood is certified for sustainable building.
If you arent familiar with the term sustainable as it pertains to nature, it simply means that it isnt taking as much from nature as, say, regular wood. This means if we were to stop building with regular wood and just use plywood, we would use up less trees.
FSC certified plywood doesnt have just a certain genre of plywood that it pertains to. Almost all forms of plywood can be FSC certifiedits simply a matter of whether or not it falls into the category of supporting sustainable building.
However, you also have to look at how FSC certified plywoodand really all plywoodis made. It isnt just reckless cutting and sawing. There is a method to its madness.
Now, picture a Swiss Roll (or a Strawberry Shortcake Roll, if you arent a big fan of chocolate). Its almost tradition that you peel itcorrect? Well, the construction of plywood is very similar to this.
It all starts with logs that are too large to go through saw mills. They have already been cut down and will go to waste if they are left. True, it is rather sad that they were cut down without a use in the first place, but this is where turning them into plywood comes in.
The wood is peeled into several layers or veneers. When this occurs, they lay it flat and proceed to cut. After they have accumulated the number of pieces that they want to glue together, they then (as was just inadvertently mentioned) do so. Once they are glued, they are baked in an extremely hot oven which sets the glue and makes them stronger.
There are several types of plywood, also. Some are simple, such as hardwood or softwood plywood. However, marine plywood is much more interesting.
In order for plywood to count as marine, it has to be able to withstand moisture. Not submersion. If it was submerged, it would most likely fall apart/ the glue would weaken. However, it can be used in boats or other things, such as decks or cargo boxes.
There are also several grades of plywood. Plywood can be grade A to grade F, all depending on how well it was glued, set, etc.
