Marine Plywood or BWP Plywood or IS 710-Grade Plywood or Waterproof plywood (all are the same)- The best plywood you can opt for, Marine Plywood Types, Grades and Varieties, Marine plywood price, a detailed guide.
Are you searching for plywood that is robust, durable, and perfect for your home interior designing needs or for modular furniture making?
If yes, then you can go with Waterproof plywood (also called Marine plywood) undoubtedly as this one is the best plywood available on the market. But before that let us discuss some important things regarding marine plywood so that you can select the right kind for your home interior.
For more clarity, you can check various types of plywood and their grades. We mentioned everything over there for your better understanding of plywood before purchasing it.
The common Confusion with Marine Plywood
What I observed of my clients is that they often get confused with various names like BWP plywood, waterproof plywood, IS 710-grade plywood, and marine plywood.
Some even ask, Is marine plywood waterproof? or Is Marine plywood a BWP grade plywood?
What they are actually doing is, they are searching for the same thing with different names. It is ok as they are not dealing with the plywood regularly but sometimes it is difficult to convince them the whole.
FYI, Marine plywood, BWP plywood, waterproof plywood, and IS 710-grade plywood, are the same with various names only. Due to its waterproofing nature, as it is tested with boiling water for 72 hours, it is called BWP plywood (Boiling Water Proof) or simply waterproof plywood. The Bureau of Indian Standards keeps it in the BWP grade and tagged it with IS 710 standard mark.
So in this article, we may take many names from the above but we are talking about the same plywood grade.
What is Marine or Waterproof Plywood?
Marine-grade plywood is the highest-graded plywood available in the market. It is preferably used in home and office interior designing needs and modular furniture making.
Marine plywood, as the name suggests is being used by boat manufacturers as it has massive resistance to water. Hence it is popularly known as waterproof plywood.
Various government bodies of various countries approved this kind of plywood as the top quality among others. In India, the Bureau of Indian standards approved it as the highest grade plywood (BWP grade plywood) and provides some specific guidelines for the manufacturers to follow. Here is the full product manual for marine-grade plywood by BIS.
In a nutshell Marine plywood stand out among the other type of plywood due to 2 major reasons
- Use of good quality wood veneers of some selected species.
- Use of high-quality synthetic resin for bonding which also resists water or moisture for a longer period.
Why You Prefer Waterproof Plywood
- The quality of timber used in marine-grade plywood is the best. Mostly gurjan and hardwood (Hardwood majorly derived from Eukalyptus trees). These are stiff, strong, and high-density woods. So the screw or nail holding strength is better in comparison to others.
- A high-quality synthetic plastic resin is used for the bonding of wood veneers called phenol-formaldehyde. This makes it marine-grade plywood or waterproof plywood as it blocks water and moisture from entering it.
- Waterproof plywoods are durable for years. The furniture made from marine plywood is strong and bears heavy pressure. Also, moisture and water do not harm it easily. Even many well-known plywood brands provide a warranty of up to 30 years.
- Marine plywood is a Government approved quality grade and marks it as the best quality among the available plywood. Like Bureau of Indian standards shortly called BIS ( a Govt. standard body for India) tagged it as IS 710 and considers it as BWP grade plywood.
- Easily available in all areas. There are so many well-known brands that are operating in the market and have reached every corner of various countries through their channel partners.
- Less expensive than quality wood. If you compare Waterproof or BWP plywood with quality woods then it is less expensive and easier to find and work with. It is hard to find quality wood and skilled labor to execute various design works.
Types of Marine Plywood
Many of us are already experienced in the market or going to experience while purchasing plywood that there are various types of marine or waterproof plywood available in the various price range. Even most of the well-known brands have various product lines for the same waterproof plywood. They cover different warranty periods with price variations.
For example, Centuryply- A leading manufacturer of plywood in India has 4 variants of Marine or waterproof plywood (BWP plywood grade with IS 710 tagged), like Century Architect ply, Century Club Prime, Century Bond, and century Sainik. It provides a lifetime warranty with Century Architect ply and 8 years with century Sainik.
The main difference is the wood quality and some added features like fireproofing and all. The Bureau of Indian Standards of the government of India has approved 29 wood or timber species for plywood core veneers and 21 species for plywood face veneers. You can go through the government specification for marine or waterproof plywood for details.
So let’s discuss some important types of Marine plywood available in the market according to the wood species.
Pure Gurjan Marine Plywood
Gurjan is one of the best timber used for plywood making as it is very strong and durable. It is mainly imported from Myanmar and Indonesia. Due to continuous logging, the governments of these countries have imposed restrictions. Hence it is quite difficult to find gurjan plywood. Gurjan plywood is premium marine-grade plywood. You can go with this plywood undoubtedly if the budget is not a constraint for you.
Hardwood Marine Plywood
There are many types of woods are used for hardwood marine plywood, but among them, eucalyptus is the most. Plywood made with hardwood is generally sold as waterproof plywood or marine plywood. These are not strong as Gurjan but are good. Most of the BWP plywood available in the market is of this kind. You can use this plywood for your furniture and interior work. You can say it is a good value for money.
Gurjan and Hardwood Mix Marine Plywood
Due to the unavailability of Gurjan plentily most of the reputed manufacturers used Gurjan timber slices as face veneers only and use hardwood as core veneers. Most of the premium quality marine plywood available in the market is of these kinds. This type of marine plywood costs high than that hardwood plywood. You can go with this plywood if you have open to spending a little more.
Hardwood and Poplar Mix Marine Plywood
This one is the lowest grade of marine or waterproof plywood available on the market. This is the mix of less dense poplar timber with hardwood. You can say it is an alternate type of plywood as this contains an alternating layer of veneers of both timbers. In this case, the face veneer of the plywood is hardwood.
In comparison to other waterproof plywood, this one has a little bit softer due to the use of poplar timber. The overall quality of this plywood is not so bad when compared to BWR plywood or MR plywood. Many well-known plywood brands have also sold this type of plywood as marine or waterproof plywood due to the stiff competition on pricing and hence the price of this kind of plywood is much less when compared to other IS 710 grade or marine plywood.
This plywood is not as much stronger as other BWP plywood but not bad for furniture making. You can avoid this type of plywood in big furniture or heavy furniture. If you have budget constraints then you can opt for this one.
A comparison- Various Types of Marine Plywood
Marine Plywood Type >>> Features V V | Pure Gurjan Marine Plywood | Pure Hardwood Marine Plywood | Hardwood with Gurjan Face Marine Plywood | Hardwood with Poplar Altering Layers Marine Plywood |
---|---|---|---|---|
Strength | Very High | High | Very High | Average |
Density(kg/m3) | 710 | 650 | 680 | 600 |
Made In | India | India | India | India |
Price in INR (In sq ft) | >160 | >110 | >125 | >90 |
Value for Money | High Cost | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Termite Resistance | High | High | High | Average |
Screw Holding Capacity | Very High | High | High | Average |
Availability | Very Low | High | Moderate | Very High |
Propensity to Bend | Very Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Various Types of Marine Plywood- A comparison
Marine Plywood Available Sizes
Like BWR and MR grade plywood, Marine plywood is also available in the same size and thicknesses.
Available sizes for Marine plywoods are 5ft x 3ft, 5ft x 4ft, 6ft x 3ft, 6ft x 4ft, 7ft x 3ft, 7ft x 4ft, 8ft x 3ft, and 8ft x 4ft. Mostly the 8ft x 4ft, 7ft x 4ft, and 7ft x 3ft sizes are required during interior work but a wide range of sizes provides you the opportunity to minimize plywood wastage and hence the overall cost.
There are some companies like Duroply that also provide bigger sizes like 9ft x 3ft, 9ft x 4ft, 10ft x 3ft, and 10ft x 4ft when you demand in bulk.
Marine Plywood Available Thicknesses
Like other plywood, marine plywood is also available with a wide range of thicknesses so that you can pick them according to your design requirements.
Available thicknesses for marine plywood are 4mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 16mm, 19mm, and 25mm.
Marine or Waterproof Plywood price
I know many of you are curious about the price of marine or waterproof plywood. The price of marine-grade plywood is higher than other grades of plywood and you can say waterproof plywoods are the most costly plywood available. But as we discussed above the price of BWP plywood depends upon its type and differs from brand to brand.
Here I am providing a general price range of marine plywood available in the marketplace.
The price range of Marine plywood range from INR 100 to INR 160.
Let’s go through the below table and discuss the price per square foot and also for 8ft x 4ft size sheet of waterproof plywood of various thicknesses.
*Note- We are providing the below price range for marine or waterproof plywood for India only as there are various types of waterproof plywood available in the market as discussed above. It may differ from location to location but almost the same.
Price>>> Thickness v v | Waterproof Plywood Price Per square feet | Waterproof Plywood Price For 8×4 size |
---|---|---|
4mm waterproof plywood price | Rs 30/- to Rs 60/- | Rs 960/- to Rs 1920/- |
6mm waterproof plywood price | Rs 40/- to Rs 70/- | Rs 1280/- to Rs 2240/- |
9mm waterproof plywood price | Rs 50/- to Rs 80/- | Rs 1600/- to Rs 2560/- |
12mm waterproof plywood price | Rs 65/- to Rs 100/- | Rs 2080/- to Rs 3200/- |
16mm waterproof plywood price | Rs 75/- to Rs 115/- | Rs 2400/- to Rs 3680/- |
19mm waterproof plywood price | Rs 90/- to Rs 160/- | Rs 2880/- to Rs 5120/- |
25mm waterproof plywood price | Rs 130/- to Rs 200/- | Rs 4160/- to Rs 6400/- |
Top Marine Plywood companies or Manufacturers
The plywood industry is majorly dominated by unorganized manufacturers. But if you want good quality marine or waterproof plywood then you can go with a well-known plywood brand from a reliable source.
Some well-known marine plywood companies in India are Century Ply, Green ply, Kitply, Mayur plywood, Green panel, Austin plywood, Sylvan ply, Archid ply, Alishan plywood, National plywood, Sarda plywood or Duro ply, SRG Plywood, and Wigwam plywood.
Marine plywood 18mm price or 19mm price?
Marine plywood does not come with an 18mm thickness. It comes with a 19mm thickness. As discussed in the above article price of Marine plywood differs according to the type, but in general, you can find a 19mm price for an 8×4 size marine plywood sheet from INR 3000 to INR 5500. It is mostly available in square feet at a price that ranges from INR 90 per square foot to INR 160 per square foot.
Is marine plywood Waterproof?
Marine plywood is also called waterproof plywood. Waterproofing is one of the features of Marine plywood. It is also called BWP plywood or 710-grade plywood.
How do you find out or know it’s Marine plywood?
This one is important. How you be sure that you are purchasing genuine marine plywood the plywood industry is dominated by an unorganized sector mostly and there are ample chances for a duplicate product. There are methods like CML No, stamp or logo and all, but difficult for a Lehman to find out.
So, you should go with a reputed plywood brand or find out its distributor for your area. There are some companies providing QR codes so that you can find out the real ones. The other method is, you can also directly contact the concerned plywood company online and place an order.
What is BWP plywood?
BWP stands for boiling waterproof. Plywood is tested for 72 hours in boiling water to be tagged as BWP grade. Marine plywood or waterproof plywood is BWP-grade plywood and is called BWP plywood.
What is IS 710 grade plywood?
According to the Bureau of Indian standards if plywood belongs to BWP grade then it is tagged with the standard mark IS 710. The marine plywood or waterproof plywood are belonged to BWP grade and is marked with IS 710. All the marine or waterproof plywood available in India are IS 710 standard and is clearly mentioned above on the plywood sheet.
Conclusion
It is hard to find a waterproof plywood alternative. The alternatives available for marine plywood are not as strong and durable as it. So in today’s times, most countries depend upon marine plywood for quality woodwork. From kitchen cabinets to wardrobes and from wall cladding to furniture making you can go with marine plywood undoubtedly for any kind of interior design needs. It is good to learn enough about plywood before spending your hard-earned money and remember one thing always purchase from it a reliable source. There is almost no match with good quality marine plywood.