Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Alternatives to exterior plywood?  (Read 8725 times)

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« on: November 28, 2014, 07:37:09 am »

We have various houses etc made from painted WBP exterior plywood, and I have to say I'm not that impressed with how they're holding up.

This is our two year old goose house for instance:



OK, they've been pretty harsh with it, but even on the bits they haven't managed to gnaw at, some of the outer veneer is starting to bubble up and I doubt the rest will last much past this winter.



So I'm going to have to replace the sides of this and another shed before long, and I also need to put a lid on our new hay racks.

The recycled plastic ply substitutes were discussed recently and didn't get a great writeup, so I'm wondering what else is out there?

It needs to be a strong, waterproof sheet. For the hay racks, box profile cladding would be fine, but I think the animal houses would be too cold if done in metal. If it didn't have to be painted, that would be a bonus, as that's pretty costly and time consuming.

Any ideas folks?  :thumbsup:
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

Foobar

  • Joined Mar 2012
  • South Wales
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2014, 02:02:26 pm »
What did you paint the ply with?  I have ply outdoors and with a good annual coating of shed timbercare it does fine in Wet Wales.


Otherwise I'd use plastic Stokboard...:)

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2014, 03:20:50 pm »
What did you paint the ply with? 

Hmmm, it had three coats of this stuff:
 

 
Perhaps it didn't do exactly what it said on the tin?  :innocent:
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

The Woodsiders

  • Joined Aug 2011
  • Near Horley in Surrey
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2014, 05:11:52 pm »
Hi Womble, looks like its Chinese Ply, we only use far eastern ply for our arks but it will outlast the Chinese ru---sh by a long way, it costs a bit more but its worth it, Far Eastern is made up of sheets whereas the Chinese is made up of bits and pressed together.

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2014, 05:22:56 pm »
How about the thinnest ply lining corrugated tin or profile sheeting or twin wall polycarbonate?  That way it's waterproof on the outside and the ply absorbs some of the dampness from inside.

Bramblecot

  • Joined Jul 2008
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2014, 10:10:44 am »
I missed the discussion on the recycled sheets but OH obtained a stack of it secondhand.  It is in use as roofing material on the chicken houses, feeders and sheds, :fc: so far so good, and we are hammered by salt laden winds.  It does need support or it buckles, but no worse than On***ine.  Personally I'm not keen on the look of it, but it is outlasting my cheap wooden chicken houses.

shotblastuk

  • Joined May 2013
  • Proper Gloucestershire !!
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2014, 08:00:07 pm »
I'm lucky to have a supply of fibreglass panels, they don't rot or rust. lightweight and easy to fix and paint. If you can source them get hold of them :thumbsup:

shygirl

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2014, 12:12:21 am »
try marine ply.

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2014, 10:14:01 am »
Yes, marine ply would be great, but proper 12mm marine ply is over £100 a sheet, so realistically that's not going to happen when the regular stuff is only £20.
 
The Woodsiders - It is definitely proper ply, made from sheets of wood rather than chips like OSB. It was the geese who chipped it for me after installation!  ;D 
 
It does have a few voids, and the outer veneer left a bit to be desired. However, it's the only option at our local woodyard, so I've used it for all sorts of things now  :( .  What tests can I do to check it out further then?
 
I quite fancy giving stokboard a go, just to see what it's like. However, none of our local agricultural merchants keep it in stock, and to buy from the likes of Solway Recycling is going to cost £50 to £80 per sheet depending on the thickness plus shipping, so that's not looking so attractive either - I really don't want to spend £150 to £200 on just re-sheeting the goose house!
 
Still pondering.....  ???
« Last Edit: December 01, 2014, 10:15:38 am by Womble »
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

ScribbleUk

  • Joined Sep 2012
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2014, 11:59:36 am »
We've used Exterior OSB3 from B&Q for similar purposes, and well coated with preservative.  It wasn't intended as a permanent solution, but has already held up for several years now with minimal maintenance - longer than I had expected.  It is important to try and keep it off the ground though, so it isn't permanently wet.

Anything more permanent  I use 18mm T&G.  It looks better and is easy to work with to make panels of any size.  It is also surprising how much other stuff you can make with the off-cuts.

Creagan

  • Joined Jun 2013
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2014, 01:04:40 pm »
What about an old oil tank or IBC?

Foobar

  • Joined Mar 2012
  • South Wales
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #11 on: December 04, 2014, 02:41:19 pm »
or onduline? (you can get it from Wickes)

Badger Nadgers

  • Joined Mar 2013
  • Derbyshire/North Staffs
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #12 on: December 08, 2014, 11:57:21 pm »

It needs to be a strong, waterproof sheet. For the hay racks, box profile cladding would be fine, but I think the animal houses would be too cold if done in metal. If it didn't have to be painted, that would be a bonus, as that's pretty costly and time consuming.

Any ideas folks?  :thumbsup:

Insulated roof panels like these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Insulated-Cold-Room-Panels-Insulated-Roof-Sheets-PIR-panels-Cold-store-/331395614639

Nicely insulated, rigid across a decent span, relatively lightweight, thin metallic surface.

Hardly ever come up second hand though.

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2014, 08:08:25 am »
What about an old oil tank or IBC?
Problem with any kind of plastic is the tendency to run with condensation in cold weather.

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: Alternatives to exterior plywood?
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2014, 07:27:12 pm »
or onduline? (you can get it from Wickes)

 Thanks for the post & the link .
I've been wondering what I can clad & re-roof our 10 yr old 4 x 6 mtr log cabin with .
It looks do -able even for me and not too costly .
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS