Had to choose between a 3/4 inch plywood box or solid poplar for a built-in bookcase last month, went with the plywood.

The client in Springfield wanted it to look like old built-ins but had a tight budget. I figured the plywood with a solid wood face frame and edge banding would save them about $400 on materials. It came out fine, but I'm still second-guessing if the solid wood would have held up better over the years (you know, less chance of sagging on those long shelves). Anyone else make a call like that recently and how'd it turn out for you?

4 comments

4 Comments

max_cooper211mo ago

Plywood with a solid face frame is a solid move for budget jobs. Just make sure you're using a good grade and not skimping on the shelf supports.

lewis.gray1mo ago

Yeah and my last plywood box probably off-gassed enough to give my houseplants a headache. Max_cooper21 is right about the good grade ply, but brian_taylor15 has a point too. I built a media console last year and my wife swore she could smell it for months. Guess you're trading a bit of air quality for the budget, which feels fine until you're the one sniffing glue fumes during movie night.

brian_taylor151mo ago

Honestly, the environmental angle gets overlooked. A lot of that plywood is made with glues that can off-gas for years, while solid poplar is just wood. Max_cooper21 is right about using a good grade, but even then, the air quality in that Springfield home might be slightly different with the plywood box. For a family with kids or allergies, that could matter more than shelf sag in twenty years. You made the right budget call, but it's a trade-off beyond just strength and cost.

charles7208d ago

That Springfield job sounds like the kind of call I'd still be chewing on months later too. Three years back I did a similar tight budget build for a client in Richmond and went with plywood boxes on a floor-to-ceiling library wall. I used prefinished Baltic birch with a poplar face frame and it's held up fine so far, no sagging on the 36 inch shelves I was worried about. But I get the second guessing, especially with how solid poplar just feels more substantial in the hand. The $400 savings is real money for most folks though, and your edge banding and face frame approach is the right way to do it on a budget. My client never complained about smell or anything, but I've heard enough stories like lewis.gray's to know it can be hit or miss depending on the plywood batch.