Exterior Plywood — Sydney

What is Exterior Plywood?

Exterior plywood is high-quality Appearance Grade plywood. When finished appropriately, it can be used for interior-lining applications and semi-exposed external applications.

Exterior plywood is often manufactured from Hoop Pine but can also be made of other woods. It offers an F14 stress grade (minimum working stress in bending) and has a Type A Phenolic bond quite similar to marine ply.

General Features of Exterior Plywood

Exterior plywood is ideal for achieving clean, stain-free surfaces of walls and ceilings. Compared to interior plywood (which cannot be used outdoors), exterior plywood is more versatile and can be used either indoors or outdoors.

When ply is manufactured for external use, waterproof glue is used between each of its layers. This glue hardens to form a crystalline substance that is resistant to moisture.

This is a prime reason why exterior plywood is a constant presence even in internal applications, especially in humid, high-moisture areas. Storage and refrigerated areas are two examples of many such applications. You can also use exterior plywood for many other internal applications that may include sinks, countertops and interiors of cabinets.

Exterior plywood also works great as a subfloor. You can put its ability to resist moisture to good use because it does not let moisture penetrate from beneath the floor surface. It can also withstand water spilled from above.

Exterior plywood is perfectly capable of holding its own against adverse weather conditions. But it is best to give it a coat of paint or a special finish if you must constantly expose it to direct sunlight, heat or water.

Other Features and Benefits

• Exterior plywood is manufactured in compliance with Australian Standard AS/NZS 2271 and AS/NZS 2269.
• It has a face grade A (the best grade), back C and X marks which imply it is designated for exterior applications.
• It has a Zero (EØ) formaldehyde emission rating
• It comes in two panel sizes: 2400×1200, 2700×1200
• The available thicknesses for exterior plywood are: 1.5mm, 4mm, 6.5mm, 9.5mm, 12.5mm, 16mm, 19mm, 25mm, 32mm
• It is suitable for wall and ceiling linings, semi-exposed soffits (underside of eaves) and fit-outs of shops.
• It is also available with B- or C-grade face veneers

The FA Mitchell Exterior Plywood Range

Hoop Pine AS2271

Found largely across the dry rainforests of New South Wales, Queensland and New Guinea, Hoop Pine makes a highly-stable plywood. It produces closed-grain veneers that support superior quality painted finishes. It is often used to create interior plywood. However, it can also be made to meet the Australian Standard 2271 for plywood that can withstand more stress or exposure (the equivalent of the British Standard BS 1088). As an exterior plywood, Hoop Pine AS 2271 is great for cladding in any semi-exposed external area that requires an aesthetic finish.

Fiji Cedar AS2271

Fiji Cedar manufactured to Australian Standard AS 2271 can also be suitably applied to ceilings, furniture, cladding, walls and roof linings that are partially exposed to outdoor conditions. They are surface-finished to reduce any possibility of surface checking and have A-bond glue lines with sanded faces on both sides.

Ariaply

Ariaply is a pre-finished exterior grade plywood designed primarily for partly exposed areas, such as partially shaded exterior walls, balconies, soffits, and semi-open dining spaces. Made of select “A” grade Araucaria, Ariaply’s three-coat finish both protects and enhances the appearance of its natural timber grain.   

Endurapanel

Endurapanel’s unique coloured coating system protects it against fungi and rot. It’s perfect for exterior walls or ceilings, especially those exposed to high humidity. Best of all, you can easily achieve the look of slatted wood with Endurapanel, as it is lighter and easier to install than traditional wood slats.

Termiply®

Termiply® is plywood that has been specially treated to minimise its vulnerability to termites. While it is often suitable for use in interiors, Termiply’s wide range includes Kauvula and Hoop Pine, which produce high-quality faces. The resulting plywood can then be easily treated with a sealing solution to protect against moisture penetration – making them perfect for use as semi-exposed cladding panels (e.g., for soffits). Termite-resistant plywood is commonly used in parts of Sydney, often in combination with other timber frame applications, as it suits the climate.

Shadowclad

This plywood is made of New Zealand Radiata Pine veneers, arranged at right angles to each other and bonded with Type A synthetic phenolic resin. That gives them maximum strength and durability. Shadowclad exterior plywood panels have been waterproofed to the AS/NZS 1604.3 standard, making it truly suitable for outdoor cladding.

Armourpanel®

Layers of tightly bonded Australian eucalypt hardwood veneers are what form Armourpanel®, Australia’s strongest decorative plywood. These are plywood panels of exceptional strength, stability and solidity. While these are often applied to interior commercial spaces with high traffic, with special treatment these can be used in semi-exposed exteriors.

Marine exterior plywood

Marine plywood is the most versatile type of plywood. Whether set indoors or outdoors, it can withstand humid or wet conditions that would easily damage other types of ply.

For outdoor applications, FA Mitchell offers an extensive range of marine grade plywood that complies with the Australian Standard 2272 (AS 2272), making it a true all-weather plywood. This makes it a superior exterior plywood that’s more durable than those adhering to the British Standard BS 1088 (which is only suitable for interior applications in Australia).

Your Exterior Plywood Supplier in Sydney and NSW

At FA Mitchell, all the plywood we offer is material we source from accredited plantation forests in Australia. We stick to stringent Australian standards and the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA) audits all of our products.

When buying through some of the other distributors, you cannot be sure about the source of the ply. For instance, what if the ply comes from Indonesia or Bali? Overseas plywood manufacturers typically do not offer zero formaldehyde emission ratings for their exterior plywood. These typically pass through several intermediary locations before reaching Singapore. They then mark the ply as coming from Singapore before distributing it to Australia. Thus, it may turn out to be low-grade overseas plywood. That is a level of quality you can never consistently depend on.

But you can depend on us at FA Mitchell. We supply exterior plywood throughout Australia from our Sydney warehouse and wood-cutting facility. Having everything sourced, made, graded, stored and custom-cut within the country means we can guarantee the highest level of quality for our plywood.

Use the details below to get in touch with the exterior plywood experts at FA Mitchell. You’ll be sure to get the right product at the right price.

Get a Quote Today

Ready to get started? Contact our team to discuss your project requirements and discover how our exterior plywood can meet your needs.

For personalised advice and a quote for your project, please call (02) 9646 2777 . Or fill out the form below and we will respond to you as soon as possible.