Good Appalachian region source for Baltic Birch Plywood (the real stuff)

[Don Parker]

Hi. I am located in Charleston, West Virginia. I have a bathroom vanity and cabinet project on the "honey-do" list compiled by my wife. She and I have decided on a painted Shaker style construction, so I can use plywood boxes and hardwood face frames. So far, so good.

Here is the problem. The types of plywood available at my local Lowe's and Home Depot are not suitable for this sort of project. The quality of plywood available at big box stores has really gone downhill. Our best lumberyard went out of business a few years ago. There aren't any cabinet-grade plywood distributors located around here that I know of. The big box stores won't even order decent plywood for me. I have a Woodcraft about an hour and a half away, but they won't sell full sheets of Baltic Birch plywood, and their prices for the sizes they do sell have a pretty steep markup. Plus, with the sizes they carry, I would have a lot of waste. I need full 60" x 60" sheets of real Baltic Birch plywood, but darned if I can find a decent place less than 3 hours away to go get it.

My best option seems to be to order it from Baird Brothers and have it shipped FedEx Freight. I can do that, but before I pull the trigger, I wanted to see if anyone knows of any decent places within a few hours of Charleston that can sell me full sheets of real Baltic Birch plywood. The closest cities are:

Lexington, Kentucky
Columbus, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

As I am writing this, I am thinking of how much time and effort it will take to drive somewhere and get the plywood, bring it home, and unload it, compared to having it shipped by Baird Brothers. But, enough griping. Any suggestions on good retailers for Baltic Birch? Thanks for your help.

[Frankie Hunt]

My area (Bristol/Kingsport/Johnson City) is lacking Baltic Birch too. The big box stores have taken over and have limited what is available. It took me a week to find some 1/4 inch masonite and then I had to settle for double tempered and it was near $30 per sheet! Our single Woodcraft store went away last year too....

[Eric Keller]

I have heard that HD will ship it to store. Never figured out what to search for on their website in order to get it though

[George Bokros]

Hartville Hardware and Building Center, not quite to Cleveland. I buy my cabinet grade ply from them and my moldings.

[john bateman]

There's a Wurth Wood Group in Roanoke, VA, if that's not too far.

[Frankie Hunt]

There's a Wurth Wood Group in Roanoke, VA, if that's not too far.

Thanks for the note on Wurth. Its about a 2 hour drive from Bristol.

[Mike Malott]

I purchase my BB plywood from DSI here in Cincinnati:

http://www.distributorserviceinc.com/

Mike

[John K Jordan]

I buy it in Knoxville, TN. I can find the company and contact info if anyone closer to here is interested, send me a note. It is full 60x60" and half the price of what I saw at Woodcraft.

JKJ

[Bruce Wrenn]

For painted stuff, look at Columbia Forest Products "Pure Bond" at HD. Remember only the ends and inside of your cabinets will actually show, so not every sheet needs to be perfect on both sides. Went today to local HD, and sifted through stack to find a couple sheets good on both sides. Employee actually helped me go through stack. There was one sheet delaminated slightly on back side. He asked if I would take it at a 70% markdown. I took it as I need to make a jig to do dados (using router) and would serve me well for this purpose. Plus I'm doing a coat hook board that will only be seen on one side. (It's mounted to a block wall.) Forget buying plywood from Lowes. The last "Roseburg" that I bought at Lowes was just slightly better than the China stuff it replaced. I prefinish sheets before breaking them down. When I started cutting sheets down, veneer came off at cut lines. Got my money back plus a credit for time and materials used prefinishing sheets.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I would look into Industrial Plywood out of Reading, PA. I don't know how far it is from you, but I know they deliver.

[Don Parker]

Everyone--

Thanks for the information. Some of the suggestions are for places within a few hours of here that I might visit, so I will think harder about whether I want to go get the plywood or just have it shipped.

Bryan, regarding Industrial Plywood, that is pretty far away, but I appreciate the suggestion.

Eric suggested the possibility of Home Depot ordering Baltic Birch and having it shipped to the local store. I already tried that, and they can't or won't do it. Maybe some Home Depots can get it, but mine can't.

Bruce suggested looking at Columbia Forest Products at Home Depot. I have. There have been some positive comments about Columbia on this and other internet fora, but my Home Depot must pick from the reject pile at Columbia, because the stuff I saw was really not any better quality than the rest of the stuff at both Home Depot and Lowe's. The show face veneers are super thin, there are voids everywhere, and the boards already show a tendency to warp and delaminate. I would rather pay more money and get a higher quality plywood than the Columbia stuff I can get here.

Anyway, thanks again for the feedback.

[Chuck Skarsaune]

Scrounger's paradise in Asheville, for those of us in E TN, has some good stuff.

http://www.scroungersparadise.com/plywood.html

Just a customer, no affiliation.
Also a big stock of Ipe.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Check with a local cabinet shop and see where they get BB from. Not many shops use BB, as they can buy prefinished drawer sides for less than the cost of BB. If there is a tool and die shop in town, they use BB for templates.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Chesapeake Plywood in Baltimore MD. Web site says weekly deliveries to Louisville KY, which most likely means truck comes up I-64, or down I-79, thru Charleston on it's way to Louisville

[Don Parker]

It's funny you should mention Chesapeake, Bruce, because I had the exact same thought when I looked at their website! I will call them later this week to see what is possible. Thanks for the confirmation that it isn't unreasonable to think they might stop and drop off in Charleston on the way to Louisville.