How much should I expect to pay for baseboard wood?

[sharris]

The time has come for baseboard building, and I've decided on a birch-ply top with ply sides, ends and bracing. 

There will be 4 boards (excluding fiddleyards), each 4' x 18" for convenience of storage as I don't have a room free enough to leave it out permanently.

 

Looking around a few local companies (SW London) I've seen a spread of prices for 9mm 2880x1220 birch ply (1 piece of that is enough to cut up for all the board tops). 

 

Champion Timber £85.00 (with VAT)

Fulham Timber     £43.56 (with VAT)

Alloway Timber    £49.02 (couldn't tell immediately whether this included VAT)

 

For the size of each unit, is 9mm about right, or am I over-engineering it, and could step down to 6mm? (literally weighing up the options here, as it needs to be light enough for easy setup and dismantling).

 

[doilum]

The time has come for baseboard building, and I've decided on a birch-ply top with ply sides, ends and bracing. 

There will be 4 boards (excluding fiddleyards), each 4' x 18" for convenience of storage as I don't have a room free enough to leave it out permanently.

 

Looking around a few local companies (SW London) I've seen a spread of prices for 9mm 2880x1220 birch ply (1 piece of that is enough to cut up for all the board tops). 

 

Champion Timber £85.00 (with VAT)

Fulham Timber     £43.56 (with VAT)

Alloway Timber    £49.02 (couldn't tell immediately whether this included VAT)

 

For the size of each unit, is 9mm about right, or am I over-engineering it, and could step down to 6mm? (literally weighing up the options here, as it needs to be light enough for easy setup and dismantling).

6mm should be fine, although I prefer to cut end boards from 18mm. I paid £45 for each sheet of birch ply but that was five years ago in God's own county.

My observation is that plywood prices seem to fluctuate almost as much as petrol. I got my timber supplier to do all the major cuts within the price.

Many years ago I found a woodyard selling full length six inch strips of birch ply at 50p a time. These were offcuts from a furniture manufacturer.

[meil]

The time has come for baseboard building, and I've decided on a birch-ply top with ply sides, ends and bracing.

There will be 4 boards (excluding fiddleyards), each 4' x 18" for convenience of storage as I don't have a room free enough to leave it out permanently.

 

Looking around a few local companies (SW London) I've seen a spread of prices for 9mm 2880x1220 birch ply (1 piece of that is enough to cut up for all the board tops).

 

Champion Timber £85.00 (with VAT)

Fulham Timber £43.56 (with VAT)

Alloway Timber £49.02 (couldn't tell immediately whether this included VAT)

 

For the size of each unit, is 9mm about right, or am I over-engineering it, and could step down to 6mm? (literally weighing up the options here, as it needs to be light enough for easy setup and dismantling).

Genuine FinPly usually comes in 5' x 5' boards so there is doubt that any of those are proper birch ply. The first may be but the two cheaper boards are too cheap to be genuine birch ply and are probably a cheap ply with two outer veniers of birch. Look at James Latham. Edited April 16, 2018 by meil

[sharris]

Look at James Latham.

 

Hard to find any prices on their site 

[doilum]

The question is: why do we want birch ply? Ignoring the answer of expensive bragging rights, birch py should have a flawless surface finish and should cut cleanly without any ragged edges. I would prioritise its use for sides and cross members as it is strong, warp free and kind to hands that pick up the layout later. The "birch ply" I bought was labelled as such and met all my requirements.

My advice would be to find a good timber merchant from the internet and then visit to explain your needs face to face. They should be able to show you samples and explain any cost options. If you are really lucky they may have a shop damaged sheet or a stack of useful offcuts.

Fifty quid a sheet is a justifiable expense, one hundred plus............

[Yardman]

Birch Ply is more expensive as it has more layers per thickness and is thus stronger and can have a greater distance between supports. You also need something on top otherwise it will be very noisy. My personal preference is 9mm ply base with 9mm Sundeala on top where the track is. It's expensive, but how often do you build baseboards? Build them once and get it right.

[jonny777]

I don't worry about ragged edges or bragging rights; so I bought three 9mm 4' x 2' sheets of plywood from B&Q for £47 in February. 

 

Mind you, I am a cheapskate and I don't care who knows it  

[Harlequin]

The Fulham and Alloway prices look very good to me. If I could get Birch ply at those prices I would bite their hands off!

 

Your plans also sound perfectly acceptable. 9mm sounds about right to me.

[chris p bacon]

Genuine FinPly usually comes in 5' x 5' boards so there is doubt that any of those are proper birch ply. The first may be but the two cheaper boards are too cheap to be genuine birch ply and are probably a cheap ply with two outer veniers of birch. Look at James Latham.

 

That's not actually correct, Ply (Birch included) will come in imperial 8"x4" and 10'x 4' as well as 10' x 5' it can come in many odd sizes as well depending on who has specified a supply of whatever size, I can't say I've ever seen 5'x5' so wonder if it's a typo.  

 

The last Genuine Birch ply I purchased was approx 10 -12 months ago for some club boards and I paid £35 + vat from Bedford Timber. 

 

6mm will be sufficient depending on how much bracing you're putting on the underside, for the sides I make up a beam of 2 layers of 6mm with an inner core of 19x45 blocks with 9 x 19 closers (I can take a piccie if required)  This is for the rigours of exhibitions so is probably OTT for you.

[gordon s]

I use 12mm ply from Travis Perkins locally and currently pay around £28+VAT for a 8' x 4' (2440 x 1220mm) good quality ply.  Happy with the price and the quality is 10 times better than B & Q equivalent.

[doilum]

I don't worry about ragged edges or bragging rights; so I bought three 9mm 4' x 2' sheets of plywood from B&Q for £47 in February. 

 

Mind you, I am a cheapskate and I don't care who knows it  

You may have been robbed!!

B&Q have a free cutting service. Push an 8x4 across to the saw and ask for four 4x2, and you save at least 50% on the price. Plus it will go in the back of a small car.

[PaulRhB]

Yep I always select my sheet carefully so it's not too bendy at B&Q and get an 8x4 cut up. Usually around £25 and cuts are free. As I'm not making cabinets relying on the wood finish and will sand and paint it I just make sure it's not already delaminated.

I knock up a quick cutting diagram with dimensions on a scrap bit of paper and never had an issue getting it cut right. Allow 2mm for each cut though or your last bit may be a bit smaller than you anticipated

[2mmMark]

When building some cupboards a few months ago, I got some MDF cut to size by a local company Cutwrights. I gave them a cutting list and a week later, they delivered what was basically a custom flat pack of materials which I simply had to assemble. Before placing the order, I asked how accurately they could work, they said to 0.3mm!

 

It was more expensive than getting MDF boards and cutting it myself but the quality and accuracy of the cuts more than made up for that in time saved alone. The end result was much neater too.

 

Cutwrights can work in a variety of materials, including birch ply. Their web site has a quotation tool into which you enter the sizes required. Cutting is via saw avoiding the burnt edges of laser cut materials.

 

https://www.cutwrights.com/new/home

 

Next time I'm building baseboards, I intend to give them a try.  Incidentally, if you don't use a full sheet for your cuts, you'll get the unused material as offcuts.

[polybear]

Before placing the order, I asked how accurately they could work, they said to 0.3mm!

 

 

No good for the P4 boys then......

[Colin_McLeod]

Here we have to be dead on.

[JZ]

FWIW, I use Malaysian hardwood ply from my local timber merchant. £29.78,VAT included, for a full, 2440x1220x9mm sheet. They will also cut it for free, first 3 cuts. Being in Somerset, a bit far out for you, but I would think that is the price you should be looking at.

[Joseph_Pestell]

I don't worry about ragged edges or bragging rights; so I bought three 9mm 4' x 2' sheets of plywood from B&Q for £47 in February. 

 

Mind you, I am a cheapskate and I don't care who knows it  

 

That's not anything like cheapskate.

 

With a bit of hard work, not difficult to find complete sheets of plywood secondhand from a local building site, where they get used to make temporary fences. Not the best quality, but perfectly adequate and FREE.

[Dungrange]

I use 12mm ply from Travis Perkins locally and currently pay around £28+VAT for a 8' x 4' (2440 x 1220mm) good quality ply.  Happy with the price and the quality is 10 times better than B & Q equivalent.

 

How do you manage that - it's £74.11 + VAT on their website - https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Birch-Plywood-BB-Grade-2440mm-x-1220mm-x-12mm/p/403009 ?

[chris p bacon]

How do you manage that - it's £74.11 + VAT on their website - https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Birch-Plywood-BB-Grade-2440mm-x-1220mm-x-12mm/p/403009 ?

 

 

Ignore the TP website, contact the nearest branch (of any builders merchants) and they'll quote you a price.

[polybear]

How do you manage that - it's £74.11 + VAT on their website - https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Birch-Plywood-BB-Grade-2440mm-x-1220mm-x-12mm/p/403009 ?

 

With the amount Gordon has bought (and scrapped....) he's probably got a trade card....

[gordon s]

I do have a trade card, but that price of £70+ refers to top quality marine ply....