As we already know that plywood are thin sheets of wood veneer which are glued together with linking plies and have a quality which is resistant to breaking, twisting, or any sort of cracking. Plywood are generally, high-strength sheet materials used for utmost ruggedness in constructing buildings and homes. Also, different varieties of plywood are available for a number of applications. When you would shop at the hardware store, you may find different grading system in plywood which uses letters like A, B, C & D. Each letter has its own explanation. Similarly, one of the economical graded type of plywood is CDX. The quality of this plywood is low but the strength it exhibits is powerful. So, let's see further the exact definition of CDX and what all it has to say.
What is CDX Plywood?
C - one side of the sheet-board is C grade - the average surface.
D - the other side of the sheet-board is the D grade - having small holes and patches.
X - The exterior glue that bonds the sheet-board together.
The term CDX is basically not the name of the plywood grade, but is abbreviated for C-D Exposure 1 plywood. Herein, the letters C and D denotes the quality of the surfaces both (front and back). That is C and D describes the two sides of the plywood sheet. So one side of the plywood is 'C' rated and the other side is 'D' rated. And the letter 'X' denotes that the glue which is exploited in the plywood is an exterior glue. But that doesn't make it an overall extended plywood. The plywood is made out of waterproof glue and is treated under intense pressure. Such a treatment enhances every layer of wood veneer to compress vertically against the previous one and make it even more stronger. It is employed in roof sheathing, on walls and sub floors, shingles and roofing felt and much more.
In the grading system of plywood, the letter A is considered to have the best quality without any blemishes, flaws or sanding in the sheets. Whereas, the last grade, i.e, the D grade of plywood, contains maximum amount of flaws and blemishes in its making. In this process of who is the best from the rest, it's noticed very often that, although CDX plywood is low in grade and is not so pretty to look at, the amount of applications that needs strong, rugged sheathing material to build shelves, roofing or walls in homes and offices, CDX plywood sheathing is the faithful companion in rough home construction projects.
More on CDX Plywood
- This plywood which when used somewhere in constructing wooden items, will be very easy to spot and differentiate. It's not funny, but it's the fact, that this plywood are no doubt thick in size but they contain, fillers, patches, knots, some football-shaped shallow holes and indentations on both the sides of the plywood. Considering this type of a building quality, but naturally, there's a huge reflection in the prices as compared to other high-quality plywood prices.
- Also, depending upon the requirement in various applications and construction industries, this material chiefly happens to be the foundation or the base material for building roofs. It's known that the quality of CDX plywood is extremely durable and hence it is ideal as a building material for a roof base. They are also used in many art and craft projects.
- Generally, this plywood is not polished, but is sanded well. Hence, both the sides of the plywood are rough enough containing good amount of knots and patches in the sheets.
- Another thing about CDX plywood is, although the letter 'X' in the abbreviated term stands for exterior glue, however it entirely isn't true! Basically, the letter denotes exposure, which means that this plywood is strong enough to resist a bit of a moisture level in the sheets.. but not for long.
It's only because of the superb built of this plywood which makes it so strong and inviolable, that is the only reason CDX has picked up so much popularity in the interior decorating field.
