We sometimes need to cover the interior and exterior walls using plywood. It’s not the perfect solution for your walls to cover, but it will protect them. If you want to decorate your walls and try to cover the uneven walls, plywood might be a good solution.
But the challenge is to find the perfect match. You have to consider the code and requirements to select the plywood size. That’s what we will cover today and help you to cover both your interior and exterior walls.
How thick should plywood be for walls (interior & exterior)?
The plywood should be ⅜ inch thick for the walls. The thickness will vary depending on the interior and exterior walls. The minimum thickness for the walls should be ½ inches for the interior walls. If you want to install plywood for exterior walls, you should use ⅜ inches thick plywood.
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You may find other thicknesses for the interior and exterior plywood. Whatever size you decide, it must protect the walls properly.
Remember, you cannot use oversized or thick plywood on your walls. It will look awkward, and you don’t need to cover the walls with unnecessary thickness.
Therefore, ½ inch thickness is fairly enough to cover the interior and exterior walls. If you want to follow the code and requirements, you may need to install something else on your interior and exterior walls. Both the requirements would be different.
Interior walls:
The plywood for interior walls should be ⅜ or ½ inch thick. You can choose any thickness for your interior walls since it’s not the major issue unless your interior walls are not too weak to get the best support from the plywood.
You also install the ⅝ inch thick plywood over the interior walls if you don’t have the ½ inch plywood.
You will get the flexible options to choose the right thickness for your interior walls. But the fact is the quality of your plywood and the interior walls. If you have solid interior walls and need to decorate them using plywood, you can use less thick plywood.
Exterior walls:
Only the ⅜ inch plywood can be used for exterior walls. Since there will be much stronger walls outside the house, you must consider installing the ⅜ inch plywood.
It will protect the outside walls from external threats and secure the walls from other damages.
You won’t get the flexible choice to decide the plywood thickness. You only find ⅜ inch plywood as the best-suited plywood thickness for the exterior walls.
Can you use 1/4 plywood walls?
You can, of course, use the ¼ inch plywood walls. It will be fine to use that thick plywood for the interior walls. Unfortunately, you cannot use the ¼ inch thick plywood for the exterior walls since you must use the ⅜ inch plywood to follow the codes and requirements.
When you want to choose the best thickness for the interior walls, you will have a handful of options. You can use ⅜, ½, and ¼ inch thick plywood. You have the flexibility to use any size of plywood for your interior walls. But the condition is to use solid plywood for the interior walls.
You cannot use the low-quality ¼ inch plywood for the interior walls. It will become a weak addition that will fail your interior walls from any threats. That’s why it’s always preferable to use at least ½ inch plywood for the interior walls to secure it.
2 factors that determine the thickness of plywood walls
You must consider 2 factors in determining the thickness of plywood walls. Don’t make any mistake here; otherwise, you will face hardship in the long run.
Sanding:
Plywood can have a thickness of anywhere from 1/8 inch to 1 1/4 inches, depending on the type. Sanding the wood, which is done during the manufacturing process, can remove as much as one-thirty-second.
Therefore, a plywood sheet that appears to have a thickness of 3/8 inch is 11/32 inch when measured.
Building Type:
You should go for a minimum thickness of 12 millimeters for the plywood because that is the minimum thickness required by the standard.
The thickness of the wall might need to be increased depending on the building you’re going to be putting it in and the methods you’re going to use to put it up.
How thick should plywood be for a climbing wall?
The plywood for climbing walls should be 18mm. You cannot use less than 18mm thick plywood for the climbing wall since it might break anytime or damage it. If you have a climbing wall in your playground or house, you should install high-quality plywood.
Most of the quality will depend on the plywood type and thickness. You cannot rely on the 18mm thickness and install the weak plywood to cover the climbing wall. It will increase the risk of damaging the wall in various ways.
When you start climbing the wall, the plywood should have the ability to bear your weight. If it breaks down, you will be hurt and can’t finish the climbing. Therefore, you must install high-quality plywood on your climbing walls to secure them for better climbing.
How thick should plywood be for garage walls?
The minimum thickness for the garage wall plywood should be ⅜ inch. You cannot install the less thick plywood on your garage wall since it will fail to protect your walls from any external damage.
Typically, the garage walls have a little canvas, shelves, and hooks for different purposes.
So, you cannot use any typical or regular plywood and expect it to protect your garage walls. You can expect to get the best durable garage walls when you install the perfect-sized plywood. And you can also create as many shelves as you want.
So, go for the ⅜ inch plywood thickness to protect the garage walls from damage. You can also use the walls to create all the shelves, hooks, and canvas. Your garage walls will remain safe for a long time, and you can install pretty much anything.
What kind of plywood do you use for walls?
You can use three different kinds of plywood for different walls. You need to decide the best one to cover your walls carefully.
Interior Plywood:
Wherever there is a concern about exposure to the elements, you should only use exterior grade plywood.
The plywood used on interior walls is not waterproof, so employing it for building external applications could lead to significant structural issues.
Construction-grade Plywood:
You might want to look for construction-grade plywood that is a little bit thicker, but this recommendation is conditional on the kind of building in which you are doing your work.
Spruce-grade Plywood:
Because it can be used for both load-bearing and partition walls, wood spruce plywood is an excellent choice for the material to use in this project.
How do you finish plywood walls?
You can finish plywood walls in seven steps. Although the process might seem complicated, you can follow our tips and do it within a while. It will help you finish the plywood walls soon.
Sand Composition:
You will notice that the plywood has a grainy appearance. You will need to wipe these textures down and finish them with sandpaper.
Sandpaper with a grit of 80 should be used first, followed by sandpaper with grits of 120 and 220, respectively.
Wipe:
You will notice some dust on the plywood after sanding the surface. Get a cloth and use it to wipe away the dust.
Prime:
Next, apply a stain or primer to the wood. Apply it in a manner that is as thin as possible.
After applying the wood stain to the walls, wait thirty minutes for them to dry completely. If you use paint primer, you need to allow the walls to dry for a full day before continuing.
Sand Again:
After the surface has been dried, you will notice that the walls have some texture. Sanding these textures with sandpaper of a 220 grit will complete the process.
Paint:
Pick a color that appeals to your sense of style. Start by painting only a thin layer on each wall. After painting the walls, give them at least one night to dry properly.
Dry and Clean:
After the paint has had time to dry, finish the walls with sandpaper of grit 220.
Paint Again:
The paint should then be applied for the final time. This time, paint more thickly. After painting the walls correctly, give them at least one day to dry completely.
Final Thoughts
The ⅜ inch and ½ inch thickness are the best-suited plywood for the interior and exterior walls. You can also use the ¼ inch plywood for your interior walls. You will find the flexible thickness sizes for your interior walls, but only ⅜ inch plywood for your exterior walls.