Plywood alternatives

Locally, 1/2 plywood is $20/sheet and 3/4 plywood is $30/sheet. Prices have pretty much come down to pre-pandemic levels. People seem to forget that wood really wasn't all that cheap before the pandemic. If you have a Menards in TN, check there as they usually beat Lowes and Home Depot by several bucks and then run an 11% rebate on top of it.

While OSB is slightly cheaper than plywood, I would not use it for exterior sheathing. Even if you paint it, moisture will inevitable reach the board and it will start to swell, flake, and disintegrate. Even ordinary plywood is not really intended for exterior sheathing and may not last long term.

As repugnant as the prices may be, you need to install a proper exterior sheathing or siding. You have a couple of options: 1) T1-11 plywood panels; 2) Composite panels (LP SmartSide and the like); 3) Vinyl siding; 4) Wood planks; and 5) Metal panels.
 
Keep in mind T1-11 is a convenience product. It can function as sheathing and siding. Ordinarily structures are sheathed with OSB or sheathing plywood and then covered with siding. Materials and labour can add up to more than the cost of using T1-11 to function as both sheathing and siding. I don’t know what a good price for it is. Where I live it’s rare because it’s expensive. Most people use sheathing plywood or OSB and sometimes paint it like it’s siding. It works. Rough cut lumber can be used but it’s not exactly a plywood alternative. It has cracks between the boards that have to be covered with tar paper or building wrap. It does not brace a structure diagonally, so diagonal braces must be added to a structure adding to labour and material costs. Nevertheless I do use rough cut wood for building you just need to be aware that it’s not all gravy.
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. "Green" unseasoned wood will shrink, no doubt there. If you have a traditional stud wall and run the rough sawn vertical or parallel to the studs - board and batten will compensate for shrinking. And for the structural integrity, horizontal or perpendicular boards have to be installed prior to the board and batten. This gives you a common nailing surface across the entire wall. And provides strength. You also have the option to start nailing boards horizontal at the bottom and overlap each run as you go up the wall. Which also provides strength, more so than any plywood.
There are structures all across the nation well over 100 years old that have used rough sawn lumber as their siding. Most are still standing today. We will be hard pressed to ever get similar service out of plywood. It has its place, but it's not for exterior use. IMHO it has no business in a coop inside or out

Even marine grade pressure treated plywood will not last. 5-10 years exposed to inclement weather. The glue will begin to separate and the layers of wood will blister.

The big turn off for me is the continual 2-5 year maintenance of paint with plywood, osb, or T1-11. That money you might have saved upfront will be lost in paint.
 
We will be hard pressed to ever get similar service out of plywood. It has its place, but it's not for exterior use. IMHO it has no business in a coop inside or out
That's all well and fine for those who have decent access to it, but most folks do not.
 
We will be hard pressed to ever get similar service out of plywood. It has its place, but it's not for exterior use. IMHO it has no business in a coop inside or out
What????
So where in your opinion can one use plywood?
If it can't be used inside or outside of a chicken coop, then it most certainly can't be used for roof or wall sheathing or subfloors in houses.....
 
That's all well and fine for those who have decent access to it, but most folks do not.
^^^ Many of my neighbors raise timber. Technically, a large portion of my acreage is given over to agriculture (timber) for taxing purposes.

Yet I no longer have a nearby sawmill where you can make retail purchases. and any raw wood near the ground gets a year, or less, on my property before termites invade.

Rough sawn wood, in some areas, under some conditions, has its place - but its no panacea. Like anything else, it needs to be used appropriately in accordance with local conditons.
 
What????
So where in your opinion can one use plywood?
If it can't be used inside or outside of a chicken coop, then it most certainly can't be used for roof or wall sheathing or subfloors in houses.....
Osb, T1-11, or plywood is not the final outside layer that is exposed to the elements in most homes. I can't imagine that passing anyone's local inspection.

The thread title is "Plywood ALTERNATIVES". Sorry I struck a nerve. If you want to build an outdoor structure comprised of glued sawdust and wood chips, I most certainly will not stop you. I wish you luck.

It's just chickens, no need to get excited. I prefer to build once and be done.
 
Osb, T1-11, or plywood is not the final outside layer that is exposed to the elements in most homes. I can't imagine that passing anyone's local inspection.

The thread title is "Plywood ALTERNATIVES". Sorry I struck a nerve. If you want to build an outdoor structure comprised of glued sawdust and wood chips, I most certainly will not stop you. I wish you luck.

It's just chickens, no need to get excited. I prefer to build once and be done.
I'm not the one who said plywood has no business inside or outside.
 
Osb, T1-11, or plywood is not the final outside layer that is exposed to the elements in most homes. I can't imagine that passing anyone's local inspection.

The thread title is "Plywood ALTERNATIVES". Sorry I struck a nerve. If you want to build an outdoor structure comprised of glued sawdust and wood chips, I most certainly will not stop you. I wish you luck.

It's just chickens, no need to get excited. I prefer to build once and be done.
These are 3 different products, with sub-products, and all have different applications.
You can't just group them all into one thing, then reject them in favor for your preferred product(rough sawn lumber).

Yes, the thread is 'alternatives', but it's obvious the OP doesn't understand plywood products either, so we are trying to educate them.
 
Yet I no longer have a nearby sawmill where you can make retail purchases. and any raw wood near the ground gets a year, or less, on my property before termites invade.

Indeed.

Even treated wood is problematic for us here in the Steamy Southeast -- home of many forms of wood-destroying insects and other organisms.
 
I personally use plywood for all my coops that aren't a prefab with no problem. Granted I don't have humid summers, but we get a LOT of snow in winter that melts near constantly until summer comes, so it's almost always soaked.

I've toyed with using that clear wavy plastic for roofing, but I'm not sure how feasable it would actually be. I can't imagine it would lose more heat than metal in the winter and it shouldn't get as hot as metal in the summer, but building is almost less of a strongsuit for me than cooking, and I'm awful at cooking
 

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