Sticker Shock Rant

[Pappy]

I have a project in mind to build a cabinet to hold the vacuum cleaner, floor shampooer, cleaning, supplies and spare light bulbs. 3/4" Blonde wood ply at $78 a sheet! What I don't get is why plywood prices have skyrocketed but sheet rock and lumber prices are still holding fairly stable.

As part of an ongoing remodel, I'm hanging new doors and replacing the jambs. The old jambs are made of particle board with a laminate skin. I figured I could make them of plywood stronger for about 1/4 -1/3 the price of finger joint jambs. A jamb is nothing more than a 4 1/2" board with a 2degree bevel on the edges. Even at these plywood prices I should still come out ahead.

[capncarl]

Consider making the vacuum cleaner box out of thinner plywood rather than .75. It might make an interesting project figuring out stiffening the corners or framing it in rather than using a cabinet box method..

[twistsol]

If you plan on putting doors on the cabinet, melamine is still about half the cost of plywood. Just make sure you have super sharp ATB high tooth count blade to cut it to prevent chip out. The chemicals and carpet shampooer might cause some issues with melamine also as it is not nearly as moisture tolerant as plywood.

Because the supply chain is still screwed up, any component of the plywood, or plant that may be down or running at lower capacity can cause prices to spike. I just read an article that material costs for housing are up 19% from last year due to both supply chain issues and increased demand.