How to Calculate the Weight of Plywood

Plywood is a common building material.

Plywood is a common building material made from thinly sliced veneers (thin sheets of wood) from a variety of tree types (pine, oak, poplar). The veneers are glued and pressed together at right angles to make a strong construction material that is usually 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. Plywood is available in a variety of thicknesses from 1/4 inch up to 1 1/2 inch. The calculation of the weight of a piece of plywood is not difficult.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

1. Determine the weight of a square foot of 1/2-inch-thick unsanded plywood for this example. This can be found in the Plywood Design Specification (see Resources) and is 1.5 lb. per square foot.

2. Calculate the total square footage of a 4- by 8-foot piece of plywood. This is done by multiplying 4 times 8 for an area (square footage) of 32 square feet.

3. Multiply the weight of a 1/2-inch-thick, unsanded piece of plywood by the total square footage. This calculation is 32 square feet times 1.5 lb. per square foot, for a total of 48 lb.

References

• Anderson Plywood: Plywood Manufacturing

Resources

• Engineered Wood Association; Plywood Design Specification (Table 1); January 1997