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Old timer at the lumber yard saved my butt on a big job
Guy must have been 70. Saw me loading up plywood for a kitchen reno. Asked what I was building. Told him 42 upper cabinets with inset doors. He said stop right there. Told me to check the plywood for moisture content before I cut anything. Said he learned that after ruining 3 full sheets back in '78. I didn't believe him. Tested the pile with a meter. 3 of 20 sheets were over 12% moisture. Would have warped everything. Has anyone else caught bad plywood from a supplier?
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the_xena1mo ago
Had a buddy who ran a small cabinet shop for years. He ordered a full pallet of birch plywood from a supplier he'd used forever. Got it home, stacked it in the shop, started cutting for a big bathroom vanity order. Two weeks later he had doors and drawer fronts twisting like potato chips. Pulled out his moisture meter and half the stack was reading 14-15%. I guess the supplier had a roof leak in their warehouse and just sold it anyway. He had to reorder everything and eat like three days of labor. Never trusted that supplier again and checks every sheet with a meter before he cuts now. That old timer saved you a world of headache.
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the_linda1mo ago
Man, I feel for you. That old timer probably saved you a whole lot more than just time and money. It's wild how something like a little moisture can mess up weeks of work. @the_xena's story about her buddy with the birch plywood is exactly what I was thinking, it's crazy how a trusted supplier can let you down like that. You really do have to check every single sheet, even from places you've used forever. Makes me want to go grab a meter myself just to be safe next time I'm at the yard.
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