Flat Stock vs. Plywood

Flat Stock vs. Plywood Backing: Consider the Difference Before the Project Starts

When it comes to backing, the decision between flat stock metal and plywood is often made long before crews arrive on site.

By the time construction begins, the backing material may already be specified, estimated and incorporated into the project. At that point, changing the approach becomes much more difficult.

That’s why the best time to compare flat stock and plywood isn’t during installation. It’s during planning.

Start With What the Backing Needs to Do

Backing has a straightforward job: provide support behind the finished wall for fixtures, equipment and other mounted items.

Both flat stock metal and plywood can be used as backing solutions, but they don’t necessarily perform the same way in every application.

One important consideration is pull-out strength, particularly where heavier fixtures or equipment will be mounted.

This can make plywood worth considering for applications where connection strength is a key consideration.

But performance is only one part of the conversation.

What About Cost?

There can be a perception that choosing plywood means choosing a more expensive backing solution.

That isn’t necessarily the case.

When flat stock and plywood backing are compared, material pricing can be similar depending on the project, specifications and application. The bigger consideration is how each option fits into the overall construction process.

With conventional plywood, there is also the labour required to turn full sheets into usable backing: receiving, storing, moving, measuring and cutting the material before it can be installed.

Pre-cut plywood backing changes that equation.

EZI BACKR arrives cut to size and ready for installation, reducing the amount of on-site processing required before the backing gets into the wall.

Make the Comparison Before the Specification Is Set

The planning stage is the best time to take a closer look at the backing options available and consider the benefits pre-cut plywood could bring to the project.

Before carrying the same backing specification into the next build, compare the options based on what the project actually requires.

Look at performance. Look at material cost. Look at installation. And importantly, look at the labour and handling required to get the backing ready to install.

Pre-cut plywood can simplify that process by eliminating much of the measuring, cutting and material handling that typically happens on site.

The goal isn’t to suggest that one solution is right for every project. It’s to make sure pre-cut plywood is considered when the backing approach is being determined.

If plywood makes sense for the application, EZI BACKR offers a simpler way to get it onto the jobsite and into the wall: pre-cut, ready to install and without another cutting process to manage on site.