I wish I listened to Hertsdrainage2010 and got all marine.
they said they would ring me when the wood was due to be delivered but found it there on the lawn at 11.30 pm after getting home. I brought the wood in the next morning but it had been raining for some of the night. The marine ply was fine but..... the edges of the EN636-3 were damaged and the ply was separating.
I then contacted the company and they took all the wood back to inspect (despite marine being ok) I called them earlier and they said that it looks ok to them and said they would have another look at it and had suggested they send it back to me with information on how to treat the edges.
I am not happy with the ply, although they had cut it all to size so I could fit it. Do I have any rights please ?
On the invoice it mentioned that the marine was certified, but it did not mention that the exterior was certified.
Marine ply has a class 3 bond, EN636-3 plywood has a class 3 bond, they are the same in that regards. A class 3 bond has to withstand hours in boiling water and cold water, usually this equates to weeks of external exposure without much harm, sometimes years and years but no one will guarantee/warranty that, the standard on plywood however is very specific in that it must be able to withstand exposure during construction, storage in the rain should be avoided but in this context it is nothing, the plywood is supposed to withstand short exposure to moisture.
Marine plywood has "some" limited natural durability against fungus, and also has to have excellent core veneer quality, this gives strength and flexibility for use in boats, are you building a boat? No, then you don't need marine plywood.
However, there is a lot of **** plywood sold, (coughchinesechough), so people specify marine simply to assure quality, or under the assumption that the word "marine" means "super durable plywood".
Get exterior plywood, but don't buy super cheap, get stuff made in western Europe (Finnish, German).
Chipboard can be used, as long as you fully seal it, if water gets in it will eventually turn to weatabix, personally I would be happy to use chipboard if I was doing the work myself and could ensure water tightness, if someone else is doing the work, use plywood or better.
The certification is likely for sustainability and not quality, though check that.
