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What is luan?
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Posted by CatherineT (My Page) on Mon, Oct 17, 05 at 22:38
Hi,
I'm insulating my chicken coop, and have been doing it in stages, since I'm not very good at this. After I get the insulation between the studs, I cover the area with thin plywood. I bought another sheet of it and used it, but now realize, from it's pinkness that it must be that luan stuff. How is luan different from 1/4" plywood? Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: What is luan?
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| luan is a type of wood, plywood is a type of wood panel, made up of plys or layers of thin wood veneer, glued togather with the grain running across the preceeding layer. Typically luan is made as plywood. Luan is an inexpensive alternative to pine or fir plywood. This is inside correct? Ive not seen luan with exterior glue, made be made but ive not seen it. |
RE: What is luan?
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| Most of the luan I've seen or used isn't plywood, in the strictest sense. As Tom said, plywood is made from multiple layers of thin sheets of wood pressed and glued together with the grain alternating direction. This gives plywood its strength. Luan typically has a solid core material sandwiched between two layers of veneer. I believe the veneer is some species of low grade mahogany. Luan is typically used in interior applications, such as an underlayment for vinyl flooring. It's also used to make hollow core interior doors. I'm not sure what the core material is. I suspect it is some kind of compressed wood fiber material. I also do not know if the glue is rated for exterior use. |
RE: What is luan?
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| Actually spelled luaun, it is like mahogany in grain and look. Luaun is often used for thin plywood---1/8" and 1/4". The link below has an explanation. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Philippine Mahogany
RE: What is luan?
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Thanks everyone,
Yes, it is for inside use. I bought the first thing I saw that was cheap and looked like plywood. When I got it home, I realized it was really pink and seemed to not be as strong as the other 1/4" plywood that I had bought. It's just to keep the chickens from pecking at the styrofoam insulation, so I guess it will do. The color Pink just looks a little weird in a dirty chicken coop. hahaha Thanks again! |
RE: What is luan?
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Each flooring manufacturer is required to publish an installation guideline document that outlines approved subfloor materials that won't void their warranty. Your supplier, no matter how small or ill equipped usually has the guidelines somewhere, left by their distributor or manufacturers rep. It might be dusty, but check that is current and do yourself a favor by reading it.
Why anyone would risk a complaint by not doing so is a mystery to me... it can ruin your reputation, it can ruin the job, and may even cause collateral damage. |
RE: What is luan?
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| "Yes, it is for inside use." Never going to hose out the coop? Use some exterior grade plywood with waterproof glue. |
RE: What is luan?
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| Actually, it's spelled "lauan"...luann is my girlfriend's name. |
RE: What is luan?
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| Catherine, one of the bigger differences between luan ply and other plywoods is that luan is not structural. So it's not meant to be used as structural subfloor or structural sheathing. Can you use it in your coop as a wall liner? Sure. At a later time, should you choose you can remove it and replace it or you can simply cover it with a 1/4" or 3/8" 3-ply exterior-rated plywood. |
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