Plywood on kitchen walls

[Richieduliban]

Can you use 12-18mm WBP Plywood instead of plasterboard/cement board on kitchen walls?

Will the humidity warp the wood or is WBP Plywood designed to resist this?

 

[bobasd]

you can use ply as an interior sheathing or lining but why - do you have sheets of it hanging around?
it would have to be well fixed to its background.
ply and OSB are used for exterior wall and roof sheathing in millions of constructions world wide.
i dont rate WBP ply but be my guest?

 

[JohnD]

plasterboard does not burn, and gives fire protection.

wood....

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I've certainly installed birch plywood as wall cladding in offices, shops and even in serveries in the past. Fixing it isn't really an issue, and you can even get clips to fix it into place almost invisibly. WBP, however, isn't all that attractive and often has defects and filled areas. If you do go ahead with this the plywood will need to be well sealed (it will stain permanently if any cooking fat or oil comes in contact with improperly sealed material) and I'd strongly advise that it should not be installed adjacent to bare heat sources such as gas hobs and that it is given several coats of clear intumescent lacquer to ensure that you have some form of fire protection. As others have stated, plywood can burn quite well (which is why walls are often plasterboarded)

 

[Richieduliban]

Thanks, I’ve decided to go with cement board instead

 

[bobasd]

given you dont have damp issues then why not keep it simple and simply solid plaster the walls?

 

[Richieduliban]

Is plastering for DIYer simple? I battened the brick wall and will use hardiebacker as it feels simplest for me.

 

[bobasd]

why are you now telling us what you've already done, instead of telling us in your first post?

battening and backerboard might cause you far more difficulties than you've bargained for - think getting it flat and plumb, think reveals and inside wall corners,
think elec plates, think door linings & architraves and skirtings,
and finally think how do you intend to finish all the backerboard covered kitchen walls?
Plus the expense of the materials?

 

[Richieduliban]

I had already battened the wall and was deciding between plywood and cement board before I posted this.

It’s a relatively small kitchen area so 11-12 boards will do it at a cost of £110-£120. It’s only the back brick wall and a bit of the side wall which will be boarded. The rest of the room is an open plan living room which won’t be touched.

No doors nor skirting in this area and kitchen units will cover the lower parts of the boards entirely so no finish needed down there as far as I am aware. The exposed splashback area and either side of wall units can be tiled.

I assume electrical dry wall boxes will work just as well with cement board as plasterboard?

 

[Richieduliban]

Here’s some photos, seems to be going well so far but stop me if I’m heading for disaster.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Drywall back boxes can be used - you'll need to jigsaw the openings out in all probability. Not my favourite material, I have to say, mainly due to the dust from cutting it, and on those occasions when I've had to clad ceilings with the stuff getting a neat, unobtrusive joint between boards hasn't always been straightforward (due to poor edge quality on the supplied boards in the main). An alternative might have been taper-edged plasterboard with taped and jointed board joints, That is relatively straightforward to do and requires less gear (and skill?) than full-blown plastering

 

[Richieduliban]

Thanks, yes plasterboard was another option. Will just see how it goes I guess and do all the sawing outdoors.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Wear a mask as well! It really is horrible stuff to cut and simply eats TCT blades if using circular saws on it (which is why they sell PCD blades for cement board)