Was dead against pre-finished plywood until a big job changed my mind

For years I was one of those guys who swore by raw plywood and finishing everything myself. I thought pre-finished stuff was a gimmick or just not worth the extra money. Then last spring I took on a kitchen job in Denver with 30 cabinets and a tight 2 week timeline. I was skeptical about spending the extra $400 on pre-finished birch, but my supplier talked me into it saying it'd save me days. And honestly, he was right - I skipped the whole sanding and sealing step, which freed up like 3 days for assembly and install. Now I'm split - part of me still loves the control of raw plywood, but on fast commercial jobs I'm leaning toward pre-finished. Has anyone else switched sides on this or am I the only one flip-flopping?

2 comments

2 Comments

emeryn8310d ago

Did a buddy have the same thing happen on his library build?

beth_hunt9d ago

skipped the whole sanding and sealing step" - that was exactly it for me too. Did a set of built-ins for a client last fall, raw ply would have added a week easy. Pre-finished just lets you move.