Specifying WISA® plywood

Plywood is a sustainable and versatile material that can be used in a host of applications and end-uses from formwork-casting to structural construction and unique feats of interior design. When it comes to technical performance WISA plywood offers a wide range of options in terms of panel sizes, surface grades, thicknesses, panel weight and surface treatments. If you are not sure what plywood products to choose – we are here to help!

All WISA plywood products are made of Northern spruce and birch from responsibly managed forests. It is guaranteed to be a renewable, safe and sustainable choice for you that helps reduce the carbon footprint of your project by offering the needed documentation. Now, let us guide you in selecting the right WISA plywood product for your needs.

Spruce or birch plywood?

WISA plywood is available in two wood species: birch, which is hardwood, and spruce, which is softwood. We also offer plywoods that combine the best qualities of birch and spruce.

Birch plywood is ideal for demanding industrial applications and interiors, while spruce plywood excels in load-bearing construction uses such as floors, walls, and roofs.  
 
Spruce plywood is light but strong and does not break easily. The closed wood structure of spruce makes it biologically durable: it withstands changing weather conditions on construction sites and in packaging applications.

Birch plywood is known for its beauty. However, birch plywood’s superior strength, stiffness and dimensional accuracy make it perfect for demanding industrial applications where bending is not allowed even under heavy loads, such as trailer floors and formwork. It also has the optimal balance between strength, weight and density making it the best choice for transport use where all three are important. 
 
When looking to find a material with the best possible weight-strength ratio, choose spruce. If you require a light material, which is also stiff, and dimensionally accurate, go for birch. All plywood panels have a great strength-weight ratio regardless.

Plywood varieties that mix birch and spruce to combine their best qualities are also available. Birch veneers make the panel strong while spruce veneers keep it light in weight. The birch face veneers give the panel an attractive and even surface.

For indoor or outdoor use?

All WISA plywood products, including those with fire-retardant, water-repellent, or other treatments, are always M1-certified. The certification is a low-emission classification of building materials, meaning that they are safe to use in permanent structures of homes and other buildings.

WISA products are biologically durable, especially so spruce veneer, and nearly all of them are bonded with weather-resistant glue. Nevertheless, they do not like too much rain. Therefore, we suggest that any part of a building that is left outside, even under a roof, is covered somehow, at least with a suitable paint.

Birch plywood is often the ideal choice for interior construction and furniture because of its harmonious and uniform surface appearance. Spruce plywood has a livelier surface appearance but is technically well-suited for interior construction projects.

Technical performance of WISA plywood

No matter what type of WISA plywood you decide to use, you can rely on its performance. There is no need  to buy anything "extra". If a surface will be covered, appearance does not matter. And the same goes for thicknesses. You can trust WISA plywood to perform as promised.

You can find the manufactured standard thicknesses and panel sizes of each product in our product catalogue. Find the detailed technical performance, on the DoP Declaration of Performance (DoP) reference list and, for the UK, in the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) documents.

WISA plywood offers various products tailored to specific needs. Tongued and grooved panels are, for example, suitable for floors, rough-surfaced panels with non-slip properties are designed for roofs, while fire-retardant panels meet stringent fire regulations. Other options include water-repellent panels and biocide-treated panels.

Environmental performance of WISA Plywood

An Environmental Product Declaration, or EPD, describes the environmental impact of a product at different stages of its life cycle. It is based on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and allows for a comparison of environmental impacts between materials as well as between similar products to facilitate the selection of building products. The life cycle assessment for WISA plywood takes into account the environmental impact of the acquisition, production and transport of plywood raw materials, as well as the construction, use, dismantling and disposal of demolition waste. 
 
Comprehensive EPDs for our WISA plywood products help you, the contractor, builder or designer, to better calculate the environmental impacts of building products and materials and the carbon footprint of an entire building. 
  
Although EPDs are not yet mandatory, extra points are already handed when using information from the EPDs instead of spreadsheets when applying for BREEAM environmental certification. The EPDs for WISA plywood products are based on the standard governing environmental declarations for construction products (EN 15804 and product group rules). 
 
Product specific EPDs effectively battle greenwashing by transparently verifying the environmental impact of products. The EPDs are public and third-party verified. They are voluntary, but their implications for construction and building design are increasingly relevant.