How Much Weight Can Plywood Hold? Plywood Strength Chart, Load Calculator

The first question that comes to mind for many who purchase plywood is, how much weight can plywood hold?

This is mainly because plywood, although it’s very sustainable, doesn’t look like much at first glance.

However, looks are deceiving in this case, because plywood is a lot stronger than it seems. Plywood is actually engineered to support weight and provide strength.

For instance, a 12-inch by 36-inch cut of plywood with a thickness of 1/4 inch will support a weight of five pounds, while a 12-inch by 36-inch cut of plywood with a thickness of 3/4 inches can support up to 50 pounds.

This makes it clear that the thickness of plywood¹² makes all the difference when it comes to weight bearing and strength.¹

How Much Weight Can Plywood Hold?

When looking at the complete answer to ‘how much weight can plywood hold, it is essential to consider the total weight capacity of plywood.¹⁴

Plywood Weight Capacity

Plywood weight capacity is directly related to the flexibility of the plywood, thickness of the plywood, type of plywood, glue used to finish off the plywood as well as the layering process of the plywood.⁴

The thickness of plywood / Weight capacity¹¹

What Does Plywood Look Like?

So, what does plywood look like? Plywood is thin composite sheet manufactured from wood veneers.

These veneers are pressed, heated, and ultimately arranged at opposite angles to ensure maximum strength and water resistance.²

There are 14 different types of plywood that are popularly used for furniture-making and other purposes.³

How Strong Is Plywood?

Exactly how strong is plywood then?

(Image: White.Rainforest ™︎ ∙ 易雨白林.²²)

Plywood, even though the sheets are thin, can be very strong and is made that way because of perpendicular layering and high-pressure gluing processes.

Plywood Strength Chart

The below plywood strength chart indicates the strength of plywood per square foot.

Grades of Plywood

Plywood is rated by the finish on the outside pieces of wood (face veneer and back veneer). The smoothest finishes are more expensive, but it doesn’t impact the strength.

(Image: Jakarta Parquet²³)

There are four main grades of plywood:⁶

The grade of plywood is also indicated using 2 letters, for instance, A-C. In this case, the A-grade refers to the top of the plywood, whereas the C-grade refers to the bottom of the plywood.

The strength of plywood by grade is as follows:

How Much Weight Can Plywood Hold?

Therefore, when it comes to how much weight can plywood hold, it is essential to take into consideration the grade of plywood (both grades when applicable), the number of layers, and the manufacturing process.¹⁵ It is also important to note the hardness of the wood used to manufacture the plywood.

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The hardness of wood is measured using a wood hardness scale, known as the Janka Hardness Scale.

Janka values are measured in pounds-force (USA) as is seen in the below table.

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Different sizes of plywood can hold different weights, as indicated below:

How Much Weight Can 1 Inch Plywood Hold?

One inch of plywood can hold up to 164 pounds per square foot.

How Much Weight Can 1/4 Plywood Hold?

1/4 inch plywood will support an estimated 5 pounds before it starts to bend.

How Much Weight Can 1/2 Plywood Hold?

1/2-inch plywood can hold up to 35 pounds per square foot.

How Much Weight Can 3/4 Plywood Hold?

3/4 inch plywood can hold up to 50 pounds per square foot.

How Much Weight Can a Plywood Floor Support?

In general, plywood floors can support up to 20psf when it comes to dead load and up to 40psf when it comes to living load.¹⁹

The below chart indicates the strengths of different softwood plywood sizes:⁹

How Much Weight Can Plywood Hold: Plywood Load Capacity Calculator

Calculating the answer to the question, of how much weight can plywood hold, is made easy with a plywood load capacity calculator.

(Image: Ryno Marais²⁴)

A simple version of the plywood load capacity calculator requires the following inputs:²⁰

• Length
• Width
• Thickness

The calculator will then use the following formula to determine the load capacity of a sheet of plywood:

LC = L x W x MP

LC refers to the load capacity in pounds, L refers to the length, W refers to the width, and MP refers to the maximum pressure related to the thickness.

Calculating the load capacity of plywood relies on multiplying the length and width and then multiplying that by the MP of the sheet of plywood. The maximum pressure can be estimated using the following table:

Another type of plywood load capacity calculator requires the following inputs:²¹

• Type of plywood
• Length
• Width
• Thickness
• The number of sheets.

The calculator then delivers results in the form of weight in pounds and density in pounds per square foot for each inch of thickness.¹⁰

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Since the wood is being used in this fashion, the carbon emissions can also be measured using an ecological footprint calculator.

Using any of these types of plywood load capacity calculations makes it easy to determine the hold load capacity of any sheet of plywood and establish how much weight can plywood hold.

Frequently Asked Questions About How Much Weight Can Plywood Hold?