Avoiding Warping With Luan Wood

Avoiding Warping With Luan Wood

 Luan Plywood (wood) warps, now that is a known fact, but what can you do to avoid this from happening in the first place. Well one thing to know is that when Luan Wood is exposed to moisture or to water it tends to warp and discolour. Another thing to watch out for is when laying luan wood to ensure that you install it evenly so that it is well attached around the edges and the centre of the edges. Using a glue and screw combination is probably the best method of doing this, at least from what I have found personally while doing this type of work.


Uses of Plywood


How to Bend Plywood

Luan Wood Video Series
Bending Luan Wood Video
Installing Luan Wood Video
Cutting and Installing Vinyl Over Luan
Installing Luan Over Subfloor
Laying laminate over Subfloor
Making Tile Flush With Subfloor
Attaching Luan To Subfloor
Working With Luan For Do It Yourselfers

When you Glue the panels down with a good adhesive mixture, and either nail or screw in to secure and fasten the wood pieces (Luan) into place, just like you would with regular panels of plywood or luan wood. You should aim to nail out about every 24 inches or so and about 16 inches on the centre, to make sure that hold is secure.

This is one way of avoiding having your luan wood warp..

When screwing the luan plywood be sure it is well secure, and be careful as a screw then pull right thru the luan plywood. Luan must be coated otherwise you risk that it will turn out blotchy. You will need at least 1 coat primer and at least 2 coats paint. Luan would be a good choice if you plan on it being a temporary wall covering. By that I mean, you want to put beadboard on the walls but right now you can't afford to. So you could put up luan, paint it and later go over it with beadboard (panel adhesive and use tiny nail brads) when you have the $$. Primed luan also makes a good base for wallpaper.