Ontario Canada source for Baltic Birch...?

[Geek]

Originally Posted by planet10

I've made it from Vancouver to Calgary in 8 hours (and that was before the coquihalla)... 17 hrs could get you close to Winnepeg (if you could maintain the rate (requires driving at night)

And that time included the hour you stopped off at my place?

We have lots of Pizza Pizzas and Tim Hortons - that's the priority for most of the population.

Hmmm, every response I can type to this (except this one) will send me to the Sin Bin

Cheers!

[planet10]

Originally Posted by cyberspyder

AFAIK, all Home Depots carry BB, although in metric thicknesses not imperial.

BB always comes in metric thicknesses.... it is made in Europe.

dave

[cyberspyder]

Not true...some places sell exactly 3/4" BB, not 17mm or 19mm

[planet10]

Originally Posted by Geek

And that time included the hour you stopped off at my place?

I never knew you BC (before Coquihalla)... i did exclude the 1/2 hr in Nelson where we had tea with an old school mate.

dave

[MJL21193]

Originally Posted by cyberspyder

The ones in Markham and Richmond Hill have them.

I've been in both locations but I wasn't there for "pleasure" so I didn't look. If they have it, they would be the exception.

[cyberspyder]

Originally Posted by MJL21193

I've been in both locations but I wasn't there for "pleasure" so I didn't look. If they have it, they would be the exception.

The thing is, they're of lower quality than BB from other lumber places....lots of voids and lots of knots. That's why I went up to Stouffville to get mine.

Brendan

[planet10]

Originally Posted by cyberspyder

The thing is, they're of lower quality than BB from other lumber places....lots of voids and lots of knots. That's why I went up to Stouffville to get mine.

Brendan,

If that is the case it is not real BB, even if it is made of Birch. True Baltic Birch comes in 5'x5' sheets and i've only ever seen 12, 15, 18mm. (but 9mm might exist, if we can get thicker than 18, then i'd very surprised that Chris hasn't mentioned it (althou double 12 or 15 would make more sense anyway)

dave

[Geek]

Originally Posted by planet10

If that is the case it is not real BB, even if it is made of Birch.

Sounds like some of that el-cheapo reject poplar making its rounds at the various places.

The local Rona was tricked into a couple of pallets of "furniture grade" poplar ply that looked good on the outside... until you cut it.

A week later, the manager was dumping the stuff for $5/sheet.

Cheers!

[cyberspyder]

I apologize, I remembered wrong. What I meant to say was that many places sell 17-18mm BB, and some places sell the 19mm variant, commonly referred to as 3/4" BB.

[chrisb]

East coast distributor of BB and Aircraft plywood

Thomes Canada - Baltic Birch Plywood

Note that while they list BB as being "available" in thickness from 3mm up to 30mm thickness, they are also mainly a wholesale distributor, meaning larger quantities -think B-train (tandem trailer) loads per month. It would be interested to contact them for a location of any resellers in your neighborhood.

While players like Home-Depot & Lowes in the US and Rona, etc., in Canada certainly have the overall sales meet the volume requirement of larger distributors, there are only so many SKU's they're willing to carry for the domestic retail market. Products like Baltic Birch Plywood, or solid cork floor tiles (i.e. not laminated) are niche products, with all the associated disadvantages to a large retailer.

I've worked for a commercial millwork company on the west coast for over 16 years. Fortunately we have regional industrial distributors that supply the variety of commodity sheet goods that we consume in the thousands of sheets per year, and we seldom need look very far for sources. There are however, few nation-wide distributors or retailers of such materials, so I'd suggest contacting local commercial millwork/furniture/kitchen cabinet shops for their sources. Some of these shops may even be willing to resell small quantities of sheet goods direct from their own inventory.