Baltic Birch

A Superior Plywood

Caja, Gridlock, PB & Joy, and Montessori collections are made from 100% Baltic Birch Plywood.  

Baltic Birch is a plywood product made of birch veneers sourced from the northeastern region of Europe around the Baltic Sea. A very strong and lightweight material, birch plywood has been used for cabinets, skateboards, and even large aircraft (including the Spruce Goose). We use Baltic Birch because of its fantastic structural and aesthetic properties. These include:

  • Durability & strength 
  • Light weight
  • Crack & warp-resistance due to cross-banded plies
  • Fewest voids of any plywood
  • Honesty
    • The same material all the way through, not using weaker or softer wood in the center
    • A thick face veneer - same thickness as the center
  • Appealingly light color
  • Beautiful fine-grain, Due to short growing season of its northern climate
  • Attractive, satin-like sheen
  • Highly decorative Ripple-figuring (occurs occasionally)

CARB Compliant

All Baltic Birch that Sprout uses in its products is CARB (California Air Resources Board) compliant.  CARB regulates the emissions of some chemicals in composite wood products such as Baltic Birch.  Current regulations require emissions of formaldehyde in hardwood plywoods to be be less than 0.05 parts per million (less than 0.000005%).  All Baltic Birch used in Sprout products complies with or exceeds these standards.

Finish

Our finished baltic birch is prepared in the Northwestern United States using state-of-the-art UV finish facilities and processes.  

  • Clear or Natural finish is achieved with multiple coats of a non-VOC 100% Solids UV cured finish. The finish is a UV curable epoxy acrylate topcoat made for finishing plywood. 
  • Our Painted finishes are achieved with layers of a water based paint and sealed with a non-VOC 100% solids UV cured finish.

The paint complies with all US regulations, and creates a clean, washable surface which, when taken care of, should last for many years.

Care Instructions

Clean painted faces using a mild cleaner. Spray cleaner on the painted surface and wipe off immediately. Remember - Sprout products are not intended for outdoor use. Avoid all contact with oil. If wet, wipe dry immediately. Unpainted faces can be wiped or sanded clean depending on the dirtying substance. Only sand the unpainted faces in line with the direction of the grain.