How much plywood do I need for a wardrobe?

For a typical double wardrobe, you need three sheets of 18 mm ply for the carcass and two sheets of 6 mm ply for the back panel. The sections below show exactly where those numbers come from, so you can adjust them for your own dimensions.

The example wardrobe

This guide uses a double wardrobe: 1800 mm wide, 2200 mm tall, 600 mm deep. Those are typical dimensions for a freestanding double wardrobe with two full-height hanging sections. If yours is different, the method is the same; just swap in your numbers.

All parts are cut from 18 mm plywood for the carcass. The back panel uses thinner ply (6 mm or 9 mm) because it carries no load and full-thickness ply there adds cost and weight for no benefit.

Parts list

The six main parts for a basic wardrobe carcass are listed below. The top and bottom panels fit between the two sides, so their width is the overall width minus two panel thicknesses: 1800 minus 2 × 18 = 1764 mm. The shelf runs at the same width and is 18 mm shallower than the sides to leave a channel for the back panel.

The back panel cannot come from a single sheet. A standard 2440 × 1220 mm sheet is only 1220 mm wide, and the wardrobe back is 1800 mm wide, so there is no orientation that covers it in one piece. Two panels joined horizontally at mid-height is the standard solution. Each piece is 1800 mm wide and 1100 mm tall (2 × 1100 = 2200 mm), and each one fits comfortably on its own sheet.

If you're adding plywood doors, add one sheet of 18 mm ply per pair of doors. Two doors for this wardrobe each measure around 900 × 2100 mm, and each fits on a single sheet with material left over.

How many sheets of 18 mm ply?

The five 18 mm parts can nest onto three sheets. Here is how they fit, using a standard 2440 × 1220 mm sheet and a 3 mm kerf (the width the saw blade removes with each cut):

• Sheet 1: Side panel A (2200 × 600 mm) and the top panel (1764 × 600 mm) placed side by side across the width. Two 600 mm widths plus one 3 mm kerf use 1203 mm of the 1220 mm sheet width. The longer side panel sets the length at 2200 mm, within the 2440 mm sheet.
• Sheet 2: Side panel B and the bottom panel, in the same layout as sheet 1.
• Sheet 3: The fixed shelf (1764 × 582 mm), which sits well within one sheet on its own.

Total: 3 sheets of 18 mm ply for the carcass.

There is usable offcut on sheets 1 and 2: roughly 240 × 1220 mm at the end of each sheet where the side panel ends. Keep them. They're useful for small internal fittings such as a hanging rail support or a shoe rack shelf.

How many sheets of 6 mm ply for the back?

Each back piece is 1800 × 1100 mm. That fits on a 2440 × 1220 mm sheet (1800 mm along the length, 1100 mm across the width). The two pieces cannot share one sheet: after the first piece is cut, the remaining strip is only 640 mm long, not enough for another 1800 mm piece in any orientation.

Total: 2 sheets of 6 mm ply for the back panel.

The quick check: area arithmetic

If you want a fast sanity check before working out the exact nesting, divide the total part area by the sheet area and add about 20% for waste and kerf.

For the five 18 mm parts in this example:

• 2 sides: 2 × (2200 × 600) = 2,640,000 mm²
• Top and bottom: 2 × (1764 × 600) = 2,116,800 mm²
• Shelf: 1764 × 582 = 1,026,648 mm²
• Total: 5,783,448 mm²

One sheet: 2440 × 1220 = 2,976,800 mm². Dividing: 5,783,448 / 2,976,800 = 1.94. Add 20%: 2.33. Round up to the next whole sheet: 3 sheets. It agrees with the nesting above.

The area method is a useful cross-check but it can't confirm that the parts actually fit. Parts that are long and narrow can be difficult to nest efficiently even when the total area looks fine. When the shapes are awkward, work out the nesting explicitly or use a tool to do it for you.

What changes when the wardrobe is a different size

The calculation above applies to a 1800 × 2200 × 600 mm wardrobe. Here is how the sheet count changes with common variations:

• Wider wardrobe (2400 mm): the top, bottom and shelves grow from 1764 mm to 2364 mm. They can no longer share a sheet with a side panel, so each needs its own. Sheet count rises to 4 or 5 sheets of 18 mm ply depending on shelf count.
• More shelves: each additional shelf is 1764 × 582 mm. One extra sheet covers two to three additional shelves comfortably.
• Taller wardrobe (2400 mm): the side panels grow from 2200 mm to 2400 mm. They still fit within the 2440 mm sheet length, so the sheet count stays the same for the carcass.
• Shallower wardrobe (550 mm): a common depth where hanging space is tight. All parts shrink in depth and the nesting becomes slightly more efficient, but the sheet count for this example does not change.

A note on kerf

Every saw cut removes a few millimetres of material. That is the kerf. On a circular saw blade it is typically 2.5 to 3.5 mm. Over five or six cuts from a single sheet, those millimetres add up.

When planning your cuts, always subtract a kerf allowance between parts. If you ask a yard to cut for you, they will work to your list, not check your arithmetic, so the numbers need to be right before you hand the list over.

UK sheet sizes and where to buy

In the UK, the standard full sheet of plywood is 2440 × 1220 mm, the metric near-equivalent of an 8 × 4 ft sheet. That is what this guide uses throughout. Half sheets (1220 × 610 mm) are widely stocked and worth considering if you only need smaller parts, particularly for shelves.

For a wardrobe carcass, 18 mm ply is the common choice. It machines cleanly, holds screws well, and is stiff enough over a 1764 mm span without sagging. For the back, 6 mm or 9 mm ply is standard. Both are stocked at Travis Perkins, Wickes, B&Q and most independent timber merchants.

If you need the sheets cut down at the yard, most timber merchants and large DIY retailers offer a cutting service. Bring a written cut list with every part listed by name, quantity, and dimension in millimetres. That is all you need at the counter.

Working out your own cut list

The steps above produce a cut list for this specific wardrobe. For your own project, you need to do the same thing: list every part, work out its finished size accounting for the ply thickness, decide how the parts nest onto sheets, allow for kerf, and add up the sheets.

SawReady does that arithmetic for you. Enter the parts from your cut list, set your sheet size and kerf, and it works out the most efficient layout, tells you how many sheets to buy, and gives you a list you can print or show on your phone at the counter. If you're cutting the parts yourself, it also lets you tick off each cut as you go so you don't lose your place.

Plan your wardrobe cuts