Plywood Waste Calculator

Plywood waste depends on how efficiently your parts fit on the available sheets. A simple area calculation (total part area divided by sheet area) gives a rough baseline, but real waste is higher because parts don't pack perfectly — there are gaps, offcuts, and kerf between every cut.

For a standard 4'x8' (48" x 96") sheet of plywood, the total area is 4,608 square inches. If your parts add up to 3,600 square inches, the simple math says 78% utilization. In practice, you'll see 85-92% utilization from a good optimizer, meaning 8-15% waste is typical for a well-planned project.

Factors that increase waste include: many small parts with different dimensions, parts that require specific grain orientation (limiting rotation options), and wide saw kerf that eats into usable material between every cut.

The best way to minimize waste is to use a sheet nesting optimizer that arranges parts for maximum yield. Sawvy does this automatically and generates a printable cut sheet you can take to the saw.