Wood veneers are thin slices of wood that are used to create natural wood surfaces on objects. By definition, products that use wood veneers are not solid wood, but are instead made of a different material covered in real wood.
Solid wood has its time and place. At WOODARQ®, we absolutely love our solid wood collection – but recognize there’s several advantages to using wood veneers, and deciding between the two is the first step when it comes to upgrading your home with wood wall paneling.
The Advantages Of Wood Veneers
Cost
By far the biggest advantage wood veneers have over their solid wood counterparts is their price. With rising wood prices over the last several years, solid wood has continued to get more and more expensive – wood veneer products typically contain only ~30% wood, which means that the end product is significantly cheaper.
Durability
The MDF material that typically lies under wood veneered products is extremely resistant to changes in humidity, temperature and pests. On the other hand, solid wood can be vulnerable, particularly when exposed to large shifts in humidity.
By using wood veneers instead of solid wood in homes that experience sudden fluctuations in temperature / humidity, you can ensure that your project won’t be subject to warping, which is very common with solid wood projects under these conditions.
Stability
With solid wood, you can sometimes get unnoticeable imperfections in the wood grain, which lead to warping and splitting over time. The imperfections within wood are part of what make it so beautiful, yet it can also lead to disaster.
Wood veneers are made from wood that fits an exact density profile, meaning you’re more likely to get a perfect product, every time. That can help take away a bit of the guesswork when it comes to selecting your acoustic wood wall panels.
Appearance
While we love the perfect imperfections that solid wood provides, sometimes you want a uniform look that matches other areas of your house. If this is you, Wood Veneers are the logical choice as they provide an appearance uniformity that is almost impossible to find with other wood products.
Plus, they look amazing!
How Our Wood Veneers Are Made
Our wood veneers are made from a timeless process that’s been around for over 100 years. It’s a simple, 5 step process that minimizes the use of chemicals, meaning you get a safer, more natural product.
Step 1: Debarking
After a tree has been selected as a suitable candidate (a rigorous process which must meet a checklist proving quality & sustainability) it must go through a Debarker to remove all the bark from the tree. The leftover bark is re-sold for use in other projects
Step 2: Softening
The debarking process strips away significant portions of the tree’s natural moisture content. The peeling process (Step 3) requires the wood to have high levels of moisture to prevent tearing, which means the wood is soaked in a steam / water bath for several hours to increase the moisture content of the wood before the cutting phase can begin.
Step 3: Peeling
This is the creation stage of the wood veneers, where the log is transformed into thin sheets of wood that resemble the finished product. Our logs are peeled circularly – which means that the log is cut while rotating, leaving thin, circular wood veneers
Step 4: Drying
After cutting, the moisture content of the wood needs to be brought down immediately to prevent mold. This is done with a large dryer on low heat for several days
Step 5: Trim & Glue
The final stage is to trim the finished wood veneers into the desired dimensions; and apply an adhesive so they’re ready to stick onto projects.
Deciding Between Wood Veneers & Solid Wood
If you’re at the end of the article, but still haven’t decided if you want to use solid wood or wood veneers – this next section is for you.
Wall Type
Our solid wood wall panels weigh approximately 2 LBS per square foot - whereas our wood veneered acoustic wood wall panels weigh approximately 1.45 LBS per square foot.
If you’re planning on using these panels on the ceiling, the extra weight per square foot can be a consideration, especially if you aren’t mounting the panels to studs in the wall.
If you’re concerned at all about the quality of your walls, stick with the wood veneered options – they’ve been carefully designed to stay up on every type of wall.
Environment
The air quality of your space will play a big role in which panels we recommend. If your home regularly experiences 25%+ fluctuations in humidity (the humidity changes by greater than 25% in your room in under 24 hours) we recommend going with veneers over solid.
Similarly, if your home is experiencing 30° temperature fluctuations in under 24 hours, it is recommended not to install solid wood products as temperature fluctuations like this could lead to warping, splitting and other defects to the wood.
In conclusion
We hope you have all the information you need to decide between solid wood and wood veneers. If you want a bit more information on how the panels will look in your space, feel free to pick up one of our samples. After you order your sample, it will ship out the next day from our warehouse in Houston, Texas - and the cost of the sample is 100% refundable from your full paneling order.