Designing with wood veneer
Cool and contemporary or traditional warmth – whatever look you’re aiming to achieve, you can do it with wood veneer. However, it’s important to specify the appropriate veneer for every application.
Specifying wood veneer
Specifying veneer and veneered panel products can be challenging if you’re not familiar with the different species of wood veneers, their availability, and how to use them correctly.
When making your selection, you’ll need to consider a range of factors, including:
- Aesthetics – the final look you wish to create
- Colour – light, dark or in between, the choice is yours
- Hardness – what stresses will the surface be subjected to
- Stability and moisture resistance – environmental factors
- Budget – veneers vary greatly in price
Variations in wood veneer
In addition to the unique characteristics of individual timber species, the way in which the wood is sliced, will produce different performance and grain characteristics.
Other factors which influence the appearance and properties of veneer are the way the wood veneer leaves are laid together and matched, how the panels are stained or dyed and how they are finished.
Working with your veneer supplier
It’s a good idea to involve your intended supplier and perhaps installer in the design stage of your project. Their experience can help you achieve your design intent by considering budget, grain and colour requirements, panel sizes and installation procedures.
Premanufactured veneer panels
When permitted by the specifications, most small or medium sized architectural woodwork projects may gain cost and scheduling advantages by using premanufactured sets of panels.
Premanufactured, or stock, panels use varied sequences of veneers, creating panels of varied leaf widths and match. They are usually available ex-stock from panel layers or merchants.
Custom manufactured panels
Where all, or part of a project requires specifically selected veneer, or particular methods of joining panels, custom manufacturing is the solution.
For example, custom manufacture is very important when the doors in a specific area should match paneling adjacent to them. This requires the selection of veneer from a single source and the pressing of the door faces and the panel products by a single manufacturer.
More information about designing with wood veneer?
You’ll find more information and technical details at www.woodveneer.asn.au