Veneer Wood Wall Panels

[Mark Vago]

Hello -

I am finishing my basement, and I am planning on having part of one of the walls finished in veneered black walnut. I will be hanging the panels via z-clips with a ½ inch reveal between panels.

I do have a couple of Q's, and I am hopeful someone can provide a little guidance and opinion.


When applying a backed veneer to a substrate, in this case ½ inch particle board, is it necessary to apply a veneer to the opposite side to prevent a warp?
Do you think particle board is a good choice? I suppose I could go with MDF, but particle board is a little save where strength is not really a concern. It’s not like anyone will be bumping into the walls or anything.

Many thanks!!
~

[John Downey]

Have you considered buying pre-veneered sheet goods at the lumber yard? Seems like less trouble - depending on your own time/cost equation of course.

[Mark Vago]

I did, but there were a couple of issues. First, I have 2 corners to contend with. I don't have the skill to try and miter plywood, plus I have read on this site that results are mixed. The other factor was that I wanted the veneer pattern to be horizontal, not verticle, since the panels will be 6 feet high, with the reveal running verticle.

The wall length is around 14 feet, with a corner down a hallway. At any rate, I already have the veneer :) and looks great. Today I picked up a can of BLO and amber shellac.....

[Peter Quinn]

Yes, always veneer both sides or take your chances. You don't have to blow good A face veneer on the b side, look for some backer grade stuff from your supplier of similar movement and thickness. Particle board is a fine choice, assuming it is a real and decent quality stuff, such as for laminate counter fabrication. I have seen some real low grade big box stuff that is actually still wet when shipped, not great, and some confuse OSB with particle board, OSB is never a veneer substrate.

[bill tindall]

I would find the horizontal pattern strange looking. As far as corners, you will need some sort of corner molding. Unless you live a charmed life corners will get dinged over time.

[Mark Vago]

Hmm. I do have kids, as a matter of fact. Why does someone always have to be party basher!

Now, the horizontal pattern, IMHO, looks really good in some pix I found on the net. I like it a lot.

Well, I am out of suggestions on how to handle the corner. A solid piece of walnut may work, but I dunno how this is supposed to be integrated. Do I add a solid, then veneer over that? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Rob Feldner]

I've usually seen this kind of thing done as a frame and panel arrangement. Bill is spot on about the corners, they will get abuse, kids or no kids. A sketch would make it easier to see what you are planning to do here.
For the veneering, I'd use MDF. It is fairly stable and smooth. If weight is an issue (this being a wall panel) go with lauan ply. Be sure to fill any voids and sand it before veneering. Definitely balance the panel with a cheap veneer on the back. It will warp if you don't. As far as gluing up the whole thing, a vacuum bag is really the way to go. A vacuum table would be preferable. I've tried this sort of thing with battens/cauls and a truckload of clamps with varying success. What are you using for adhesive? You are going to need a LOT of adhesive. Contact adhesive is probably not your friend here.
If you don't have a system in place to do this, veneering the sheets will be as much work (if not more) than installing them. It is a fairly big animal to tackle, but worth it once you get it figured out. The trick is to try to think of all the pitfalls beforehand. Walnut veneer ain't cheap!

[Jeff Duncan]

Well this is one of those times where you may have saved yourself a good amount of grief and likely money if you had asked this earlier. You can buy most materials in either grain direction….4x8 or 8x4. You may have to call around a bit, but it's out there. Now if you found nobody carried the 8 x 4 for you, you could then call around and get prices to have it pressed for you. Most of the time custom pressing is still cheaper than buying all the materials and doing it in house;)

So you already have the materials, moving forward I'd say it's safer to veneer both sides, however….if you can veneer the panels and get them into place with sufficient z-clips they may keep the panel flat? You'd have to try it out to see for sure. I'm not a huge fan of PB as it's breaks and chips too easily. Personally I'd use the mdf, but it's not a deal breaker either way. I'd also probably opt for thicker material. Using 1/2"material does not leave you very much room for screws. Short screws will mean little holding power. I'd want a minimum of 5/8" material myself so I could fell more comfortable getting screws to hold.

Lastly the corner is as easy as it gets. Glue up your mitered or butt jointed panel. If butt joined putty and sand over the screw heads first so it's a smooth surface. Now add you veneer…..done!

good luck,
JeffD