Real Wood versus Veneer

[Timothy Larr]

Hello. I am building a library shelving for my home - I originally contacted a company to give me a price to do the job. The price was pretty high and I have decided to go it on my own. During my conversations with this company the discussion between veneer vs real wood came up. With this company saying that veneer is better -- I said sure if you are quantifying cost. The company said no - cost or no cost veneer is better. I totally disagreed (with no evidence to support my thoughts - except the belief that real oak has to be better than veneer).

So I called my local lumber yard to get pricing on solid oak to do my library...while getting the pricing the guy on the phone said "you know veneer would be better for this job." So now I am wondering what are the differences and what would be the best choice for this project and in general - veneer or real woods? Any assistance or opinions would be appreciated.

Background: the home i am remodeling is a 100 year old triple brick on steel american four square with solid oak floors, trim everywhere.

Thanks.
Tim

[Pat Germain]

Technically, veneer is real wood. It just means there's a thin sheet of it glued onto another material. The material underneath can vary; typically particle board or plywood.

I know the people here at SMC can offer much more wisdom than I. I do know you should avoid veneered particle board for your library shelves. It doesn't hold weight well at all and would sag under the weight of books.

Veneered plywood, on the other hand, is very stable, very durable and more reasonably priced than solid oak. (But still not cheap, by any measure.) I suspect when your contractor and the local lumber supplier used the word "veneer", they were speaking of veneered plywood.

Using a high-quality veneered plywood likely would be a good option for your library. Even the best custom cabinet makers use it.

[Greg Funk]

So I called my local lumber yard to get pricing on solid oak to do my library...while getting the pricing the guy on the phone said "you know veneer would be better for this job." So now I am wondering what are the differences and what would be the best choice for this project and in general - veneer or real woods? Any assistance or opinions would be appreciated.

You haven't provided any details on your project other than shelving in a library so it is difficult to answer which is better. For the shelves themselves I would use solid wood for strength. If you have a bunch of cabinets to build to hold the shelves I would go with plywood. It will be much easier to construct and they will be just as strong. Plywood is more stable than solid wood and will not move with changes in humidity.

Do you have a sketch of what you are looking for?

Greg

[Greg Crawford]

For wide panels or shelves, good hardwood plywood is more stable. Like Greg said, it depends on what you'll be doing with it.

[James Phillips]

For anything wide across the grain, I like veneer. you do not have to worry about wood movement and therefore splitting. You will also get a more uniform look. Do not expect veneer to save $$. It might even cost more. You will need a good substrate (I recommend Baltic Birch or Appleply), plus the veneer, which can be as high as soild boards.