Intro: “We’re going to talk with Greg, our supply chain manager, about solid wood, veneer, and other factors that you should be aware of as you’re crafting your specification. You shouldn’t have to worry about any of those factors and we’re here to help you. So, Greg, what do you think?”
Does 9Wood use solid wood or veneer in its products?
Greg Wood: 9Wood actually uses both material types, subject to their application. Solid wood is most traditionally used by 9Wood for applications where you can have fairly good dimensional stability. Dimensional stability is really thought of in two specific dimensions. One is relative to your length movement and the other is relative to your width movement. Stability is ideal, especially in grilles where you have end-to-end alignment. As you look down, maybe 2, 3, 8 different grille panels all aligned together, you should be able to see a very true line that’s very aesthetically pleasing. Solid is also fairly ideal if you have in-field cutting, that’s required on the job site, so you can go back and do any sort of field geometry you need and then apply a finish on the end to make sure it’s stable.
Veneer is actually very ideal relative to jobsites that have a significant scope or large magnitude where you’re looking for a fairly homogeneous look. Reclaimed wood is traditionally available in solid wood form and not typically in veneer. The beauty about reclaimed wood is that you traditionally have things of a bygone era, meaning that it’s traditionally tighter grain, you often find notches, holes cut out for bolts. Maybe wear due to its application in its former life. Reclaimed wood does have a premium, it does have dimensional limits, but it also can be very beautiful.
What type of certifed wood options does 9Wood offer?
9Wood offers two forms of certified wood, both in PEFC and FSC®. Common species for solid woods that 9Wood offers would include things such as Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, that fit in that family of softwood species. Then over in the hardwood species you might find things such as Walnut, Cherry, Maple, and even White Oak, and especially in that White Oak family, we see that being one of the most commonly requested species.
As we look at veneer options, we trend away from softwoods and gravitate towards hardwoods. Veneers excel because they can provide a high-grade look that’s already been presorted into logs prior to slicing and aesthetically you’re going to find something comparable, if not superior, in the veneer form because you can control both faces, the edges and the ends. 9Wood’s veneer offering is based on two different substrate types, one is particle board, the second is MDF. We don’t do a veneer wrap over metal or a veneer wrap over PVC or any of those types of things. Although we don’t manufacture the substrates in house, we do have partners in our supply chain that perform that task for us.
What’s the difference between Particle board versus MDF?
Particle board has a slightly larger chunk size where MDF is a medium density fiberboard, which is actually more prone to dimensional difference and variability. It’s prone to taking on moisture and seeing a difference as it changes in its lifetime. Particle board is more advantageous relative to price, stability and overall availability. The beauty of edge banding and end banding is that you cannot see or understand that is truly a substrate but it does give the look and feel of warmth of a solid member. Subject to your application, you are going to be concerned with what does that grain look like, and truthfully 9Wood has a couple solutions for you. In our softwood we can offer either a mixed grain or vertical grain look.Your vertical grain is going to lend to stability as you might need it for something, maybe a wide member or maybe a deep member.
When it comes to our veneer offering, we have a couple different cuts relative to each species. It might be a rift like a rift white oak, a plain sliced, or maybe even a quartered sliced. What is your design asking for relative to grain? We can definitely meet that need. 9Wood has specialists within our design assist team that can truly help you define: should I use solid or should I use veneer? Their expertise really allows you to dive into what are your functional needs, and then what is that right solution. The wood brings to life the space in a way no other material can.
Michael Roemen: Thanks, Greg, that was great! As Greg said we have a design assist team to help you as a designer with samples, budgets, images and other information. You know, we covered a lot of technical aspects in our video today and it can be overwhelming, but that’s where 9Wood is here to provide you guidance and clarity as you craft your spec. Thanks so much for watching and please reach out to us. We look forward to working with you and we’ll see you next time.