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Sideboard - solid wood or plywood construction?

4/23/15       
Rsukra Member

I have a commercial client who will be commissioning 18 sideboards (or credenzas), approximately 7'L x 29" H x 25"D. They will be freestanding pieces of furniture, not cabinets, and will contain one AV rack in a center bay. 3 sliding doors. This is an office situation in New York City and the sideboards will be situated in conference rooms.

The client's preference is a for a solid wood carcass, something I have a lot of experience doing, but only as one-off custom pieces of furniture. I tried explaining the benefits of a sheet good in this case, and I've been asked to provide a quote on the difference in price.

The benefits of plywood I see in this case are:
-Avoids a serious amount of milling for 18 cases, plus the waste by-product. I've calculated it would be 4000 linear feet of panels at 25" wide.
-The fact that I only have a 20" W planer, and the case depth is 25"W
-Simplified case joinery
-Overall speed
-No concerns of wood movement

Cons: durability and aesthetics (considering that the client wants the 'look' of solid wood)

How would others alter their price? 30% more for solid wood? Are there any other differences between the two options that I'm not factoring in?

By the way, doors will be shop-veneered panels. I entertained the possibility of veneering the cases myself with 1/16"T veneer, but that might be as much work as starting with solid from the beginning.

4/23/15       #2: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
rich c.

Source out the solid panels. Then you know the exact pricing and don't have to worry about machinery.

4/24/15       #3: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
markbattles Member

Website: http://v-dubfurniture.com

Plywood is a sheet material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another.

4/24/15       #4: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
D Brown

Perhaps you could design a frame and panel ends with solid or veneer panels ?

4/25/15       #5: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
Nick Christensen Member

Website: http://www.littlesaplingtoys.com

I would say you need to try to better educate your client, I have run into this a few times. People will often consider veneered sheet goods to be solid wood. They think that plywood means melamine or something similar. You may be thinking of the same thing and using different terms for it. Tell them that you will use solid wood if they want to pay for you coming back to fix it every year for the next 20 years or they could have the same look with durability of plywood at a third the cost.

4/27/15       #6: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
Rsukra Member

Thanks for your input guys. Unfortunately frame and panel isn't an option because the client wants a very modern look. I hadn't thought about shopping out the milling but will look into that, just not sure who to contact in the area.

I have a feeling that they're going to want to go for solid wood in the end, I'm mainly trying to figure out how differently to price the two options. It's a tough calculation to make and the sheer volume of the pieces makes me a little anxious.

4/28/15       #7: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
Snaglpuss

Why not consider veneered mdf sheet stock and not plywood.
The mdf almost alway will look flatter and smoother, no ripples and core telegraph.
There is a reason almost all arch. millwork casework is made with sheet goods.

4/30/15       #8: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
Peter Petersen  Member

Website: http://signalement.com/home.php

I would suggest you plywood construction. Plywood is a sheet material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another.

http://signalement.com/

5/4/15       #9: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
B.H. Davis Member

I wouldn't make a solid 25" deep cabinet side wall. The only prayer of something like that not moving to the point of failing is if an extremely stable 1/4-sawn material were used......and even then I'd think you could see failure at that depth.

On the other hand an enclosed city office environment is working in your favor. That space will likely be much more climate controlled than in a residential installation. Even so I'd be looking for something that gave the look and feel of solid without the chance of failure.

I don't think 1/16" thick veneer on a panel base is going to be the solution either. 1/16" thick material is thick enough to have it's own way with expansion and contraction. 1/128" thick veneer is sized that way not only for cost cutting but also for stability.

I once did a series of hard maple CNC photo carvings on approx. 9" x 12" material. These ended up about 1/8" to 3/16" thick at the picture frame edges and about 1/16" to 3/32" thick in the carved field. They were then glued to a 3/4" MDF backer which was painted black on the edges and back.

Any of these plaques that went into northern non-humidified heated space had the "veneer" overpower and split the MDF, with the maple carving curling up from the top and bottom. Those that went to humid locations such as Florida are still fine to this day. While hard maple was a poor choice with regard to stability (but the ideal photo carving material) this was a real lesson in the strength of wood.

BH Davis

9/9/19       #10: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
Coastal Chic  Member

Website: casagoda.com

I have come across a situation like this just this week and still have to get back to the customer with a quote. Which solution did you go for in the end?

9/29/20       #11: Sideboard - solid wood or plywood c ...
auraadesign  Member

Website: https://www.auraadesign.co.uk/

You understand the materials and your work very well. You must communicate this information and knowledge very clearly to your clients. Plywood is a material that is manufactured from thin layers or piles of wood veneer that are glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards that include medium-density fibreboard and particle board.

Plywood might prove to be more expensive compared to other options of materials that you consider. There are several sizes and finishes available and can be used for finish work, it also doesn’t get swollen from water or moisture, it can also be used for beneath flooring and will no longer contain formaldehyde in 2019.

There are certain cons as well as it is more expensive compared to other materials and options presented, it is also not as environmentally friendly as those other options, again it is not so potentially durable compared to those options, and the panels are also not as large compared to other panels.

Appearance wise plywood can offer various styles and appearances and made this way designed for building cabinets, shelves, and other items. It may have knots or a rough surface and this plywood is used beneath the finished material. For the better result you may choose any as per your client’s requirement. Also if you want to make interior space more appealing then you may set up a round meeting table and chairs and create the best environment for a conference room.


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