INTD 54—Basic Materials and Finishes
Wood Paneling Checklist
SELECTION CHECKLIST
As you are finalizing your decision to panel a surface produce, consider, and confirm the following:
 To-scale elevations, show proposed panel layouts (see W3A for more information).
 In existing structures, proposed panel components can be delivered to its location and will not interfere with other components of your
design (see W3B for more information).
 Details at each junction have been designed (see W3C and W3D for more information).
 The sizes of veneer sheets are conducive to large panels and the quantity in the available flitches of veneer is adequate for the job (see
W3E for more information).
 Solid wood to match is available (see W3F for more information).
 Species under consideration can be colored and finished as desired (see W3G for more information).
 Site complications can be overcome. Confirm that an existing site that is grossly out-of-square can be worked around; doorways,
windows, and services can be accommodated and designed around.
 Systems and modular components can be made to fit the surfaces for which they are intended (seeW3H for more information).
SPECIFICATION CHECKLIST
Specifications should include in written language and drawings all of the following that apply:
 Drawings of every elevation are required to insure a successful installation.
 Species/material (see W3I for more information).
 Finish including description of any color alterations as well as sealer (see W3J for more information).
 Type and pattern of match is described and indicated on drawing (see W3K for more information).
 Filler for closed-pore finishes is to match the finished wood (see W3L for more information).
 Confirm that your drawings include all of the following plus any additional information required to fulfill your design intent.
 Drawings indicate direction of grain for all pieces.
 Drawings show all elevations and sections of profiles (see W3M for more information).
 Drawings show all special details at junctions between two surfaces or materials.
 Critical dimensions are also noted on plans and areas where you prefer that a shop draftsperson adjust dimensions (if necessary).
 Your instructions to the fabricator will include the following, plus any additional information required to fully describe the intention of your
design:
 Fabricator to inspect site and confirm that all details can be accommodated, and panels that will be fabricated can be delivered to their
location (size of access spaces are not too small or narrow).
 Fabricator to lay up the veneer in-house (see W3N for more information).
 Finish samples and shop drawings are required for approval prior to commencing fabrication. Drawings to indicate type of fasteners
recommended and show details at full scale; drawings to show location of furring and blocking: If paneling is produced from
premanufactured sets, set numbers and sequence numbers within sets are included as well as instructions regarding how to cut panels to
achieve required panel size. For panels veneered in the shop, leaves are shown on drawings with grain direction, and flitch sequence is
numbered.
 Finish sample to be accurate for both color and finish (see W3O for more information).
 Instruct shop, where possible, to shop-cut all openings using templates to ensure accuracy and to finish all cut edges to match surface.
Paneling should be assembled in units as large as the delivery location allows to minimize field joints. Field joints should match shop joints
of similar details and constructions.
 Describe in specifications any site preparation that will be required of the fabricator or installer (see W3P for more information).
SHOP VISIT
You may elect to visit the shop to impact veneer before or after it has been laid up on the individual pieces. The pieces are organized to present the
adjacencies that will exist when the installation is complete. Confirm the following plus any other details required by your design:
 Veneer sheets have been well-chosen and well-placed with no unattractive mineral streaks or markings (see W3Q for more information).
Veneers are balanced and center-matched.
 Veneer is laid-up as specified.
 Details are consistent with those shown on drawings.
 There is no damage or defects (see W3R for more information).
 You may elect to visit the shop again after the pieces have been finished to confirm that the finish matches the sample approved.
 Color and finish are as specified.
 Shop finish is free of haziness, dust, scratches, abrasions, chips (especially at out- edges), and all fillers used are blended to the color of
the finished wood.
INSTALLATION CHECKLIST
Visit the site twice during installation. Your first visit should be near the beginning of the installation (after the material has been unloaded) to answer
any questions that the installer might have. Visit the site again near the completion of the installation but before the installers have packed up their
tools and touch-up kit to inspect the following:
 Installation conforms to specifications and drawings
 Fills are indiscernible
 Joints are tight and smooth
 Members appear to be square and plumb (see W3O for more information).
 Junctions where paneling meets other materials are neat, smooth, and finished where exposed.
 Accessories are in place and are square and flush (wood grilles, switch plates, etc.).
 If shop is finished, check that it is free of haziness, bubbles, dust, scratches, abrasions and chips.
 Panels are ready for on-site finish (see W3S for more information).
 All pieces appear straight and are tightly secured.
 All cuts are neat with no jagged veneer faces at joints.
ADDITIONAL WOOD PANELING INFORMATION
W3A Size of each surface and opening within it, as well as locations for any electrical or heating supplies, have been analyzed relative to details
and panel divisions.
W3B Profiles and projections will not interfere with furniture that is planned to stand up against the wall. Panels will fit through corridors, elevator
cabs, and stairways leading to its location. Support in the wall is available, if required.
W3C Sketch details to check corners, casings, crowns, baseboards, bookcases, window seats, heating grilles, and junctions where two surfaces
meet.
W3D Few sites are perfectly square and plumb. The goal should be to make the panels appear square and plumb, even if right angles are not
possible at every corner. You do not want the paneling to call attention to any defect in the site. Make sure all windows will open, all services can be
accommodated, all outlets (air and electricity) can be covered with plates or grills as appropriate, etc.
W3E Any veneer can be laid up on any size board. It just becomes a matter of economics. Many small pieces are more costly to lay-up than
fewer large pieces. If an available flitch does not have enough material to complete the job, can a match be found in another flitch?
W3F Different species of wood react differently over time to colorants and finishes. If two species of wood are made to match initially, they could
easily be different from one another in color within five or more years. Even the same species—solid and veneer—may not age the same over time.
Design so that the composition is still attractive, even if veneers and solids shift apart in color over time.
W3G With multiple processes (bleaching, staining, and tinting lacquer), you can alter the natural color of wood. There may be color undertones
that cannot be eliminated. For best economy, always select a wood species that most closely resembles your desired outcome.
W3H If you are working with pre-sized units, or if you will be using warehouse or sequenced-matched material, confirm that you can devise a
design that works within standard increments available. Lay out the completed design in a to-scale drawing.
W3I Include the species, the cut, figuring (if applicable), and the veneer match on the panels. If any particular marks (mineral streaks), defects (pin
knots), or variations in graining or color are to be deemed unacceptable, describe them in your specs so the fabricator knows the quality level
expected and can accurately estimate for hand-selecting material and more careful monitoring of placement during fabrication.
W3J Finishes include color modifications like dyes, stains, and bleaches, as well as surface coatings like fillers, sealants, paint, and varnishes.
This also includes conversion and spar varnishes (polyurethane is a varnish), oils and waxes, and lacquers including standard and catalyzed,
colored and clear.
W3K The manner in which the veneer is laid up (blueprint match, sequence match or warehouse match—all of which can be laid up as a balance
or center match) is different from the "pattern.” (Book match, random match, slip match, chevron match, diamond, reverse diamond herringbone, butt
match, four-way center butt match). All of the above is independent from the patterning created with marquetry.
W3L Be sure to instruct the shop to match the finished wood color if the filler will not deepen in color the same way the wood does. A filled-grain
sample for approval will confirm that the wood filler color is correct.
W3M Your drawings should show your intent in every instance and detail. Include the veneer and panel matches including the direction of the
wood grain. The shop drawings which will be submitted by the fabricator will additionally show many details in full scale, the dimensions of the
veneer leaves, sequence numbers indicating the flitch and the sequence number of each veneer leaf in that flitch, the substrates used will be
indicated in scale by type and thickness.
W3N To retain the most control over the veneer application, panels should be blueprint-matched according to your directions on drawings and
written specifications. If you are specifying sequence-matched panels for greater economy, plan your design to accommodate the standard
increments (4 x 8 is common).
W3O If veneer is applied prior to approval of the finished sample and the cabinetmaker cannot achieve the color/effect that you want, the veneer
will have to be removed and replaced. This happens occasionally so always say in writing on drawings, specifications or orders that samples are to
be produced from materials reserved for the job. You may want to request mock-ups for each form of construction to be utilized in completing the
design to demonstrate then aesthetic effects and qualities if construction and finishing Samples and mock-ups should be approved prior to the
purchase of any material. You must proceed with producing and approving the sample in a timely manner so as to not delay the work.
W3P If additional blocking or leveling of material at site is expected of the installer describe that work in your specifications.
W3Q It is true that wood is a natural product and variations in markings are part of what is considered to be the beauty of the material. There are,
however such things as unlovely markings which should not be used in a prominent place where they will detract from the appearance of the
completed installation. Consider the impact that the natural mark or "defect" will have on the finished room and insist that any unattractive markings
be removed (revenuer that piece) or touched up as necessary.
W3R Check for large fills, tattered veneer edges (as from a dull saw) machine marks or dents on the surfaces, stains or oily marks that will
interfere with consistent absorption of stain color; confirm that edge-banding (veneer on slender sides of door thickness) is a good match to face
veneers.
W3S Panels are sanded smooth with no dents, no "chunks" missing or areas splintered, and all fasteners are concealed, no oil or other marks from
handling pieces are present to interfere with quality of site finish.