How impact resistant is oak veneered birch ply? Other alternative internal wood cladding systems?

[Adsibob]

We are cladding an internal wall with oak veneered birch plywood. I was surprised to learn that the thickness of the oak veneer on each sheet is only 0.6mm thick (that's not a typo, yes, only 6 tenths of a millimetre). I haven't signed the contract with the joiner yet, but when I queried why it is so thin, he said that this is standard, and if i want thicker veneer then he needs to order some bespoke made oak veneered birch ply in either 1.5mm thickness oak veneer or 2.5mm thickness, but that this will increase costs significantly. The wall is quite big, so we can't afford to do that. The question then becomes, will this 0.6mm veneer be thick enough to withstand every day knocks and bumps? It is on the side of a broad hallway/living room, so I don't envisage many knocks, but I do have young children who love to run around whacking things. Should I be thinking of the veneer a bit like an extra thick wallpaper, rather than wood?

Any other alternatives to clad a wall in wood? The wall is quite tall, about 3.1m in places, and we need the wood to be unfinished so that we can stain it and oil it to match our interior scheme.

I won't consider any "fake wood" products.

 

 

 

[joe90]

Wow that is very thin 🤯.

[Iceverge]

Unfinished Engineered flooring? 

 

The oak should be at least 10times as thick and if it's tough enough to walk on.....

 

 

[joe90]

31 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

Unfinished Engineered flooring? 

 

The oak should be at least 10times as thick and if it's tough enough to walk on.....

 

 

I was about to post that myself 👍

[Temp]

I think 0.6mm is fairly standard for veneer used on furniture. I think it will be fine or at least it won't be any more prone to dents and dings than regular plywood.

[Adsibob]

My gut feel is to agree with this:

1 minute ago, Temp said:

I think 0.6mm is fairly standard for veneer used on furniture. I think it will be fine or at least it won't be any more prone to dents and dings than regular plywood.

I had considered flooring, but I think this is way overkill and probably won't look as good with so many more joins. The wall is about 4m long and 3.1m high. We would need extra long planks to reach that height without interuptions, and the widest I've found is about 320mm and even that isn't long enough at only 2.6m. 

[Stones]

We have oak veneered MDF forming our window cills (trimmed with solid oak), and used for all the shelving (visible and within wardrobes), treated with 2 coats of Osmo Polyx Oil.  5 years in, no issues at all. Robust enough for day to day living and doesn't mark moving things around - generally books, ornaments etc.  Should be fine on a wall.

[Temp]

I'd paint it with Osmo Hardwax/Polyx Oil to seal it and keep dirt from hands becoming ingrained. Does take awhile to dry but works well on floors so wall panel should be fine.

 

Danish oil would darken the oak quite a bit.

 

Osmo UV Protection oil is also a possibility but it tends to stop it darkening so white oak can stay a bit too white for my taste.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Temp