Timber Wall Panelling and Ceiling Linings: Specification Guide

Oak on a wall or a ceiling behaves differently to oak underfoot. It is read at eye level, in raking light, across a plane with nothing to interrupt it. The board has to be lighter, narrower and more precise, and it has to relate to the floor rather than approximate it.

A profile designed around the floor

Our 12mm wall and ceiling board is 120mm wide. That is exactly half the width of our 240mm flooring board, and it is not a coincidence.

Laid together, every second join on the wall or ceiling aligns with a join on the floor. The room reads as one continuous piece of joinery rather than three separate surfaces that happen to share a colour. It is the kind of decision that goes unnoticed when it is right and is impossible to ignore when it is wrong.

Twelve of our thirteen colours are produced in this board, matched to the same colour in flooring, herringbone and stair nosings. The thirteenth, Noir Bandsawn, is a walls and ceilings colour only and is produced in a wider 14mm board.

Specification

12mm board

Blanc, Clair, Picasso, Nectar, Saint-Tropez, Marron, Riviera, La Forêt, Vuitton, Lune, Chocolat and Bordeaux.

• Thickness 12mm
• Width 120mm
• Length 2400mm
• Wear layer 1.2mm solid European oak
• Core Eucalyptus, with birch backing
• Species Quercus Robur, European oak
• Grade Prime
• Finish UV cured lacquer, gloss level 8 to 12 percent
• Joint profile Tongue and groove
• Bevel Subtle micro bevel, on every colour
• Pack 3.456 square metres, twelve full planks, 30kg
• Warranty 10 years residential and commercial

14mm board

Noir Bandsawn, our walls and ceilings only colour.

• Thickness 14mm
• Width 240mm
• Length 2200mm
• Species Quercus Robur, European oak
• Surface Bandsawn
• Joint profile Tongue and groove
• Bevel Subtle micro bevel
• Warranty 10 years residential and commercial

Fixing

Both boards are direct fixed to the substrate, tongue and groove, and glued. There is no plasterboard layer behind them, which takes a trade and a stopping cycle out of the programme.

The same method applies to walls and to ceilings. Full detail, including setting out, adhesive and site conditions, is in the Marchand Wall and Ceiling Installation Guide. Issue it to your installer with the order.

Fire performance for commercial interiors

Fire performance is where most timber lining specifications are decided.

Our manufacturer's technical specification records Group 3 for the wall and ceiling boards with the standard factory lacquer. Where a project needs more, the 12mm board achieves Group 1-S, the highest lining classification, with FireZone 92, the intumescent coating from Zone Architectural Products. Zone confirmed the rating against the board's construction, and the coating is applied over our factory lacquer by an approved FireZone applicator. For Noir Bandsawn, talk to us before specifying a higher group.

Confirm the group number your occupancy requires with your fire engineer, and specify the coating at the outset rather than retrofitting it. How the rating works, suggested specification wording and what we can supply are on our fire performance page.

The formaldehyde testing we currently hold does not cover these boards. If a project needs a formaldehyde position for the wall and ceiling range specifically, raise it at specification stage and we will tell you what exists and what it covers.

Documents

• Technical specification, wall and ceiling boards
• Wall and ceiling installation guide
• Fire performance, including Group 1-S specification
• All technical and compliance documents

Where it is specified

Residential interiors, hospitality, retail, apartments, workplace and gallery spaces. For wet area applications, note that the ISO 4760 moisture testing covers the 12mm board. It does not cover the 14mm Noir Bandsawn board.

Thirteen colours

Blanc, Clair, Picasso, Nectar, Saint-Tropez, Marron, Riviera, La Forêt, Vuitton, Lune, Chocolat, Bordeaux and Noir Bandsawn. Three pale, six mid, four dark. Ten warm and three carrying a grey undertone.

Order samples to see them in your own light before specifying, or browse the full range of oak wall panelling and ceiling boards.

Common questions

Can oak boards be used on ceilings as well as walls?

Yes. Both boards are designed for vertical and overhead application, direct fixed, tongue and groove and glued. The same board, the same colour and the same finish runs across walls and ceilings.

How are the boards fixed?

Direct to the substrate, tongue and groove, and glued. No plasterboard layer is required behind them. The installation guide sets out the full method for both walls and ceilings.

What is the difference between a wall board and wall panelling?

Panelling usually describes a pre-assembled panel or a decorative applied system. Our wall boards are individual solid oak boards laid plank by plank, tongue and groove, in the same way a floor is laid. The result is a continuous timber plane rather than a repeated panel module. If you have seen the term wood paneling used for both, that is common, and the distinction is worth clarifying at specification stage.

Are these wood ceiling panels?

Not in the usual sense. A ceiling panel is generally a pre-made module or tile, often acoustic, dropped into a grid or fixed as a unit. Ours are individual oak boards, tongue and groove, direct fixed and glued to the substrate plank by plank.

The result is a continuous timber ceiling rather than a repeated panel with visible module lines. If a project has been specified around a panel or grid system and you want a timber ceiling instead, raise it at specification stage, because the fixing requirements are different.

Is timber panelling suitable for commercial fit-outs in New Zealand?

With the correct fire rating, yes. Our 12mm board achieves Group 1-S when coated with FireZone 92 by an approved applicator, which covers the most demanding lining requirements. Confirm the group number your project requires with your fire engineer, and specify the coating at the outset rather than retrofitting it. See fire performance.

Can the walls and ceilings match the floor exactly?

Yes, for twelve of the thirteen colours. Those are produced across flooring, walls and ceilings, herringbone and stair nosings, and the 120mm board is dimensioned so joins align with the 240mm floor board. Noir Bandsawn is a walls and ceilings colour only and has no flooring equivalent.

Do the wall boards carry the handmade bevel?

No. Every wall and ceiling board carries a subtle micro bevel, whichever colour you specify. That holds even where the same colour is supplied with a handmade bevel as a floor, so the shadow line between boards stays consistent across the whole range.

How is it priced?

One rate per square metre across every colour, with no loading for darker or more complex finishes. How that compares with a stopped and painted wall is set out in oak wall boards or painted GIB. Request an estimate for your project.