The Difference Between Wood Composite, Veneer & Laminate

Characteristics

• Wood composites, such as particleboard, fiberboard and strand board, are dense materials that lack knots and decorative grain patterns. In comparison to veneers and laminates, wood composites offer superior strength and dimensional stability, making them better-suited for structural applications. Unlike wood composites, veneers consist of thin layers of wood, which retain their natural knots and grain patterns. Veneers sometimes have fleece or paper backers for increasing strength and stability, as well as for minimizing cracking and splintering. While similar in appearance to veneers, laminates consist of layers of resin-saturated paper. Manufacturers print artificial grain patterns onto laminates to make them look like natural wood.

Applications

• Contractors and construction workers use wood composites for a variety of applications, including constructing the structural components of cabinet panels, furniture, sheathing and flooring. Another common application is to use wood composites as substrates -- or durable backing materials -- for veneers and laminates. Due to the aesthetic qualities of veneers and laminates, workers typically use them as decorative components. For example, you can often find veneers and laminates on the exterior surfaces of furniture, cabinetry, flooring, counters and walls.

Manufacturing

• The manufacturing processes for different wood composites are similar; the ingredients are the only components that change. For example, manufacturing particleboard requires that workers use heat and pressure to consolidate wood particles into panels. Similarly, manufacturing fiberboard requires that workers use heat and pressure to consolidate wood fibers or other plant fibers into panels, while manufacturing strand board entails consolidating long strands of wood into panels. In comparison, workers create veneers by sawing thin panels from lumber and then adhering those panels to substrates. Adhering the panels requires the use of either cold press systems, which employ contact adhesives, or heat-activated resins. Workers manufacture laminates by saturating paper in resin and then fusing layers of the paper together using pressure and heat. A plastic-like material results from the process.

Advantages and Disadvantages

• The primary advantage that wood composites have over veneers and laminates is that they can be used -- alone -- as structural components. However, the main disadvantage of wood composites is that without veneers and laminates, their surfaces have minimal aesthetic value. Between veneers and laminates, the former offer a superior richness and natural quality, while the latter are more resistant to scratches and have grain patterns and colors that are more consistent.