Hello everyone,

In the BeoLiving parts of B&O stores and advertisements you will often see what looks like laminate floor against the wall. Personally I am really liking the looks of it and I am wondering if anyone here has done the same thing.

What material have you used and how have you fastened it against the wall? What are advantages and disadvantages of having wooden planks against your wall? Very curious to read your responses.

You can see what I mean in the picture below.

Hello.

The big problem with wooden floors and walls (and smooth plaster..) is that acoustically they are a mirror, and they reflect sound all over the place.  At one end of a large room (such as a B&O showroom...) this isn't that much of a problem, and of course sofas, rugs, curtains (and people!) do a lot to counter it.  A lot depends on your setup, room size/shape and how serious/casual you are about the reproduction of the music. All 4 walls covered in wood, no carpet, and a sparsely furnished room (like a B&O catalogue..) and the sound will bounce round like one of those mega bouncy balls in a squash-court... One wall only, with a sofa, curtains, carpet etc and it will be fine (though you'd want the wood wall behind the speakers, not opposite, but I guess that's probably what you were planning anyway...)

A big plus is that it is very easy to hide cables behind it - excellent news if you live in a building like mine in Moscow where the walls are built out of nuclear-containment-grade concrete.... and also that it compliments B&O stuff superbly.

I'm seriously considering it, and will frame the wall with battens, then vertical battens at about 50cm widths.  I'll use tongue & groove panels, using adhesive to fasten to the battens rather than nails to preserve the appearance of the panels. Using battens means there's a space behind for running wires, which I'll do prior to the panels being fitted, though adding some later shouldn't be too problematic. It also makes it easier if your wall is a bit uneven, as you can pack/shave the battens to true it all up.

If the wall in question is a cold outside wall, a bit of insulation behind there (use bigger battens) will warm the room up (and save fuel!) If it is damp remember to seal the wall with a membrane prior to battening. If the wall adjoins the neighbours, then wood panelling (and perhaps some additional insulation behind it) will help soundproof them from you (and vice versa if they are noisy!)

If you do it before me (and I expect you will..) then I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping you'll do a  nice writeup for us, with lots of photos.

Good luck!

rayfenwick:

I'm seriously considering it, and will frame the wall with battens, then vertical battens at about 50cm widths.  I'll use tongue & groove panels, using adhesive to fasten to the battens rather than nails to preserve the appearance of the panels. Using battens means there's a space behind for running wires, which I'll do prior to the panels being fitted, though adding some later shouldn't be too problematic. It also makes it easier if your wall is a bit uneven, as you can pack/shave the battens to true it all up.

Remember that building it like that will create a certain resonant frequency at a fairly low Hz. It will create a dip in the frequency response of the room, since the vibrating wall will absorb acoustic energy (transforming it to heat). In some cases, it may be acoustically much worse than just the hard surface itself. On the other hand, you might get lucky and the resonant frequency of the wall will match some other resonance in the room - thus killing a "bass boom" at that frequency.

The problem is that it is pretty much impossible to know what will happen in advance. There are calculations for "real" acoustical constructs and damping materials, but this will depend on too many variables. You might use uneven spacings for the battens so that the wall will have several smaller resonances instead of just one peak somewhere.

Hi, and thanks for the quick and elaborate reply .

The idea is indeed to have just one wall covered with wood, as shown in the example pic. The other walls and perhaps also the floor are to remain light so that the dark wooden wall contrasts nicely.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to provide experiences and pictures any time soon. It's an idea I would like to execute in my next house but buying a new house is delayed what with the economic instability and all. Nevertheless I would really like to see it realized one day in my future home. It's probably not the most feasible option in my current home, because the wall to which the TV is attached is made of simple wood and plasterboard and is therefore not as stable as I would like it to be for projects like these. Also, in my current home it's probably not as aesthetically pleasing either

How would you attach the wooden planks to the battens on the wall? I've read of people recommending silicon putty, but have no idea about whether or not this is the best method.

rayfenwick:

I'm seriously considering it, and will frame the wall with battens, then vertical battens at about 50cm widths.  I'll use tongue & groove panels, using adhesive to fasten to the battens rather than nails to preserve the appearance of the panels.

Ray, you can use hidden nails without any problem by driving them at 45 degrees through the inside corner of the tongue which will in turn be hidden by the groove of the next panel and so on......  you will need a punch to countersink the nail head of course.

Chris.

Medogsfat:

Ray, you can use hidden nails without any problem by driving them at 45 degrees through the inside corner of the tongue which will in turn be hidden by the groove of the next panel and so on......  you will need a punch to countersink the nail head of course.

That's true.  I was thinking of the laziness of a flexible contact adhesive.  Shame on me

Medogsfat:

you will need a punch to countersink the nail head of course.

And a puncher!

tournedos:

Remember that building it like that will create a certain resonant frequency at a fairly low Hz. It will create a dip in the frequency response of the room, since the vibrating wall will absorb acoustic energy (transforming it to heat). In some cases, it may be acoustically much worse than just the hard surface itself. On the other hand, you might get lucky and the resonant frequency of the wall will match some other resonance in the room - thus killing a "bass boom" at that frequency.

Yes that's true Mika.  Especially if you used a thin, flexible cladding, and didn't use any kind of insulation behind the panels.  I also had the thought that some acoustic deadening paint or adhesive panels applied to the back of the panelling prior to assembly would be a wise move.

tournedos:

The problem is that it is pretty much impossible to know what will happen in advance. There are calculations for "real" acoustical constructs and damping materials, but this will depend on too many variables. You might use uneven spacings for the battens so that the wall will have several smaller resonances instead of just one peak somewhere.

I'd actually thought about irregular batten spacing also, but not mentioned it, for reasons of my head resembling a burgled shed at the moment...

I had the same questions when I designed a home theater for a client.

The installation (non B&O) was done by a professional company and they advised against using wood on walls. 
In the end we compromised with big soft area rugs on the floor and using wood veneer strips (in this case walnut) glued straight onto the plasterboard walls. Looks really good and very close to the B&O showroom.

On a more personally I moved last year to a loft that has a wood plank and beam sealing and wooden floors.....it took some fiddling around with the speakers and now my B&O gear is sounding better than ever. 

If you cover only one wall, I don't think it's going to be that big of a problem and I would suggest you go for it. Another tip is to get a natural unfinished wood and finish it with a tung oil instead of a lacquer/varnish. Makes the look less artificial, brings out the wood grain and is less reflective.

Regards,

O.

This is not the same but is an alternative I have been considering. It is basically a metal frame mounted to the wall with wood panels that fit into the frame. It is customizable in different sizes....i.e. number of panels. It has hidden openings that allow wires to be run behind the panels and concealed completely as well as concealing any outlets on the wall.

 .: Vantage Point :: the evo system :.

For my media room I considered a wooden wall covering as well as I like the B&O Beoliving room. 

From a room acustic point of view there is no big difference for the reflection of the hights if you mount wood on a concret wall. (for mid and especially the lows no difference anyway due to the nature of the length of the waves).

If you would like to absorb mids and hights only an absorber can help, wooden plates with a calculated holes can be used to cover the aborber material behind it.

However, room acustic is a very difficult task, if this is an issue I recommend to consult an expert (as I did)

by the way, the Beoliving room in Struer is from a acustic point of view one of the worst demo rooms I've ever been in. Just awful sound and waste of the power of the lab 5. I spoke to one of the B&O Tonmeister about the room acustic and he was not happy with it either...  

kawo:

by the way, the Beoliving room in Struer is from a acustic point of view one of the worst demo rooms I've ever been in. Just awful sound and waste of the power of the lab 5. I spoke to one of the B&O Tonmeister about the room acustic and he was not happy with it either...  

Then why didn't he (suggest to) do something about it? Strange, are they that bureaucratic an organisation?

I don't think it actually is wood in those Beoliving pics - it's some kind of plastic material - you can see it at some dealers ... maybe better acoustic properties? (I understand it's not cheaper!)

Nevertheless, I see a lot of knowledgeable people here and my question recently drowned in the general forum:

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/t/26017.aspx?PageIndex=2 (the last post)

Anyone in the know of an answer?

If you assembled a wooden wall in the desired room, then hang it on the target wall like a painting leaving about 3 feet space all around plus a foot between wood/wall and putting some sort of hidden subtle lighting around the back..

I am considering doing something similar in the bedroom with a relief plaster sculpture geometric composition theme, with a color matching the back wall and also with the subtle back light all round the plaster relief, it might look more the effort than the wall.

Bear in mind that for new construction in the UK timber cladding on internal walls would not comply with the Building Regs on account of fire risk. That's probably also a good reason to avoid it with later feature construction: an electrical fault in wiring you'd hidden behind the wood could quickly have the whole room on fire!

Graham

vikinger:

Bear in mind that for new construction in the UK timber cladding on internal walls would not comply with the Building Regs on account of fire risk. That's probably also a good reason to avoid it with later feature construction: an electrical fault in wiring you'd hidden behind the wood could quickly have the whole room on fire!

Graham

Wouldn't it be possible to make it compliant, by treating the wall with a flame retardant?

Also keep in mind, not only are flat surfaces like a big board against your wall excellent sound reflectors (which can be both a good and a bad thing), but when you've got the wood paneling offset from the wall to hide your wires, you're creating quite a cavity which has an audible resonance. I actually have an audible feedback coming from the TV stand where my Beosystem is currently on, when I'm playing my records, the whole stand (made out of hollow board) will act as a soundboard.

Filling it up with foam or glass wool sheets will help a lot, not only in soundproofing but also in heat insulation. Having an offset front panel off your wall has aesthetic advantages, not only does it look cool, it can also hide your wires and provide a good place to put some "hidden" lighting.

Damping the 'nice' way can be done through curtains or drapes, which gives the place a more lush, theatre-like feel, as opposed to the designer Bauhaus-ish style you find in the showrooms. Which room would YOU like to sit in?