DELIVERY AND STORAGE

WoodWall must be delivered to the site in the Manufacturers packaging, properly identified and labelled. Material must be stored undamaged in Manufacturers packaging, maintained in a clean, dry, protected area where temperature and humidity remain stable and within the ranges specified by the manufacturer.

PROJECT CONDITIONS

Areas to receive WoodWall should be environmentally controlled by a permanent HVAC system. Maintain a temperature range of 18C – 30C with not more than 50% relative humidity, for a period of not less than 4 days prior to installation and maintained thereafter.

SURFACE PREPARATION

Surfaces to receive WoodWall shall be clean, smooth and free from defects and imperfections. Check moisture content with a moisture meter. Installation should not begin if the moisture content is over 7%. Primers may or may not be used depending upon the wall and environmental conditions.

INSTALLATION

Finishing
Install as is, with the standard, factory applied polyurethane finish. If an additional finish is applied, use 1 – 2 coats of a low – mid sheen polyurethane finish. Note that this may alter the fire rating of this product.

Maintenance
Treat WoodWall as you would fine furniture. Use a lint free cloth and Murphy’s Oil Soap, or similar, to clean. Polish as required with a Watco, or similar, furniture oil.

REACTION TO LIGHT

All woods react to direct and indirect light, both natural and artificial (such as incandescent and fluorescent lamps). Therefore a change of the surface colour and appearance over time is a natural characteristic, not a defect. In particular, heat and humidity will interact with light to accelerate the ageing process.

INSTALLATION

Apply the sheets to the wall in sequence, filling in over doors and windows from consecutive sheets. After applying each sheet on the wall, smooth with an acrylic smoothing tool, or with smoothing tools which will not mar the finish, but ensure that all air bubbles are eliminated and there is a good bond between the WoodWall and the substrate. Smooth entire surface area of the sheet to ensure all air pockets are eliminated. Air bubbles must be removed, and installation errors corrected, before the adhesive dries. Remove excess adhesive from each sheet as you go prior to installing the next sheet. Use a clean, moist, natural sponge to remove excess adhesive and dry the surface with a lint free towel. It is very important to change water frequently in order to maintain cleanliness and not leave streaks on the face of the WoodWall.

DO NOT install WoodWall with temporary lighting.  Installation with permanent lighting is recommended. Sufficient lighting will greatly assist in seeing air pockets or bubbles and other installation problems that may occur.

Factory trimmed edges can be butt jointed during installation, but for best results, it is suggested to overlap and double cut all seams with a razor blade. For installation of WoodWall sheets that are 3100mm and longer, all seams must be double cut in order to achieve a tight acceptable joint seam. Keep overlap to a minimum to avoid disruption of the veneer pattern repeat.

Leaving WoodWall overlapped at the seams is not acceptable.

↑  Double cutting the seams

Vertical joints should not occur less than 65mm from all outside and inside corners if at all possible, based on the corner being in square.

The following holds true on all corners that are square. Wrapping an outside corner with WoodWall is done in the same manner as heavy-duty vinyl wall-covering with one exception.  When bending around an outside corner, wet the face of the pre-finished WoodWall® with clean water and a clean lint-free rag. The moisture added will allow the wood to bend around the corner without breaking. Follow these same steps for an inside corner as well.

Air bubbles must be removed and installation errors corrected before adhesive dries.  Sufficient lighting will greatly assist in seeing bubbles and other installation problems. After installing 3 sheets of WoodWall®, inspect the material for proper installation.

TEST AREA APPROVAL

The wall-covering installer shall install not less than three (3) full-width sheets of each pattern specified, as a test area, prior to completing the installation. The test installation area shall be reviewed for conformance to the manufacturer’s standard installation instructions and recommended adhesives. Only the Architect, Designer or Owner shall approve the test installation. Use of an unspecified adhesive, primer or any additional finishes will void the manufacturer’s warranty at time of installation.

The approved test area shall remain as part of the finished installation work and as a standard of comparison for the installation throughout the project. The Contractor shall not install specified material beyond the test area prior to the approval of the test area, by the Architect, Designer or Owner.

PREPARING THE SURFACE

New Plasterboard
Finish Plasterboard to comply with Australian Standards AS/NZS 2589.1:1997 Part 1 “Gypsum Plasterboard” and/or Architect’s specifications. All joints and interior angles shall have tape embedded in joint compound and 3 separate coats of joint compound applied over all joints, angles, fastener heads and accessories. All joint compound shall be smooth and free of tool marks and ridges. The surface shall be clean, smooth and dry prior to the application of WoodWall®. Check the moisture content of the wall with a moisture meter. Moisture content shall not be in excess of 7%. If you are installing WoodWall® in extremely low humidity areas, then one of the approved primers should be used. This will help ensure that a good bond between the substrate and WoodWall® occurs. The primer prevents the adhesive from being absorbed into the substrate too quickly and it will give added time to the installer for slippage and removal of selvedge when double cutting with heavy-duty, clay based adhesive. Allow the size to dry, then paste the back of the WoodWall® and install.

Painted Plasterboard
All surfaces must be clean, dry and smooth and it is extremely important that the paint be tight and free from flaking. Allow freshly painted plasterboard to cure at least 14 days prior to priming and installing WoodWall®.

Alkyd/Oil Surface
Surfaces painted with alkyd/oil paint will not allow the moisture to be absorbed into the plasterboard. Therefore, a wall liner must be applied before proceeding with installing WoodWall™ to allow the moisture to wick away from the WoodWall®. Allow sufficient time for the moisture in the adhesive used to install the wall liner to evaporate and cure. A paper wall liner is all that is needed in this application.

Acrylic/Latex Surface
Sand painted surface to break the seal and allow for the moisture in the adhesive to be absorbed into the plasterboard. Apply one of the approved primers to ensure a strong bond of WoodWall®.   Size the substrate with adhesive. Allow it to dry. Paste the back of the WoodWall® and install. Depending on the condition of the painted substrate, the installer may choose not to size the plasterboard. It is suggested that the installer test an area first.

Damaged Plasterboard
Prime damaged areas such as torn plasterboard facing paper, over skim coat repairs and old adhesive residue with a high performance sealer.

New Plaster (12mm – 20mm thickness)
Finish all plaster to comply with the relevant Australian standards and/or Architects specifications.
All surfaces must be clean, dry, smooth and free of defects. All undulations in the plaster must be smoothed to a flat finish. Test the wall surfaces with a moisture meter to ensure the moisture content does not exceed 7%. Ideally new plaster walls should age 60 to 90 days before painting or installing WoodWall®. If you cannot wait, then wash newly plastered walls with zinc sulphate solution to neutralize the lime (1/4 to 1/2kg of zinc sulphate crystals per litre of water).  Apply an approved primer, size the substrate with a recommended adhesive and allow to dry, then paste the back of the WoodWall® and install.

Painted Plaster
All surfaces must be clean, dry and smooth and it is extremely important that the paint be tight and free from flaking. All efflorescence crystals should be removed before starting the installation.  All undulations in the plaster must be smoothed to a flat finish. Attention must be paid to the type of paint and the number of coats the plaster has received over time. If the paint surface can be sanded and the paint surface broken to allow the moisture from the adhesive to be wicked away, then the installer may size the wall with a recommended adhesive. Allow the size to dry, then paste the back of the WoodWall® and install. Painted plaster walls which have numerous coats of Alkyd /Oil or even Latex may have to use wall liner when the sealed surface cannot be broken by sanding. Install the wall liner allowing sufficient time for the moisture in the adhesive used to evaporate. Then paste the back of WoodWall® and install.

Contact Adhesive over Non-Porous Surfaces
Substrates that may require the use of contact adhesive are: painted metal, stainless steel, plastic laminate and other non-porous surfaces.  Never use contact adhesive on plasterboard or plaster.

1. Preparation:  Ensure both surfaces are clean and free of all dust. The WoodWall® material and the substrate of choice should be stored in the same surroundings for 24 to 48 hours before starting the installation. This will allow both products to acclimatize together before bonding. If the metal surface has not been factory primed with a rust inhibitor, then the installer shall use a quality zinc chromate primer to prime the metal surface.
2. Adhesive: When using a contact adhesive, always use 100% coverage on both the back of the veneer sheet and the face of the substrate. Let the adhesive have the correct amount of dry open time. You don’t want to trap gases that can later cause blisters. The time can vary depending on the airflow around your work area, ambient temperature and humidity at the time of installation. Follow manufacturer’s instructions of the contact adhesive being used.
3. Bonding: When contact adhesive is being used the best method of pressure is a lot of pressure all at one time. This pressure can be reached by using an acrylic smoothing tool covered with a felt cloth when using pre-finished WoodWall® sheets. (Do not use a J-Roller for applying pressure.) Starting in the centre of the surface to be bonded, pull the smoother toward you going with the grain. Apply pressure with both hands, pushing down as hard as possible. Keep doing this as you move over 80 – 100mm at a time (your smoother should be 100 to 150 mm wide) until you have rubbed down the entire surface.
4. Time: Don’t rush your work. In order for contact cement to work, a chemical reaction must take place. This reaction produces gas and you need to allow this gas to escape from the edges. Many jobs appear perfect and then blisters start to appear. Reasons for this may include: (1) Insufficient adhesive coverage; (2) Not enough pressure applied to form an intimate bond; (3) Insufficient amount of open time.