Made only from natural wood. What is solid wood? Definition of wood mass and its types. Solid wood

Coming to furniture store, the buyer often has to deal with the phrase “this product is made of natural solid wood.” This can also be read in technical description, and hear a memorized phrase from a sales consultant. However, few people understand this terminology and do not attach any meaning to the words. What's happened ? Could he be unnatural? How does solid wood differ from glued wood? What are lamellas? You will receive answers to these and other questions in this material, where a specific definition of each of the terms is given. This information may be useful to you when choosing furniture, interior doors, floor coverings and other wood products.

What is solid wood called?

Solid wood is considered to be a material that consists entirely of natural wood. The raw massif can take the form of bars, boards or wooden panels, from which it is then made furniture product. The array can be produced different ways, but always only from whole pieces of wood, and not from sawdust, shavings and other waste. This is the key difference between solid wood and other wood materials such as chipboard, MDF and fiberboard. Products made from solid wood are considered the most elite, since this material has high quality and environmental friendliness. At the same time, it is distinguished by its high cost, which gives furniture made from natural wood an elite quality. Having understood the definition of solid wood, you can move on to its types and methods of production.

Solid array

On the external attractiveness of products made from natural wood big influence rendered by the existing surface texture. The presence of knots, cavities and other formations negatively affects appearance furniture. Because of this, it follows that perfectly clean pieces of wood are considered to be of higher quality, but they are much more difficult to select. A piece of such wood is called solid, therefore, like the solid wood itself.

Furniture made from solid wood belongs to the elite category, which is confirmed by the corresponding high cost and prestige. The high price is formed not only due to the cost of solid wood, but also due to the accompanying expensive fittings and finishing. If you want to purchase a product made of natural wood, but you are not willing to pay significant amounts of money, you can opt for another type solid wood- glued.

Laminated solid wood

When cutting freshly cut trees, a huge number of small pieces are obtained, from which it is impossible to make solid bars or boards, but it is also impractical to use them for sawdust. The same can be said about boards with some defects in the form of knots or cracks. Glued laminated wood is made from such materials, which is also called furniture wood, or, if it has the shape of a bar, Euro-timber.

Glued laminated wood consists of several layers of wood, which are fixed together with a special adhesive. Each of these layers is called a lamella. Important feature gluing lamellas is alternating the longitudinal and transverse directions of the fibers. The prestige of furniture made from laminated wood is less than that from solid wood, but it is significantly higher than that of products made from chipboard and MDF. Although the solid wood is glued, it is real wood, and not glued shavings and sawdust like chipboard or MDF. In some respects, laminated wood is superior to solid wood. To tell the truth, real solid wood furniture must be solid, but many manufacturers are increasingly using cheaper raw materials in an attempt to attract customers with lower prices.

Thus, when choosing furniture made from solid wood, you should not pay attention to beautiful signs like “furniture made of natural wood”, “made from wooden beam" and so on. In fact, such products consist of real wood, but the main question is in the technology for its production: solid boards or glued lamellas. This is exactly what you should focus on.

Differences between solid and laminated wood

Natural wood requires compliance with all rules technological process in the manufacture of furniture. The most important and difficult stage, which has a significant impact on the quality and durability of the products, is drying. If materials are stored or dried incorrectly, the product may crack in the future and lose its attractiveness. In this regard, furniture made from laminated wood is much less picky; it shrinks and cracks much less often.

The second criterion, which is different for these types of products, is strength. Thanks to multidirectional wood fibers, the strength of glued products is higher than that of solid ones. Of course, the type of wood used plays a role. Another advantage of laminated wood is that it is more low cost. Among the disadvantages, it is worth noting the presence of an adhesive substance, and, as a result, less environmental friendliness. Some manufacturers, in an effort to save money, use low-quality glue, which can emit harmful fumes.

To summarize, we can conclude that solid wood is the most environmentally friendly and durable of natural materials, which is widely used in the manufacture various furniture. Choosing between glued and solid wood You should rely on your own capabilities and desires. The presence of glue in a glued massif is not critical, since it is significantly less than in less quality materials such as chipboard and MDF.

In Moscow there is the Sheremetyevsky Palace, everything there is made of wood. You can visit it on a guided tour only in summer time. Because it is considered an architectural monument and so that it does not rot in 50 years, they decided not to install any heating in it. Conclusion: - if you start seasonal heating, then changes in temperature, and therefore humidity, will begin to destroy unprotected wood very quickly. Now some numbers. To ensure that a solid wood product does not have cracks, the wood is dried to 14% humidity before production. I have panel house and after installation plastic windows all of a sudden indoor flowers began to bend. I had to go buy a moisture meter. At first I thought that the device was not working, because its value of 30% did not change for several days. I ran to measure the humidity in the bathroom. When the shower was turned on, the value seemed to be 90%. I ran to buy a humidifier and after I turned it on, the moisture meter continued to show 30% for two days. On the third day, the readings slowly crept up.
Conclusions: - Without a humidifier during the heating season relative humidity The air in an apartment, like in the Sahara Desert, is less than 30% - the lower limit of measurement of the device. A five-kilogram line drying clothes in the kitchen increased the humidity by 3-5%. Healthy humidity for humans is 40-60% (according to SanPiN). Outside, the humidity changes by 20-40% every day. indoor humidity does not change quickly and strongly depends on the materials of the walls, ceiling, floor - their hygroscopicity. So all my partitions were made of plaster. This material has a tremendous ability to stretch the suction and evaporation of atmospheric moisture from the material into the air. For this reason, or with the help of hoods, the 24-hour operation of the humidifier could not raise the humidity above 50%. In the summer, the humidifier had to be turned off, because as soon as the windows were opened for ventilation, the average humidity of 50% became a constant, background value. What is this all for? Those 14% of industrial drying of wood for furniture only ensure the tightness of the joints of fastening products, and any excess of external humidity leads to swelling of the joint and an increase in its strength. And if the wood is not completely dried, and we know what domestic drying technologies are, the quality of varnishes and the attitude towards the profession, tables and chairs begin to sway. And one more thing - 10 years is not a long time for natural wood; wood dries out for decades. And if the humidity increases sharply, the wood bursts from overstress even just along the fiber - internal stresses. That is, in order for a tree to serve for a long time, it needs careful care and living conditions. Or a calm attitude if he gets sick. I often want to ask forum participants, how often do they like (or would like) to radically change the interior? How are the spouses? Or as friends? I believe, as in the song, this is a serious matter that you can’t trust anyone with. At least create the interior in your own image and likeness...

If the furniture is made of natural wood, it means it is expensive and lasts for decades. Almost half of us think so. Is it true? How much does natural wood (solid wood) justify the money spent on it? We will find out what the disadvantages and advantages of solid wood furniture are - when its purchase is justified, and when it is worth preferring to purchase furnishings made from MDF, chipboard and other wood-based materials.

Is solid furniture bad?

Of course not. The disadvantages that we will now talk about occur only in cases where the array itself is not of very high quality.

Among the most common problems is changes in the geometry of individual solid wood parts. Simply put, the tree dries out (which is more common) or swells (less often). If the table, cabinets and shelves in the kitchen or office begin to creak, if the doors and shelves are difficult to close/retract, if gaps appear between parts of the furniture, the furniture begins to dry out. This happens if the furniture enters a room with too dry air. But more often than not, the array was not properly prepared before making furniture.

But the microclimate is to blame for the swelling of furniture - and not enough good processing wood with varnishes and impregnations.

Furniture items made of dense and heavy wood are less prone to swelling/drying out. The same oak furniture will last for years even in a dry or excessively humid microclimate.

The array is beyond repair. If something happens to it, you will have to replace the entire damaged part. The only exceptions are minor scratches and abrasions: sanding can often restore youth to the wood.

Finally - the price. Nice furniture for an office made of solid wood is much more expensive than an unpretentious set of a table, an armchair and a couple of cabinets made of chipboard or MDF. But if you are interested not only in quality, but also in prestige, practicality and the opportunity, once you buy furniture, not to think about changing it long years– choose a tree, that is, an array.

Advantages of an array

Important digression! Solid wood is not a piece of wood cut from a tree trunk. Most often today, countertops, shaped elements, power parts of furniture - the frame - are made from the so-called. laminated wood. Individual pieces (lamellas) glued together under pressure are called an array. There are exceptions to this rule - but they are quite rare.

A well-prepared array is not afraid of either moisture or dryness. It is durable, quite light (if we are not talking about precious types of wood, like red, sandalwood or teak, or some types of oak). These properties are automatically transferred to solid wood furniture: durable and reliable, it lasts a long time, does not dry out and does not absorb moisture from the air.

And another very important clarification: The production of exclusive furniture made of wood often involves the abandonment of the use of metal fasteners. Only glue and tongue and groove joints. Why? Fasteners and parts must have the same coefficient of thermal expansion. Thanks to this, even drying and swelling of the wood does not greatly affect the strength of the furniture and service life.

To the strength of solid wood as a material for making good business and luxury furniture, let’s add, of course, beauty. No laminating film can accurately replicate the unique pattern and texture of natural wood. If the wood is skillfully treated with varnishes, impregnations and stains, a deep, rich pattern on the tabletop, facade or walls will become the best decoration your office, kitchen or living room.

The array, as we see, is good. It is important that it is the right array, well dried and protected from moisture, scratches and shocks - then neither chipboard nor MDF can compete with it.

Solid wood is wood that is devoid of various impurities and adhesive compositions. In order to make furniture, you can use valuable or ignoble species.

Such products are chosen not only because of the increased level of safety and durability. This is where you can get acquainted with furniture that has a beautiful appearance.

Solid wood furniture: main features

To process wood, you have to spend a lot of money. That is why solid pieces are rarely used in the furniture manufacturing process. This point is worth taking into account if you have your eye on a cabinet made of solid wood of any type. Of course, you can buy a product from solid pieces, but be prepared to spend a considerable amount of money.

That is why manufacturers are trying to replace such material with laminated wood. These are slabs of wood, which were obtained by gluing individual pieces of wood. To produce an array, you need to hire only a real professional. That is why the finished products are of very high quality, and all technologies were followed in their production.

Thanks to this material, you can get furniture that costs much less. Sometimes technologies are combined, producing the main structural parts from glued solid wood, and elements for decoration from solid material.

The method of making furniture can be easily determined by carefully examining the fibers. If used natural material, then they do not have clear boundaries and do not break off in the most unexpected place. The boundaries of the glued material look as if someone had outlined them. In addition, its fibers are “torn”, which can be seen with the naked eye.

Furniture made from this material: main advantages

You figured out what an array is. However, is it really necessary to spend money on purchasing such furniture?

It has a number of significant advantages:

• this furniture is different increased level strength;
• the items will last for a long time if you care for them correctly;
• solid wood furniture is environmentally friendly, because it does not emit harmful components into the air;
• with the help of such products you can decorate any interior, because they look very presentable;
• wood has a special energy with which you can bring positive emotions into your apartment;
• Solid wood furniture smells very pleasant, so your home will be filled with a refined aroma.

These are the main points that relate to solid wood furniture. If you make a choice in favor of such products, you will get a lot of pleasant impressions, because your home will become more comfortable and beautiful.

How do the concepts of furniture made of wood and furniture made of solid wood differ in the video:

But first, let's figure out why solid wood - best material for the manufacture of furniture for home and office, as well as children's furniture.

Properties and types of array

Solid wood is divided into two types:
Solid array– solid wood, the most expensive material, premium furniture is made from it for luxury interiors.

Laminated solid wood made from pieces of wood. High-quality pieces of wood are glued together in layers - they are called “lamellas”. Products made from laminated solid wood are, of course, less valuable than those made from solid wood. They are cheaper, but it is still real wood and not something that just looks like wood. Moreover, the glued type of solid wood also has its advantages. For example, such an array is resistant to external influences due to the redistribution of loads in different pieces of the product.

Glued solids are also divided into two types:
1. solid-lamella (consists of longer and wider parts)
2. spliced ​​(consists of many smaller parts)

Solid wood products are rightfully considered the highest quality, environmentally friendly and expensive. Solid wood furniture requires careful attention to the microclimate in the house: it can, for example, swell slightly from humidity or shrink from heat. Solid wood furniture is heavier compared to other materials - after all, it is natural wood!

For those who for one reason or another are not suitable for solid wood furniture, there is a modern, practical and more economical option.

Tree species and their features

Spruce array
Most soft array– spruce: it is easy to process, glues well, but the structure of the spruce wood is rather inexpressive. Most often made from spruce decorative elements for furniture.

In the Scandinavian countries and Russia, furniture is mainly produced from solid pine, birch and beech.

Solid pine
Thanks to the pleasant golden structure of solid pine, furniture made from it beautifully reflects light. Pine furniture is preferred when furnishing cottages and dachas, but also in modern interior light amber pine would be quite appropriate.

Solid birch
The solid birch is light natural color and fibrous structure - it absorbs dyes well, so you can create furniture of any color from solid birch. Birch is durable and can be used to create any items, including children's furniture and library items. bookcases.

Solid beech
Solid beech furniture is a kind of compromise between price and quality. At the beech high hardness wood and fine uniform texture. Solid beech is easy to stain, taking shades from light yellow-pink to brownish-red, similar to painting valuable species wood

Solid ash
Solid ash is a delicate light yellow material with a silky sheen. Furniture made from solid ash is expensive and ideal for interiors decorated in any style.

Solid oak
Oak is hard and valuable breed tree. Solid oak has a beautiful texture highlighting wood fibers, the colors are yellow-brown in various shades. Oak furniture is strong and reliable, and its price is usually very high.

An array of rare tree species
The hardest and most refined types of solid wood are solid mahogany, or mahogany, and ebony, or ebony. They are used to make exclusive interior items commissioned by wealthy connoisseurs of things that will last for centuries.