Wall Panel 03T Walnut: which walnut slat profile to choose

Walnut appears more than once in this range, and the finish is usually the part a customer settles first. The decision that actually changes how the wall looks is the slat profile. Wall Panel 03T - Walnut - Acoustic is the wavy one: four panels to a pack, each 60 x 240 x 1.7cm, listed at 5.76m², described as HDF slat material on a felt backing with a 2.5cm slat width.

The figures for 03T

The dimensions read width, height, thickness, with 240cm matching the height in the name; confirm the order with us if a tight run depends on it. Unlike the other walnut panels below, this listing quotes a slat width without a gap figure, so the number of slats across the face cannot be worked out on paper. If your setting out needs that, ask us to check a panel.

The walnut panels compared, as listed

Slat width is the figure that changes how busy the face looks. At 2.5cm, 03T sits at the narrow end of this group, and the 5cm slat at the other end of the table reads as broad boards from across a room. Two cautions on reading the table that far, though. 03T publishes no gap, so its repeat across the face cannot be worked out and set against the others on paper. And the wavy face is all the listing says about the profile, so how much shadow it throws next to a panel of the same slat width is not something the data settles. None of this is a quality difference, and none of the panels publishes an absorption figure, so choose on the look and the thickness, and ask us for photographs if the texture is the deciding factor.

Thickness and height, the two figures that bite

1.7cm is how far the panel stands off the plaster. That is the number to hold against your skirting, your architraves and any socket plate on the wall, and it is also why a 1.7cm panel and a 1.5cm panel do not finish level where they meet. Keep one thickness per wall, or plan a deliberate shadow gap at the change.

240cm is the panel height. Measure your wall at both ends and in the middle, because plaster and floors rarely agree, and work from the smallest figure. If the ceiling is higher than the panel, the choice is a horizontal joint, a painted band above the panelling, or the 280cm walnut panel instead, which comes three to a pack and covers 5.04m².

How far a pack goes

Four panels at 60cm wide give 2.4 metres of uncut wall. Order by wall width rather than by area, because the full height is fixed and the offcuts from the top are no use to you.

• A chimney breast of about 1.2m takes two panels, so one pack with panels spare.
• A 2.4m bedhead wall takes one pack exactly, with nothing in hand if a cut goes wrong.
• A 3.6m wall takes six panels, so two packs, with two panels left for the return wall or a cupboard front.

Edges, window reveals and external corners want the Wall Panel PVC Trim Acoustic the listing names, sold separately from the panels. The listing does not state how the panels should be fixed, so if you intend to use panel adhesive rather than a mechanical fixing, ask us first.

What the listing leaves open

• Whether the walnut face is a veneer or a printed finish. If you are matching a door or a floor, ask for a daylight photograph of the panel first.
• Any acoustic rating. The felt is described as absorbing sound and improving room acoustics, with no coefficient given.
• Anything about damp rooms, cutting the felt, or fixing weight to the panel.

The same wavy face comes in 03A Oak and 03D Dark Oak at the same thickness, so a pair of walls can run different tones and still meet flush. Browse the whole wall in Slat & Acoustic Panels, then order Wall Panel 03T - Walnut - Acoustic - 240cm by the pack. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.