Value of Wood Grades

Value of Wood Grades

WalzCraft utilizes the finest Northern Grown Hardwoods and many other quality wood species, offering over 110 Wood Species/Grade combinations. Available Grades of wood range from Select/Premium to Value/Budget/Paint, and everything in between. Paired with WalzCraft’s daily efforts to maximize quality and minimize waste, this vast material selection allows our company the flexibility to best utilize all of the raw material entering our plant. We can balance the demand for each wood species and pass along the cost savings to our customers.

Maple Wood Grades
Pictured: Maple Wood Species Grades

What Does All Of This Mean?

WalzCraft deploys extensive optimization efforts to yield the highest amount of usable raw materials when manufacturing our custom cabinet components. Whether for cabinet doors, moldings, or other products, all grades of wood carry the same level of machining, profiling, and sanding standards. Therefore, no matter what grade of wood your project requires, your order is assured to be of the highest quality.

What Are The Differences Between Wood Grades?

Read our brief descriptions below to learn more about some of WalzCraft’s wood grades and Green Material choices. For additional information or pricing of specific wood species/grades, please contact our Customer Support Team.

  • Uniform color throughout
  • Focus on grain matching to achieve a more consistent grain pattern
  • Suitable for Natural/Clear (No Stain Applied) & other light-colored finished
  • Allows for a greater percentage of natural characteristics such as heartwood & sap to be used in the product
  • Offered at a discount to Select/Premium Grades due to increased production & yield efficiencies
  • Suitable for medium to dark stain finishes
  • Focus on use of knots, burs, & other natural characteristics found in all hardwoods
  • Color variations may range from light sapwood to dark heartwood
  • Natural characteristics that are otherwise considered defects are used to create a structurally sound material
  • Allows for greater efficiencies & material usage – Creates a structurally sound product from wood falling outside of WalzCraft’s Select or Natural Grade standards
  • Offered at a discount to Select or Natural Grades due to increased production & yield efficiencies
  • Suitable for medium to dark stains & paint finishes
  • Allows the flexibility of choosing solid wood Stile & Rails, and pairing them with an MDF Center Panel
  • Hybrid combination is recommended with the specific intent that it be painted
  • Due to minimal expansion or contraction in the MDF center panel, the likelihood of hairline cracks, variances in stave thickness, or sunken glue joints is minimized
  • Not available in all Wood Species
  • Species including an abundance of natural characteristics
  • Species include:
  • Excellent consistency in color, grain, and workability
  • Plantation grown FSC Certified quality hardwood
  • A great renewable, imported wood
  • A sustainable wood from Europe
  • More wood (volume) and forests (area) are currently being grown than can be harvested within the same period

Now that you understand the main differences between each of WalzCraft’s wood species and Green Material options, make your next project greener by considering which wood grade will best suit your job. Consider a wood grade that will allow WalzCraft to utilize our lumber most efficiently while offering the best value for your needs.

Rustic Wood Species

Need that wilderness retreat or mountain ski lodge look? Try any of WalzCraft’s Rustic Wood Grades offered including Alder, Birch, Butternut, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Oak, and Walnut Species (a similar look can also be achieved using a Knotty Grade of Pine).

Rustic Grades highlight the unique and natural characteristics of the wood including mineral, sapwood, and heartwood, along with knots. Color variation may range from white in sapwood areas to dark in the heartwood areas. Knots vary in placement and size, while WalzCraft does ensure that all Rustic products will be structurally sound. Try any of our unique Rustic Wood Grades on WalzCraft’s many cabinet door styles. Popular looks include Contemporary Mortise & Tenon (Plank), Applied Molding, and shaped top rail Traditional style cabinet doors.

Straight Grain Species

Consistent grain and color matched wood species are often sought out for Contemporary projects. WalzCraft offers both Solid Wood and Veneered cabinet components that will help achieve this look.

Our Solid Wood Options include Cherry, Douglas Fir, Mahogany, Maple, Oak, and Sapele. Depending on the wood species, available grain options include Quarter Sawn, Rift Sawn, or Straight Grains. Applying such wood species to a slab & batten or shaker style cabinet door often provides an aesthetically balanced and consistent look across an entire row of cabinets.

For projects where veneered cabinet doors are preferred, we offer both Standard Wood Veneer and Reconstituted (Architectural Grade) Veneer options. Try one of our Standard Wood Veneers in Quarter Sawn or Rift Sawn wood to achieve the straight grain look. Our Reconstituted (Architectural Grade) Veneers are manufactured using fast-growing tropical wood species that are dyed to mimic the look of hardwood species. These options both offer a consistent grain and color match from sheet to sheet making them suitable for any finish color, including our Natural/Clear Coat (No Stain).

In applications where customers prefer an exact grain match across a bank of cabinets, we suggest using our Continuous Grain Option. To achieve this look, we build an oversized glued up panel or a veneered panel, and cut parts based on the dimensions needed for your configuration.

Where to View Wood Grades

Visit our Wood Species page to view samples of specific Wood Species/Grade combinations. Actual product color and detail may vary due to individual computer preferences and monitor settings. We highly recommend ordering a product sample of the Wood Species/Grade combinations before placing a full order.

Wood Grade Comparison Sell Sheet

Download our side by side comparison sell sheet below to learn more about which Wood Species/Grade combination is the best choice for your next project.

Wood Grade Comparison Sell Sheet