Wood Frame Installation Basics
Installation on wood frames requires only common woodworking tools and techniques.
For best results, measure, draw-up, and pre-drill. Then position the panels and clamp before and during attachment. Use small spacers, like tiler’s spacer, to create a consistent gap area to allow for natural expansion of timber materials. Please read through all instructions before starting.
- OUTDECO USA panels can be cut, machined, drilled, and sanded using standard woodworking tools and techniques.
- Cut with a circular saw, table saw or jigsaw. A finishing blade is recommended.
- Panels can be mounted with screws, nails, or adhesives intended for timber.
- Panels can be left unfinished or painted, sealed or stained. We recommend finishing before construction.
- Always work safely. Follow all standard woodworking safety precautions – wear eye and dust masks, and gloves when cutting, drilling, sanding, and mounting panels.
- Use safe lifting techniques or lifting mechanisms when needed.
- We warranty our panels’ material integrity, but installations are the responsibility of the installer. See our Warranty for details.
Wood Frame Installation Basics
Installation on wood frames requires only common woodworking tools and techniques.
For best results, measure, draw-up, and pre-drill. Then position the panels and clamp before and during attachment. Use small spacers, like tiler’s spacer, to create a consistent gap area to allow for natural expansion of timber materials. Please read through all instructions before starting.
- OUTDECO USA panels can be cut, machined, drilled, and sanded using standard woodworking tools and techniques.
- Cut with a circular saw, table saw or jigsaw. A finishing blade is recommended.
- Panels can be mounted with screws, nails, or adhesives intended for timber.
- Panels can be left unfinished or painted, sealed or stained. We recommend finishing before construction.
- Always work safely. Follow all standard woodworking safety precautions – wear eye and dust masks, and gloves when cutting, drilling, sanding, and mounting panels.
- Use safe lifting techniques or lifting mechanisms when needed.
- We warranty our panels’ material integrity, but installations are the responsibility of the installer. See our Warranty for details.
Please watch our videos and read through all instructions before starting.
Find OUTDECO at a store near you.
Order OUTDECO online.
VIDEOS
See how to transform your spaces with
OUTDECO Decorative Modular Wood Panels
24" x 48" Wood Panel Installation Overview
48" x 70" Wood Panel Installation Overview
COMPARISON:
OUTDECO & MODINEX Wood Panels
Meet Sara Bendrick
Landscape Designer/Contractor
TV Host | Author
Sara Bendrick loves using OUTDECO USA and MODINEX Decorative Modular Panels in her builds as a differentiating impact factor.
Sara owns and operates Sarita Landscape Design which focuses on residential landscape design. For part of the year, Sara travels the country doing talks and often hosts landscape renovation shows that encourage people to value the outdoor spaces they have.
Author of
Big Impact Landscapes
Two-time TEDx speaker – “Landscapes Matter” & “Opportunity Follows Passion”
24" x 48" Wood Panel Installation Overview
48" x 70" Wood Panel Installation Overview
COMPARISON:
OUTDECO and MODINEX Panels Comparison
Meet Sara Bendrick
Landscape Designer/Contractor
TV Host | Author
Sara Bendrick loves using OUTDECO USA and MODINEX Decorative Modular Panels in her builds as a differentiating impact factor.
Sara owns and operates Sarita Landscape Design which focuses on residential landscape design. For part of the year, Sara travels the country doing talks and often hosts landscape renovation shows that encourage people to value the outdoor spaces they have.
Author of
Big Impact Landscapes
Two-time TEDx speaker:
“Landscapes Matter” & “Opportunity Follows Passion”
Measuring, Cutting and Drilling
For best results, measure, draw-up, and pre-drill.
Measuring
- Plan for spacing of 1/16″ expansion space between panels on all 4 sides.
- Panels should be positioned on the frame so that nails or screws go through the border area (see diagram).
- Panels feature a non-reveal edge to conceal framework and posts.
Cutting
- OUTDECO USA panels can be cut and machined using standard woodworking techniques and tools.
- The board is denser and harder than MDF and finer than chipboard and will cut similarly.
- Cut with a circular saw, table saw, or jigsaw. A finishing blade is recommended.
- To cut a straight edge with a circular saw or jigsaw, mark and clamp a piece of straight timber along the line, allowing for inset distance of the blade to the guard plate. Push the saw along the timber edge, using it as a guide.
- Cut edges where necessary to create your design. If your cut line goes through the pattern, fasten each part of the open elements to the supporting structure. If necessary, finish this edge with a timber cap.
Drilling
- Pre-drill holes for fasteners every 12″ on all 4 sides of the panels.
- Drill in the center of the border area on each panel (see diagram).
Border Measurements
Drilling Measurements
Panel Spacing & Fastener Intervals
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Framing and Support Structures
OUTDECO USA panels must be fastened to a frame or an existing surface or structure as it is not a freestanding structural product.
Build an independent frame for the sturdiest and most versatile installation and a more polished visual result. The frame or structure can be as simple or as sophisticated as your project requires.
Constructing Your Frame
Building your frame on a flat surface allows you to attach the panels squarely with perfectly matched joints without having to fight gravity.
Please read through all instructions before starting.
- Plan to build your frame in a large, flat space so you can mount your panels before lifting the frame to attach to the surface.
- Carefully plan your frame’s overall dimensions include a 1/16″ expansion gap between each panel. (See measuring diagrams above.)
- Create a ‘raft’ of vertical and horizontal studs. The external dimensions should match the exact width and height of your panel area.
- Position interior studs at the center lines of panel joints where you will fasten the edge of each panel.
- Lay the panels on your frame to check dimensions and placement, making sure your panels are “square.”
- Attach the panels to your frame. (See fastener information below.)
- Along with a helper, lift the frame into place and level the entire structure.
- Attach or secure the frame.
Benefits of Using a Frame
- Create almost any size, orientation, or form.
- Helps with alignment and squaring edges before final attachment.
- Offsets from the surface and allows for airflow behind the panels and space for expansion and contraction.
- Allows for adjusting, adding or removing panels while helping to prevent damage to attachment surfaces.
- Creates a dimensional shadow effect or provides space for backlighting.
OUTDECO featured on "America's Most Desperate Landscapes"
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Attaching to an Existing Structure
Where you are attaching panels to an existing structure – fixing panels directly to substrates like brick, concrete, stucco, or stud-frame walls – locating the existing structural points and drilling perfect holes may be difficult. Build a simple frame of timber or steel which gives you the option to choose where to attach the frame to the structure, and the ability to adjust it to get square and aligned. This is a good technique for attaching panels to a balustrade, pergola, gate panel, garage door, or bench seat as well.
Existing Skeletal Structure, Stud Wall, Fence, or Shed
- Check that the structure is flat, square, and level; and that it is, sturdy enough to support the weight of the panels.
- Use the framing approach described above, being sure to fasten into the structure’s studs.
Existing Brick Wall
Even with careful measuring, pre-marking, and pre-drilling, it is difficult to get pinpoint accuracy, when drilling to into a hard masonry material, especially if you are installing multiple panels.
For this reason, we highly recommend installing a timber frame (along the 48″ or 70″ edges) into the brick wall and fasten your panels to the framing.
- Using a frame will minimize the number of fastenings going into the wall. And will reduce the screws or nails that are visible on the edges of your panels.
- This effect can also be created by using stand-off blocks or posts (used in applications like glass-paneling), but this will require more accuracy, effort, and a higher budget.
Consider using an expansion anchor to attach frame or panels to brick and masonry.
Free-Standing Screen/Wall Feature
A free-standing feature will need a strong structural frame. OUTDECO USA panels are not intended for use as a free-standing structure without a frame.
- You should create your frame incorporating heavier posts to support it (minimum 4″ x 4″).
- Build a structure of posts (minimum 4″x4″) as part of your panel frame, or you can set posts separately and attach your frame to the posts afterward.
- Post height, weight and footing requirements vary from project to project, so measure and consider load carefully.
- Add horizontal 2”x4” rails between posts to secure all four sides of each panel.
- Always be aware of any underground services and features before digging.
Mounting Styles
Face Mounted
- Mounted to the front of the frame
- Contemporary architectural look
- Easiest and best method for covering a fence or wall
- Allows for attaching multiple panels to a frame is an effective way to make sure your panels are straight and square.
- Be aware of pattern repeats and flows. Check individual pattern details before installing. Learn more on our Patterns page.
Window-Frame Mounted
- A traditional architectural style
- Create cross-sections using beading or cut a recessed section
- If you prefer the cut edge concealed or finished, add a capping piece over the edge
- For a slim-line fit on an exposed end, use edge-mounted cap.
Attaching
Spacing
- Position the panels on the frame and clamp before and during attachment.
- Leave a 1/16″ space between panels on all sides to allow for natural expansion of timber materials.
- Use small spacers, like tiler’s spacer, to create a consistent gap.
- Fasten at 12″intervals around the border of each panel (see measurement diagrams).
Screws
- Pre-drill slightly oversized holes through the panel, so you can neatly position the screws in the border’s center (see measuring diagrams above), and so the screws do not blister the panel’s surface.
- When using an electric screwdriver, drive the last part of the screw home gently, so the head pulls up tight to the surface, but doesn’t pull into the panel.
- Use galvanized, stainless steel, or other outdoor-grade screws.
- We recommend wood screws for stability and for a finished look. You can use countersunk screws with flat heads like decking or sheet-metal screws.
- For attaching frame or panels to brick and masonry, we recommend using an expansion anchor.
- For attaching to a metal frame, we recommend pop-rivets or other suitable fasteners.
- For specific scenarios, check with your local hardware professionals to find the appropriate fasteners for your frame material, panel weight, and the attachment surface. For reference: 24″ x 48″ panels weigh 9-11 lbs. each and 48″ x 70″ panels weigh 33-38 lbs. each (weights are approximate).
Nails
- Pre-drill a slightly undersized hole first to locate your nail spot and prevent blistering or gouging the surface.
- Use galvanized nails in the appropriate size for the weight of your panel structure. For reference: 24″ x 48″ panels weigh 9-11 lbs. each and 48″ x 70″ panels weigh 33-38 lbs. each (weights are approximate).
- If you use a nail gun, fire carefully with a rubber stopper leaving the heads just at or below the surface for inconspicuous nail holes.
- Small nails can be hammered carefully.
Construction Adhesive
- Construction adhesive is an easy-to-use option, however, in many applications, reinforcement with additional fasteners like screws or nails may be required. For reference: 24″ x 48″ panels weigh 9-11 lbs. each and 48″ x 70″ panels weigh 33-38 lbs. each (weights are approximate).
- Ensure both the panel surface and the frame or mounting surface are clean and clear of dust, paint, oil, or water.
- Use a large bead (or double bead) to ensure maximum bonding to the area, and mechanically clamp while bonding.
Spacing
Drilling
Pre-drill small pilot hole for nails or screws to prevent blistering or gouging the surface.
Drive nails or screws through pre-drilled holes with heads just at the surface of the panel.
Fastening
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10-Year Material Warranty &
Minimum Installation Requirements
OUTDECO USA panels carry a Material Warranty of 10 Years.
10 YEAR WARRANTY covers OUTDECO USA panels against material rot, bloat or de-lamination under normal outdoor atmospheric and moisture “run-off’ conditions.
Installations are the responsibility of the installer. These directions must be followed for the warranty to be valid.
OUTDECO USA’s hardwood panels must be mounted in a vertical plane, and must not be submerged or in constant contact with water, soil, or chemicals.
Material Warranty valid within USA and Canada.
The benefits to the consumer given by this warranty are in addition to and not in conflict with all other rights and remedies of the consumer under a law in relation to the goods or services to which the warranty relates.
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