Most hotel casegoods made in Turkey are a board core with a face and an edge. The face is veneer, HPL or melamine. The core is MDF, particleboard or plywood. The edge is solid wood, veneer, or a PVC or ABS strip. Solid wood on its own is used for frames, legs, edges and some tops. Each layer is chosen for the zone of the room it goes in.
The faces compared
| Solid wood | Real-wood veneer | HPL (high-pressure laminate) | LPL / melamine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Sawn timber, glued up | A thin slice of wood glued to a core, then lacquered | Kraft paper layers and a decor paper pressed with resin, glued to a core | Resin-soaked decor paper fused straight onto the board |
| Wear on a desk or top | Good under a hard lacquer; dents in soft species | Depends on the lacquer; the wood layer is thin | Highest of the four | Lower; fine on vertical faces |
| Impact | Dents, does not chip | Lacquer can chip at edges | Good | Chips at edges and corners |
| Repair | Sand and refinish, more than once | Light touch-up; deep sanding cuts through | Small chips filled; a damaged sheet is replaced | Filler and touch-up pens; panels are replaced |
| Moisture | Swells and shrinks with humidity | Stable if the core and edges are sealed | Face is water-resistant; the core and edges are the weak point | Same as HPL, with a thinner face |
| Cost order (relative, not prices) | Highest | High | Middle | Lowest |
| Look | Real grain, varies piece to piece | Real grain, can be book-matched across doors | Printed decors, solids, wood prints | Same decors as HPL in many ranges |
How much tougher is HPL? In a Wilsonart technical bulletin, standard horizontal-grade HPL (1.2 mm, NEMA LD 3) needs at least 400 wear cycles and survives a 50-inch ball-drop impact test. The 1992 low-pressure benchmarks it quotes were 125 wear cycles for wood-grain melamine and 15 inches for impact. HPL is pressed at over 1,000 psi; melamine is fused at 20 to 30 bar with no adhesive. In Europe, HPL is covered by EN 438 and melamine-faced board by EN 14322.
Why solid wood moves: below fibre saturation, wood swells as it takes up moisture and shrinks as it dries, and more across the grain than along it (USDA Wood Handbook, ch. 4). A wide solid top needs room to move, and veneer on a stable core avoids most of this movement.
The cores compared
| Core | Strengths | Watch for | Moisture-resistant grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | Smooth, takes lacquer and veneer well, good for routed shapes | Heavy; screws hold less well near edges | EN 622-5 type MDF.H (humid conditions) |
| Particleboard | Light, flat, low cost; the usual base for melamine | Weak screw hold in edges; swells if water gets in | EN 312 type P3 (non-load-bearing, humid) over P2 (dry, furniture) |
| Plywood | Strong, holds screws, lighter than MDF | Surface can telegraph through thin faces | EN 636-2 (humid) or EN 636-3 (exterior) over EN 636-1 (dry) |
“Humid” in these standards means rooms with high humidity at times, such as bathrooms. None of these boards is waterproof. Sealed edges and a gap from the floor matter as much as the grade.
Edges
| Edge | Use |
|---|---|
| Solid wood lipping | Tops and fronts that get knocked; can be shaped and re-sanded |
| Veneer edge | Matches a veneered face; thinner, less impact-resistant |
| PVC strip | Wide range of colours matched to laminates and melamine |
| ABS strip | Similar use to PVC; chloride-free, lighter, heat-resistant (REHAU) |
A thicker plastic edge with a rounded corner takes knocks from luggage and cleaning carts better than a thin one.
By room zone
| Zone | Common face | Common core | Edge | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desk, nightstand and dresser tops | HPL, or veneer under a hard lacquer | MDF or plywood | Solid wood or thick PVC/ABS | Cups, keys, luggage; the most wear in the room |
| Wardrobe doors and fronts | Veneer, HPL or lacquered MDF | MDF | Veneer or PVC/ABS | Seen daily; flat and stable |
| Wardrobe and drawer interiors | Melamine | Particleboard P2 or MDF | PVC/ABS | Low wear; cost goes to the faces guests see |
| Bathroom vanities | HPL, or compact HPL for tops | MDF.H, P3 or EN 636-2 plywood | Sealed PVC/ABS, all edges | Splash and steam; edges are where water gets in |
| Lobby, restaurant, bar | HPL on work surfaces; veneer and solid wood on features | Plywood or MDF | Solid wood on corners | Heavy use, cleaning chemicals, chairs hitting edges |
Emissions classes by market
Boards carry a formaldehyde class, and the destination sets the limit.
| Market | Rule | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| EU | Regulation (EU) 2023/1464 (REACH), from 6 August 2026 | 0.062 mg/m³ for furniture and wood-based articles, chamber test |
| Europe (board class) | E1, tested by EN 717-1 | 0.1 ppm (about 0.124 mg/m³) |
| United States | TSCA Title VI (same levels as CARB Phase 2) | Hardwood plywood 0.05 ppm, particleboard 0.09 ppm, MDF 0.11 ppm, thin MDF 0.13 ppm |
| China and Asian supply (often quoted) | GB/T 39600-2021 grades | E1 ≤ 0.124 mg/m³, E0 ≤ 0.050 mg/m³, ENF ≤ 0.025 mg/m³ |
Two things to know. First, the new EU limit is lower than E1, so “E1” on a board data sheet no longer settles an EU order on its own. Second, E0 is not a European standard class; the term comes from other grading systems such as China’s GB/T 39600. A spec that says “E0” should name the standard and the number. For the US, EPA’s rule covers finished goods such as furniture, and composite wood in them must be labelled TSCA Title VI compliant.
How Rovers specifies it
Rovers Contract prices every line in a BOQ with the face, core, edge and emissions class written on it. Shop drawings show the build-up for each item, and finish samples are approved before production starts in the Turkish partner factory.
What to send us
Send the BOQ or drawings with the finish schedule, and name the destination. If the finishes are still open, we propose a build-up per zone and price it line by line.
- Wilsonart Technical Services: HPDL vs LPL bulletin (pressing pressure; NEMA LD 3-2005 vs LMA 1992 wear and impact values), 2010 · accessed 2026-10-04
- CEN: EN 14322:2021 Melamine faced boards for interior uses (excludes EN 438 laminates) · accessed 2026-10-04
- CEN: EN 312:2010 Particleboards, specifications (types P1 to P7, dry and humid use) · accessed 2026-10-04
- CEN: EN 622-5:2009 Fibreboards, requirements for dry process boards (MDF, MDF.H) · accessed 2026-10-04
- APA Wood Europe: BS EN 636 plywood use classes (dry, humid, exterior) · accessed 2026-10-04
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282) ch. 4: moisture relations and dimensional change · accessed 2026-10-04
- REHAU: Edgeband materials (PVC, ABS chloride-free, PP) · accessed 2026-10-04
- SWISS KRONO: Emission class E1 (0.1 ppm, about 124 µg/m³; EN 717-1 chamber test) · accessed 2026-10-04
- UL: EU Regulation 2023/1464 formaldehyde restriction (0.062 mg/m³ for furniture and wood-based articles from 6 August 2026) · accessed 2026-10-04
- EUR-Lex: Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1464 · accessed 2026-10-04
- 40 CFR 770.10: TSCA Title VI formaldehyde emission standards · accessed 2026-10-04
- US EPA: Formaldehyde emission standards for composite wood products (scope, labelling) · accessed 2026-10-04
- Code of China: GB/T 39600-2021 Formaldehyde emission grading for wood-based panels (E1, E0, ENF) · accessed 2026-10-04