Hello everyone!
My contractor attached a large, fixed wood decorative panel to hide a structural column in my home. It was attached to the column with screwed in magnets that look like the Super-Mite Heavy Duty Magnetic Catch. There are at least two sets of these magnets – one set in the middle, one set at the top of the panel, and possibly more near the bottom but I can’t see given the view is blocked by adjacent cabinets. In addition, the cabinet sits on a lip to prevent it from sliding down.
My question is: how strong are these kind of magnets to secure a large block of wood? Given the area where this panel is in my home (right behind the kitchen table), it tends to get a lot of bumps when guests pull chairs back too fast without looking. Do these magnets make for a very secure fit or do I need to worry about someone bumping the panel the wrong way and making it come loose / crashing down? I have every reason to believe my contractor knew what he was doing, but I am worried about user error.
Photos below – one from the front, one from the side showing the magnets (not a great view, apologies). Thank you!
Replies
Why not just pull on it and see how it is to dislodge, or to slide it?
In any event, rare earth magnets can be quite strong.
Seems to be on there pretty good. I didn’t want to pull too hard but it didn’t budge with a bit of pulling. Anyway, I am probably worrying unnecessarily - just want to make sure magnets can be a secure solution for a large wood panel like this, especially over time
Well, it's on there now. And if it gets dislodged, it's held on by magnets, and you can put it back, Right?
Why are there magnets? Does it need to come off, to access something? Why wasn't it attached permanently?
I believe there’s some electrical back there, so a permanent solution would have blocked it (I haven’t had to access it). Yes - it could be reattached if dislodged, but I was more worried about it somehow being compromised / failing over time, particularly when I’m not home and causing damage since it’s large. A couple guests kept bumping into it which made me think, hmm I wonder if this is secure ...
Code says that electrical junction boxes and such be accessible. And it dies not appear that you could use hinges, screws, etc on that panel, without marring the look. It's hard to say more without seeing a bunch more, but magnets may indeed have been the best option.
Actually, I looked at the drawings and it looks like the decorative panel is covering a fire-rated structural wall, rather than electrical. But perhaps magnets made for the most flush look here vs screws/hinges. In any event, I appreciate the thoughts on this!
Happy New Year everyone! Wanted to revive this thread with another question on the wood panel I asked about above (decorative wood panel attached by magnets, hides a structural column, installed 2.5 years ago). I noticed that from the side, the panel appears a bit bowed from top to bottom - pictures below. It looks fine head on, which is how it's viewed 99% of the time, so that's not an issue, but what could have caused this? This was installed 2.5 years ago. Is it likely it's been like this for a while and I never noticed? Should I try to fix this or leave it be? If it's not likely to get worse or pull away from the magnets over time (i.e. purely aesthetic), I'll probably just leave it. I'm out of warranty so I'd have to pay for a replacement / repair. Thanks for any thoughts!
Serious answer: use a thin strip of clear packing tape and tape the corners flush along the top and bottom edges. It’s an invisible fix that addresses the aesthetic and you’ll soon not notice it.
The panel has probably warped overtime causing the gap to appear. I'm not entirely sure why such an attachment arrangement had to be made to cover something structural if no plumbing or electrical was involved but then I'm not on site. I can think of no easy fix, replacing the panel would probably result in a noticeable color variation and there is no guarantee it wouldn't warp again. If you were willing to forego the smooth flush look on the window wall you could have a small wood strip made to attach to the face panel and overlap the seam on the side concealing the gap but other than that I can't think of another solution.
Thanks for the reply (I think you helped me on another thread too, so appreciate it as always!). I hadn't thought about the color variation of a new panel but you're right, after nearly 3 years it would probably look out of place. Do you think it will continue to get worse over time? It doesn't bother me too much right now because it still looks good head-on, and no one other than me is looking at it from the side. I'd consider the wood strip to conceal the gap only if that would prevent it from getting worse / prevent issues down the road like pulling away from the magnets or becoming more noticeable. Otherwise, I'll probably just live with it.
There is no guarantee, but wood usually stabilizes after a period of time so I would think it won't get any worse.
It's wood being wood and doing what wood does.
In addition to what others have suggested you could simply fix it to battens with screws, create a sliding dovetail batten top and bottom to secure it flat, or maybe (just maybe) put screw eyes in top and bottom and run a tensioning wire between them to take the curve out.
If it were mine, I'd probably fix some beading to the edge to mask the gap.
You've got a panel, fixed only with magnets, with one side facing conditioned air, and the other facing unconditioned utility space on an outside wall. It was a good bet it was going to cup a little. Unless you can use screws or some other fasteners to keep it flat, there isn't much you can do.
I wouldn't fiddle with it. The chances are far greater that it will end up looking worse.
Long, rigid strongbacks in either wood or metal could be screwed to the back of the panel to hold it flat. ...assuming there is room inside for them.
Second on this...if there is available room behind panel. A possible option - one could attach 3-4 long pieces of steel angle (not quite the length of panels) vertically and spaced evenly across the panel back - and attach toward the ends. Then push a wood shim between the angle and back of panel at the center - to create a "counter bow".
If you can attach a large cleat to the inside near the top and bottom you may be able to get a snug fit.
Not necessarily this picture/mirror hanger but the same concept.
All hardware would be on the backside and hidden from view. You are limited to the amount of clearance you have from the top of the panel to the ceiling (3/4”?) for it to lock into place so it would have to be fairly precise.
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