I have a commercial client who will be commissioning 18 sideboards (or credenzas), approximately 7'L x 29" H x 25"D. They will be freestanding pieces of furniture, not cabinets, and will contain one AV rack in a center bay. 3 sliding doors. This is an office situation in New York City and the sideboards will be situated in conference rooms.
The client's preference is a for a solid wood carcass, something I have a lot of experience doing, but only as one-off custom pieces of furniture. I tried explaining the benefits of a sheet good in this case, and I've been asked to provide a quote on the difference in price.
The benefits of plywood I see in this case are:
-Avoids a serious amount of milling for 18 cases, plus the waste by-product. I've calculated it would be 4000 linear feet of panels at 25" wide.
-The fact that I only have a 20" W planer, and the case depth is 25"W
-Simplified case joinery
-Overall speed
-No concerns of wood movement
Cons: durability and aesthetics (considering that the client wants the 'look' of solid wood)
How would others alter their price? 30% more for solid wood? Are there any other differences between the two options that I'm not factoring in?
By the way, doors will be shop-veneered panels. I entertained the possibility of veneering the cases myself with 1/16"T veneer, but that might be as much work as starting with solid from the beginning.