Moss Wall Substrates:
The Unsung Heroes of Moss Walls [Article]
Substrate is the hidden layer behind a Moss Wall that gives it its shape and structure. This is what gets anchored to the wall.
No substrate, no moss wall.
In this article, we are going to review why the correct substrate is important to the longevity of your moss wall. Let’s dive in!
Acoustic Felt Substrate
This felt material is our most typical substrate. Lightweight yet durable enough to be cut with precision, it is incredibly versatile. Adjustments to the felt are easily made on site during installation if needed. Felt adds to the Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC), and has a Class A fire rating.
Felt is best for most projects. The 48” x 96” panels can be combined to create limitless-sized Moss Walls. The seams are expertly patched by our team onsite, creating a natural looking vertical garden.
Have curved walls? Acoustic Felt is flexible enough to accommodate curved surfaces. Also, because the felt is flexible, it is much easier to get it into tight spaces or around tight corners.
Moss is adhered directly to the felt, following the pattern approved by the client. Our Moss Team assembles literally every piece of moss to the felt. Sometimes the pattern will span across multiple panels. The attention to detail and effort put into ensuring the moss adheres fully to the substrate is no small process.
Baltic Birch Plywood
Baltic Birch Plywood is primarily used for custom framing and walls with custom signage. The acoustic felt substrate would not be able to support the weight of the signage. At ¼ or ½””, our plywood substrate can be almost is just as lightweight as our felt substrate. Our frames are made from Maple, Pine and Red Oak.
Baltic Birch ply is a sustainable, natural choice. We use European birch which is responsibly grown and harvested.
Signage options range from Neon, LED, Acrylic, Wood, Foam and more.
When this substrate is being used for anything sized larger than 5’x5’, we highly recommend that there are no size constraints at all access points (doorways, hallways, stairwells, etc) from the shipping crate to the desired location in the building are taken into consideration. Larger projects may require being shipped in multiple panels if this is the case.
Your project specialist will guide you through this when you get a Green Oasis Moss Wall underway for your project.
Aluminum Sheet Substrate
Although some manufactures use this, we rarely do. It is expensive and difficult to cut onsite.
Like the plywood substrate, access to the final installation location in a multi story building is important to consider. This substrate is sometimes required to meet Fire rating requirements in certain projects, but in all other cases we would recommend our felt and plywood substrates.
Corrugated Plastic (Coroplast)
If you are unfamiliar with Coroplast, it is a brand name of corrugated plastic. It is available in multiple thicknesses, generally we would use the ½” thickness.
This is an acceptable low cost option. Besides the cost, the benefits are that it is lightweight and somewhat flexible.
The downside is Coroplast is flammable and it has no fire rating. It also is not as easy to do field cuts as felt is and has very limited acoustic benefit if acoustics are a project need.
Framing
A popular design choice we get from clients is framed moss walls. We have both wooden and brushed aluminum frames available, but wood frames account for most projects.
All of our wooden frames are made in-house, allowing clients to customize their frame sizes easily. While frames are most popular on walls that include signage and therefore require a plywood substrate, it is not required that signage projects are framed.
Both frame types create a nice clean edge for your moss wall project, and can be stained to match existing wood fixtures already in the space.
Installation
Each of these substrates has their optimal installation methods.
For our acoustic felt substrate we drill directly through the moss and felt into the wall studs.
Our plywood substrate walls are mounted with Z-Clips. There may be occasions where we have to drill it into the wall, but rarely.
We drill directly into the wall to mount aluminum (through pre-drilled holes) and Coroplast.
Still Have Questions?
While we have covered most of the top information that we get asked about substrates, you may still have a few more questions specific to a project. Educating our clients to make the best decisions for their clients and projects is of top importance to us at Green Oasis.
If you want to speak directly with a project specialist, click below to submit your inquiry and a specialist will get back to you within 1-2 business days.
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