Particle Board >>
Characteristics
Particle board is cheaper, denser and more uniform than conventional wood and plywood and is substituted for them when appearance and strength are less important than cost. However, particle board can be made more attractive by painting or the use of wood veneers that are glued onto surfaces that will be visible. Though it is denser than conventional wood, it is the lightest and weakest type of fiberboard, except for insulation board. Medium-density fibreboard and hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard, are stronger and denser than particle board.

A major disadvantage of particle board is that it is very prone to expansion and discoloration due to moisture, particularly when it is not covered with paint or another sealer. Therefore, it is rarely used outdoors or places that have high levels of moisture, with the exception of some bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, where it is commonly used as an underlayment beneath a continuous sheet of vinyl floor covering. In such an installation the edges must be properly covered upward against the wall and joints and non-covered edges must be properly sealed against moisture penetration. A higher quality material not subject to expansion is underlayment-grade plywood, which is constructed without interior voids in its layers to better resist the high local pressure from objects such as stiletto heels.

When working with veneered particleboard, greater care must be taken not to chip the veneer. If chipped, the particleboard underneath is exposed and cannot be sanded back as with solid wood.

 
Furniture Design :
Particleboard has had an enormous influence on furniture design. In the early 1950s, particleboard kitchens started to come into use in furniture construction but, in many cases, it remained more expensive than solid wood. A particleboard kitchen was only available to the very wealthy. Once the technology was more developed, particleboard became cheaper.

Large companies such as Freedom and Ikea base their strategies around providing well-designed furniture, at a low price. In almost all cases, this means particleboard. Ikea’s stated mission is to “create well designed home furniture at prices so low as many people as possible will be able to afford them”. They do this by using the cheapest materials possible, as do most other major furniture providers. As a result, solid wood furniture has become an expensive luxury and particleboard the norm.

 
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