Particle and fibre boards
Particleboard, cement-bonded board, MDF and soft fibreboard: build-up, density, thermal insulation, common thicknesses and uses.
In particleboard the particles are not oriented, and in fibreboard they are present as such fine fibres that the structure of the wood can no longer be recognised. Their structural role is smaller, but they are versatile.
How is it made?
Particleboard is made from by-products of the timber industry – sawdust and planer shavings – pressed with adhesive. For fibreboard, the wood is broken down into fibres: the wet process – partly without binder – produces soft fibreboard; the dry process with adhesive produces MDF and HDF, as well as thicker wood fibre insulation boards.
In cement-bonded particleboard the binder is cement, so it is heavy but has low combustibility (B-s1, d0).
Technical data
- Build-up
- particleboard: non-oriented particles; fibreboard: fine wood fibres (wet or dry process)
- Raw material
- by-products of the timber industry: chips, sawdust, fibres
- Strength
- smaller structural role; soft fibreboard is not load-bearing
- Density
- soft fibreboard 40–300, MDF 760–790, cement-bonded particleboard 1000–1500 kg/m³
- Adhesive
- depending on the type, synthetic resin, cement or little binder
- Common sizes
- soft fibreboard 20–300 mm (dry process) or 3–32 mm (wet process)
- Standard
- EN 312 (particleboard), EN 634 (cement-bonded), EN 622 and EN 13171 (fibreboard)
- What is it for?
- cladding, dry subfloors, interior design; thermal and impact sound insulation
| Type | Thickness (mm) | Density (kg/m³) |
|---|---|---|
| soft fibreboard, dry process | 20–300 | 40–230 |
| soft fibreboard, wet process | 3–32 | 100–300 |
| MDF | according to the manufacturer’s range | 760–790 |
| cement-bonded particleboard | according to the manufacturer’s range | 1000–1500 |
Applications
- particleboard: bracing sheathing, infill boards in timber frame walls, dry subfloors
- cement-bonded particleboard: fire protection, interior and exterior cladding, facades
- soft fibreboard: thermal insulation outside and inside, between rafters, impact sound insulation, windproof roof underlay
- MDF: interior design, acoustic elements, furniture
What to watch out for
- Conventional particleboard is mainly for interior use.
- Soft fibreboard is a good insulator – its thermal conductivity is 0.038–0.050 W/mK – but it is not load-bearing.
- The weight of cement-bonded board (1000–1500 kg/m³) matters in the structural design.