Particle board: Review specs for the lowest-cost engineered wood panelsParticle board-the most economical form of fiberboard-is suitable for flooring underlayment and cabinetwork that will be finished with plastic laminate or wood veneer.

Particle board is an engineered-wood panel product that's made primarily from recycled waste wood. (Interestingly, about 75 percent of the particle board manufactured in the U.S. and Canada is made entirely from recycled materials.) Manufacturers take sawmill shavings, wood chips, saw dust and cut-off lumber pieces, grind them up into fine particles and mix them with a synthetic resin or other binder. This wood-chip slurry is pressed and heat-cured to create large, flat, hard sheets.

The three most common resins used to make particle board include:
• Urea formaldehyde, a popular, inexpensive, easy-to-use resin that's commonly used to produce non-water-resistant panels.
• Melamine formaldehyde, a more expensive resin that's used to make moisture-resistant particle board.
• Phenol formaldehyde, an expensive, very durable, dark-colored resin that's usually mixed with other additives to increase the particle board's resistance to moisture, fire, or insects.

Note that all commonly used particle board resins contain formaldehyde, a suspected carcinogen. Be sure to wear a respirator whenever you cut or machine particle board to avoid inhaling the dust.

Particle board is less expensive and denser than plywood, and is occasionally substituted for plywood when appearance and strength aren't critical. And although particle board can be machined, it's not as machinable as MDF, which is much denser, smoother and stronger than particle board. Particle board is most often used as a substrate for plastic laminate, melamine or wood veneer. Major particle board manufacturers include Boise Cascade, Collins Products, Georgia Pacific, Temple-Inland, and Louisiana Pacific.

Particle board: Sheet Sizes and Thicknesses
Standard particle board sheets measure 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. Sheets up to 5 feet wide and 12 feet long are also commonly available. And most major manufacturers will custom-make particle board sheets to your specifications.

Particle board is available in thicknesses ranging from 3/8- to 1- 3/16 inches, although a vast majority of sheets sold are 3/4-inch thick.

Additional Resources
Composite Panel Association