At One Place

Particleboard

Density of particleboard
650 kg/m³ (600–750)
0.65 g/cm³ · 40.6 lb/ft³

Wood chips and glue, the cheapest sheet material there is, and the substrate under nearly every melamine-faced flat-pack panel. It is the weakest of the engineered boards at 2.8 GPa, sagging visibly on shelf spans over about 800 mm, and it holds screws so poorly that flat-pack furniture uses cam locks and dowels instead. Soaked, it swells to twice its thickness and never recovers, which is why a leaking sink destroys a kitchen carcass.

Properties

Density
650 kg/m³ (600–750) — 0.65 g/cm³
Young's modulus
2.8 GPa
Floats in water
Yes
Magnetic
No

What it is used for

  • Flat-pack furniture carcasses
  • Kitchen unit sides and worktop cores
  • Melamine-faced shelving
  • Underlay flooring

How it compares

Water is 1,000 kg/m³. Anything with a shorter bar than water floats in it.

air 1.2 kg/m³
expanded polystyrene foam 20 kg/m³
rigid polyurethane foam 40 kg/m³
particleboard 650 kg/m³
Water — the float line 1,000 kg/m³
tungsten 19,250 kg/m³
gold 19,300 kg/m³
platinum 21,450 kg/m³
Water is 1,000 kg/m³. Anything below that floats.
Material Density Relative to water
rigid polyurethane foam 40 kg/m³ 0.04×
expanded polystyrene foam 20 kg/m³ 0.02×
air 1.2 kg/m³ 0.00×
particleboard ← 650 kg/m³ 0.65×
platinum 21,450 kg/m³ 21.45×
gold 19,300 kg/m³ 19.30×
tungsten 19,250 kg/m³ 19.25×

Does it rust?

Particleboard contains no iron, so it cannot rust. Whether it degrades depends on the material, not on oxidation.

Is it magnetic?

Particleboard is not a metal and has no ferromagnetic response.

Common questions

What is the density of particleboard?
650 kg/m³ (600–750), or 0.65 g/cm³.
Does particleboard float?
Yes. At 650 kg/m³ it is less dense than water's 1,000.
Is particleboard magnetic?
Particleboard is not a metal and has no ferromagnetic response.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked