---
title: "Particleboard — density, melting point and properties"
description: "Particleboard has a density of 650 kg/m³ (600–750). Melting point, strength, conductivity, what it is used for, and whether it floats, rusts or is magnetic."
url: https://atoneplace.net/material/particleboard/
site: "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

- [Does particleboard float?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-float/particleboard/)
- [Pine](https://atoneplace.net/material/pine/)
- [Plywood](https://atoneplace.net/material/plywood/)
- [MDF](https://atoneplace.net/material/mdf/)
- [White oak](https://atoneplace.net/material/white-oak/)
- [Red oak](https://atoneplace.net/material/red-oak/)
- [Balsa](https://atoneplace.net/material/balsa/)
- [Spruce](https://atoneplace.net/material/spruce/)
- [Western red cedar](https://atoneplace.net/material/cedar/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)