BUILDING BOARDS: - PLYWOOD, PARTICLE BOARD,

BLOCK BOARD, ACOUSTICS BOARD

BUILDING BOARDS:
Introduction:-The term building board is a very general term which covers a wide variety of
materials. Building boards can be made of wood, compressed sawdust or
vegetable fibre gypsum plaster etc.
Many building boards are supplied pre-primed or factory finished. Some are treated with fire
resistant chemicals, in which case it is important to seek the board manufacturer's advice
before painting.
Most building boards will be hidden from view, in that they will be plastered over, used as
flooring or as an insulation material, in which case the board itself will not be painted.
Different sizes of building boards are:
Pro building board : 12x24x3/4: - 16x36x3/4
Sound board : 24x48
Solid balsa board: 24x14x3/4
36x16x3/4
48x16x3/4
PLYWOOD:
Introduction:-Plywood is a special type of board in which several numbers of boards are
joined, with glue to dissipate or compensate particular defects of each and to offer a board of
required thickness. It used for general construction purpose such as interior material for
housing, ships, vehicles and furniture etc. Its demand is regularly increasing. Plywood can be
used at every place where the wood is used. The cost of the product made of plywood is
cheaper than the product made of wood.
Plywood Grades
A- Grade: Grade A is smooth. It can be painted and has a limited number of patches.
B- Grade: The B grade is solid, and has a few more knots and may even have minor splits.
C- Grade: Grade C allows for limited splits and discoloration or sanding effects, provided the
plywood strength is not affected. C plugged grade plywood is an improved version of C grade.
The difference is that the splits and cracks are not as big as those found on C
grade.
D- Grade: Grade D plywood features knotholes of up to three inches across the grain and even
some cracks. This grade of plywood should never be used outdoors, as when it gets
wet it will swell and break down.

FinplyA Grade of Its Own

Finply is what manufacturers call Finnish plywood. It is generally more durable and attractive
than regular plywood. While many plywood products are inexpensive, finply actually costs
quite a bit. It can be combined with aluminum to make very modern looking furniture. Many
woodworkers consider the high quality finply boards so special that it gets like a kind of grade
on its own.
SIZES: Plywood sheets usually sold as four-feet wide, but are occasionally found in two and
five-foot widths. Similarly, a plywood sheet's length is commonly eight-feet, but some suppliers
carry four and twelve-foot lengths. Metric sizes are also available.
While the length and width of a sheet is pretty straight forward, the thickness dimensions are
anything but. The most common sizes of plywood sold in the United States are 3/4", 1/2" and
1/4". However, that's not exactly correct. A 3/4" sheet of plywood is really 23/32" (and is now
typically labeled as such). Similarly, 1/2" should be correctly labeled as 15/32" and 1/4" labeled
as 7/32". However, everyone still refers to them as 3/4", 1/2" and 1/4".

PARTICLE BOARD:
Introduction:-Particleboard is cheaper and more uniform than conventional wood and
plywood and is substituted for them when appearance and strength are less important than
cost. It is weakest type of fibreboard, except for insulation board.
A major disadvantage of particleboard is that it is very prone to expansion and discoloration
due to moisture, particularly when it is not covered with paint or another sealer.
Particleboard flooring provides the ideal sub floor surface for all types of floor coverings
including vinyl, ceramic tiles, slate, parquet and carpet.
Particleboard is ideal for applications such as wardrobes, wall units, TV cabinets,
shelving, toys, cupboards and wall linings.
Melamine Particleboard is available as standard, moisture resistant or edged for easier
finishing.
DIMENSION: 2x3x1/24
BLOCK BOARD:
Sources: -Blockboard is made up of a core of softwood strips. These strips may be up to
about 25mm wide. The strips are placed edge to edge and sandwiched between
veneers of hardwood. The sandwich is then glued under high pressure. Blockboard
is not suitable for outdoor use because the glues used are interior glues. When
using blockboard to make such things as doors or tables, it is important to ensure
that the core runs lengthways in order to achieve maximum strength. Blockboard
may be used to make shelves, doors, paneling and partitions.

Sizes: -Blockboard is sold in sheets of 2440 x 1220mm and are normally 30mm thick.
Screws and nails may be used to attach blockboard and laminboard but you have to ensure
that you make contact with the strips of softwood and not the gaps between the softwood
strips. The edges of both blockboard and laminboard are unattractive and cannot be cleaned
up well.
Place softwood strips, veneers or fill and paint the edges. Blockboard and laminboard may be
bought with a variety of applied finishes such as wood veneers and plastic laminate surfaces. If
both sides are treated in the same way blockboard and laminboard have a good resistance to
warping.
ACOUSTIC BOARD:
An acoustic board is a special kind of board made of sound absorbing materials. Its job is to
provide sound insulation. Between two outer walls sound absorbing material is inserted and
the wall is porous.
Thus, when sound passes through an acoustic board, the intensity of sound is decreased. The
loss of sound energy is balanced by producing heat energy.
MATERIAL:

Recycled Wood Fiber Residue.

PANEL SIZE:
DENSITY:

2' x 4' or 4'x 8'

15 to 20 lbs. per Cubic Foot.

WEIGHT: .65

lbs. /sq. ft.

INSULATING VALUE:

R=1.22 at 1/2" (ASTM C518)

NRC:

.35 (ASTM C423)

STC:

26 (ASTM E-90)

APPLICATIONS:

Acoustical-Board Can be used as a Flooring Underlayment or as a Damping Layer between

Studs and Gypsum Board to Improve Sound Transmission Class (STC) of Gypsum Drywall
Partitions. Schools, Apartments Buildings, Townhouses, Condominiums. Noise S.T.O.P.
Acoustical-Board meets the Requirements of ASTM-C 208, the Specification for Cellulosic
Fiber Insulating Board.