Particle board (chipboard)

Particle board (a.k.a chipboard) is manufactured from wood particles, such as wood chips, sawmill shavings, or even saw dust, and a synthetic resin or other suitable binder, which is pressed and extruded.

In general the chipboard used in the furniture found in Singapore market are of relatively lower density. One thing to note for people who like to move the furniture around every now and then to change the layout of the house or those who intend to move house soon, the screws and joint tends to loosen after such moving around. Chipboard furniture are not recommended for the above group of people. Reason being that chipboard is of lower density and the screws will loosen after movements as per mention in my previous post about MDF.

The general sentiments in Singapore are chipboard are very cheap and not very durable, which is true to a certain extent. Most of the chipboard furniture found in Singapore are of lower quality. However 1 point to note is that even for chipboard there are different grades and different quality. There are those very cheap and non lasting grade but there are also those which you could immerse in water yet it would not wrapped but this type are way too expensive to be economical for furniture.

Pros of particle board:
• Inexpensive
• Easy to work with

Cons of particle board:
• warp or expand if not sealed
• More susceptible to swelling and breaks when waterlogged
• Less dense than MDF