[Greenbuilding] MDF vs Particleboard vs Whatever
jeff mitzel
jeffmitzel at yahoo.com
Sat Oct 23 20:13:50 CDT 2010
Brian,
I run a green building cabinet shop. Here's my take.
We use ply materials in our shop and tend to stay away from particle board and
MDF. Particle board tends to swell with moisture. Just does. Ply materials
preserve the cell structure of wood and transmits moisture along the cell
structure. Particle board just swells. There's no transmission. It's not a
good design in that manner.
MDF doesn't hold fasteners well and is not well suited for box construction
using screws and staples.
Both use more glues than ply materials. Adding chemicals to the home
environment doesn't seem like a good thing.
Final cup of wet water to toss in your direction--- I'm not convinced NAUF glues
are superior to urea formaldehyde glues. Urea Formaldehyde glues are listed as
a carcinogenic material based on a 35 year old study of several thousand workers
at two plants. 19 workers at only one plant had a rare nasal cancer. No
studies have been done on the new glues.
The old urea formaldehyde glues have otherwise been around since the 30's and
use natural organic materials.
The glues used in MDF are different than ply glues and are all chemically
derived. Some of the glues used in ply materials cross link soy with Kymene (a
chemical and the material used in paper towels that keep paper towels from
falling apart). This ply glue replacement seems less toxic than the MDF glues.
Ply seems like a better way to go all the way around.
My take is the NAUF labeling is a bit misleading as greener/safer--- it's just
different and we don't know if different is better, the same, or worse.
My two cents,
Jeff Mitzel
Greenaward Custom Woodworking
________________________________
From: Brian Milani <bmilani at web.ca>
To: greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org
Sent: Sat, October 23, 2010 12:02:23 PM
Subject: [Greenbuilding] MDF vs Particleboard vs Whatever
Hello,
We have some built-in shelving and cabinetry to do in our kitchen--at both ends
of the room but not near the sink or water.
We're having trouble finding green cabinetmakers with time available soon, so it
looks like I will have to be doing it myself.
I'm finally having some luck sourcing materials, but am still unsure as to what
to use. Everything will be painted white, so the issue seems to be choosing
among plywood, particleboard or MDF. There seem to be local suppliers of
FSC-certified and NAUF particleboard and MDF, as well as plywood, but I am
unsure of the ideal material. I've heard pros and cons on PBD and MDF. When
working as a carpenter last century, I never liked particleboard much, but I
hear there are many good grades of it now. I used a bit of MDF (Medite II) back
then, just as it was coming into the mainstream. The latter seemed awfully
heavy, though, and one green cabinetmaker said he doesn't use it for that
reason.
Any suggestions? If anyone has suggestions about inexpensive but ecological
countertop material too, that would be appreciated. Paperstone, Icestone, etc.
look good but seem very pricey.
Thanks in advance.
yours,
Brian M., Toronto
-- Brian Milani
www.GreenEconomics.net
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