The Wood Library
Made of Wood chips + glue Cost Lowest Strength Low Screw hold Poor
Engineered Wood
Chipboard
Wood chips and sawdust bound with glue and pressed flat — the cheapest board there is. Wrapped in melamine, it becomes the white and wood-look flat-pack furniture in almost every home.
The facts
Best uses
- Flat-pack furniture
- Melamine cabinets
- Cheap shelving (supported)
- Worktop cores
Watch out for
The weakest board: it sags under load, strips its screws easily, and the instant water reaches it, it swells and crumbles for good. Never put it under a sink or anywhere damp.
Engineer's notes
Chipboard is honest about what it is: cheap, light, flat-pack material. Used dry, flat and well-supported it does its job. I am simply blunt with clients about its limits — it is not built to last, and water is its end.
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