Particle Board Vs. Plywood: What Are The Major Differences?

Upgraded Home Team
by Upgraded Home Team

When undertaking a home improvement project, the greatest challenge you’ll face is choosing different materials for the same tasks. This is particularly pronounced if you’re thinking about using either particleboard or plywood for your home’s kitchen cabinets. One question you’ll ask yourself is, which of them is better?

Plywood is a composite carpentry material made by gluing thin sheets of wood or cross-laminated veneer under heat and pressure to create a thicker and stronger plank. On the other hand, particle wood is a flat board made using chips or particles of wood that are glued before being pressed under heat.

Particleboard and plywood are two carpentry materials that are used for similar tasks. However, the application of each material depends on your budget and where you want to use it. Thus, it’s best to consider the scope of your project before choosing either of these materials.

Do You Need to Hire a Framing Contractor?

Get free, zero-commitment quotes from pro contractors near you.

What is a Particle Board?

Particleboards are a great alternative to traditional timber boards. These boards are made by compressing wood chips using glue. Typically, the wood chips on the surface are usually thinner and finer than those in the middle layer. This way, the surface of particle boards tends to be more compact and denser than the middle layer. On average, glue makes up 10% of particle boards.

Since particle boards are made by compressing wood chips, they tend to have a consistent cut and shape. In addition, these boards don’t twist or warp easily because they are usually compact and have a uniform thickness. The consistency in the composition of the boards also allows for higher tolerance when cutting them.

Particleboards are also dense, and therefore, impressive in heat and humidity. However, it’s best to keep in mind that not all particle boards you’ll come across in hardware stores have consistent density. Also, if you want your cabinets to last, it’s best to stay away from poor-quality boards since they will warp with the slightest exposure to heat or humidity.

Pros of Particle Board

The greatest benefit of using particleboard is its greater dimensional stability. As a result, it won’t lose shape due to temperature fluctuations and other similar environmental changes. Besides, particle boards don’t have any natural defects. Therefore, they provide adequate thermal and sound resistance.

Affordability

Particleboard is considerably more affordable than both plywood and solid wood. When undertaking a project that requires hundreds of sheets, particle boards will save you a lot of money. You can save up to 12% of your budget when installing kitchen cabinets, for instance.

Lightweight

Although particle boards are dense, they are incredibly lightweight. This makes transportation and handling relatively easy. It’s common to come across people who consider density a key consideration when purchasing wood.

However, it’s best to keep in mind that the denser a carpentry material is, the harder it is to work with. The denser wood is certainly heavier and more difficult to work with. The particleboard is strong but incredibly lightweight, which means it’s easy to move it to and from and around the job site,

Easy to Hold Nails

Particleboard has a higher capacity to hold nails and screws compared to MDF and plywood. As a result, it won’t crack or break when you drive nails or screws into it. Besides, the nails and screws will stay in place without moving, thanks to the dense composition of the boards. Furthermore, cutting, drilling, milling, gluing, and painting particle boards is easy.

Eco-Friendliness

Particle board is typically made from wood scraps, shavings, bagasse, and sawdust, which are considered waste. Most manufacturers make particleboard from leftovers that would otherwise be an environmental hazard.

Therefore, there’s little waste when manufacturing particle boards. Besides, extra logging needs to be done to produce particle boards. Some manufacturers even produce particleboards without using formaldehyde, which minimizes their environmental impact all the more.

Ease of Lamination

Particle wood provides a flat and smooth surface to work with. It’s easier to stick wood veneer or decorative laminates on particle boards to add beauty and even more aesthetic value to your project.

Cons of Particle Board

The biggest drawback of particleboard is that, despite its considerable strength, it can’t support heavy loads. Therefore, it may not be suitable for use in places such as kitchen countertops. Furthermore, continuous exposure to moisture and humidity will cause the boards to warp.

When compared to fiberboard or even some types of plywood, particleboard is low in strength. This means it’s more susceptible to damage when handling. It also limits the application of particle boards to only specific projects.

What is Plywood?

Although plywood is similar to particle wood, its composition differs. Often, manufacturers glue together softer and structurally weak planks to create a string board that can be used for different carpentry applications.

The gluing together of thin pieces of wood gives the final product superior tensile strength and better shearing properties than MDF and particleboard. Thus, plywood resists side-to-side movement and pulling forces better than most carpentry materials you’ll come across.

Plywood is also lightweight, which makes it ideal for hanging large cabinets in the kitchen. The planks of thick wood are glued together before undergoing heat treatment. The joints are also glued together, which makes plywood more resistant to scratches and dents.

Pros of Using plywood

Structural Strength

Plywood is a useful building material that can be used for different applications. It has good strength, which makes it more durable than other materials. You can use it for various applications, including kitchen cabinets, shelves, and countertops.

Versatility

Plywood comes in different sizes. When shopping for plywood, you’ll notice that it’s always available in large sheets, which can be cut into smaller pieces according to customers’ specifications. Plywood is produced in lengths of up to 16 feet. Besides, it’s easy for the boards to be chopped to suit your preferences.

Consistency

Plywood panels are often solid and dense throughout. This is due to the attention to detail that goes into the manufacturing process. Besides, the smaller planks that are glued together often have the same size, giving the end product uniformity.

Resource Efficiency

Indeed, plywood isn’t the most eco-friendly building material, but it’s resource-efficient, thanks to the manufacturing process. The panels can be made from different fast-growing tree species. They can even be made from trees that are not yet fully matured. Besides, the process uses an optimum amount of wood fibers from the trees, thus reducing demand for old-growth wood.

Cons of Plywood

With plywood, the risk of splinters appearing at the edges is high, especially during transportation and handling. Likewise, the layers of veneer are often visible at the edges. To hide them away, you’ll need to finish your planks of plywood with either veneer or laminate.

It’s difficult to determine the type of wood that was used to manufacture a plank of plywood. Unfortunately, some manufacturers take advantage of this to use poor-quality planks that will give in within a few years of use. Thus, it’s advisable to only purchase plywood from reputable dealers.

Particle Board vs. Plywood: Which is Better?

It’s difficult to determine which of these building materials. Even so, various parameters can help you make a good decision. These are:

Strength

Due to the way both products are manufactured, plywood is considerably stronger than particleboard. In addition, the perpendicular layers of the individual wood planks make the overall structure strong and almost split-proof.

Finish

In terms of finish, particleboard has an advantage over plywood. Particle boards always feel smooth to the touch. Conversely, plywood often has rough fibers and other defects that need to be sanded out or cut. This results in wasted material.

Weight and Density

This should be a key consideration when choosing materials for kitchen cabinets and other projects. Plywood is not only less dense but also weighs less than particle board. Besides, particleboard gives you better soundproofing and thermal resistance.

Environmental Concerns

Regardless of the intended application, particle wood beats plywood when it comes to environmental concerns. When undertaking a large project, particle board will also cost less than plywood. Another advantage of particleboard is that it’s made from wood scraps rather than whole planks of wood. Therefore, it’s more eco-friendly than plywood.

Do You Need to Hire a Framing Contractor?

Get free, zero-commitment quotes from pro contractors near you.

Key Takeaways

The common misconception among individuals who are undertaking construction or home improvement projects for the first time is that plywood is better than particleboard. This can be true in some cases, but not always, because the opposite can also be true.

Both plywood and particle board are made using somewhat the same process. However, their structure and composition differ. Therefore, their tensile strength also differs. Particleboard also has the same structure, whereas plywood is often graded from A to D. Thus, it’s easy to choose the most suitable type of plywood according to the intended use.

Ultimately, choosing between plywood and particleboard will boil down to the intended application, your budget, and your preferences. Both building materials will provide more or less the same functionality.

Upgraded Home Team
Upgraded Home Team

We are a team of passionate homeowners, home improvement pros, and DIY enthusiasts who enjoy sharing home improvement, housekeeping, decorating, and more with other homeowners! Whether you're looking for a step-by-step guide on fixing an appliance or the cost of installing a fence, we've here to help.

More by Upgraded Home Team

Next