Sheet Woods

Hardboard

Usually 3mm thick
Not fully rigid
Used to line damaged wood floors before carpeting
Also available with a semi-gloss white finish
Most popular as cupboard backs and drawer bottoms in cheap furniture
Vulnerable to water damage
Hardboard is occasionally called HDF (high density fibreboard), or masonite (a US trade name).

Pegboard

Hardboard with a matrix of prepunched holes.
Used for vending displays, long metal hooks go in the holes and products are hung on these.
Can be used to hang hand tools, leads etc

Matchboard

Matchboard is thin tongue & grooved strip wood, and is sometimes mistaken for a sheet product when fitted. Picture here

Chipboard

aka Particleboard
Low cost sheet material
Made from wood chips & sawdust glued together.
Very widely used
Dimensionally stable, as long as kept dry
Very vulnerable to water - some is ruined by a single wetting
Much weaker than real wood
Comes in differing strength & finish grades
Occasionally called LDF, low density fibreboard
Made from mostly recycled wood.
Density 0.6-0.7 g/cc

Types of Chipboard

Low Density

Weak
A bit flaky
Cheap

Flooring

Aka high density
Stronger
Used for flooring, worktops & speaker cabinets
Often tongue & grooved for improved alignment & smoke resistance

Moisture Resistant

P5 grade
often coloured green
For bathroom floors

Veneered chipboard

Melamine

Chipboard surfaced with plastic impregnated paper
Tough fairly durable surface
Easy to clean
Available in white, brown wood patterns, and sometimes other plain colours
Veneer is very prone to chipping when cut
Veneer tends to chip over time, making it look tatty
Veneer chipping is mostly unrepairable
Veneered chipboard is the most popular furniture material today.

Wood Veneered

The great majority of wood effect chipboard is melamine veneered
Real wood veneered chipboard is also seen sometimes (also called "furniture board").

Blockboard

Strips of assorted wood glued together, with a layer of veneer on each side
Used for furniture panels

OSB

OSB being made

Oriented strand board
aka Sterling board or waferboard
Similar properties to plywoods
A cheaper alternative to ply
Waterproof
different grades available: OSB1, OSB2, OSB3. OSB3 is weatherproof, OSB1 isn't
Some OSB contains biocidal zinc borate to prevent mould & bacterial growth.
OSB vs ply OSB vs ply

MDF

'Medium Density Fibreboard'
Fine wood fibres glued together
Almost uniform, can be tooled in any direction
Free from knots & other defects
Vulnerable to water
Often criticised for being an aesthetically inferior finish to real wood
Made from wood, scrap wood, recycled paper, bamboo, forest thinnings & sawmill off-cuts
Some concerns have been expressed about formaldehyde outgassing, which can possibly cause eye or lung irritation during working. But this is no more or less true than with chipboard or hardboard.
Can delaminate if screws are driven into the ends
Green MDF is moisture resistant
Red MDF is fire retardant
Density 0.68-0.83 g/cc

Timberboard

aka pineboard
Strips of pine glued side by side to make sheet wood
Each strip is in alternating grain direction
Eliminates most of the potential for warping & cupping
Finished to furniture standard
Used for pine furniture construction, shelves, etc
Density around 0.5 g/cc

Plywood

Sheets of wood veneer stacked & glued together
Each sheet has grain laid at 90 degrees to its neighbours
Excellent strength in both directions.
Available in various grades: - Marine, WBP, fair faced, beech, underlay, etc
Various thicknesses from 4mm to 2"
Small sizes, such as 1/64" 1/32" & 1/16" ply are available from model shops
Flexible 4mm ply also available
Custom sizes may be made from veneers
Not one of the cheaper sheet materials
EN ratings
Density 0.5-0.65 g/cc

Types of Ply

Marine

This is a very expensive and high quality product. It is made with waterproof resins that will withstand prolonged immersion in water. The board is also guaranteed to have no gaps or "voids" in it, with no knots in any of the laminations. It is strong, durable, won't de-laminate, and can be finished to a high standard.

Marine ply isn't generally used in buildings, but WBP is sometimes misdescribed as marine ply.

Weather & Boil Proof (WBP)

This is what most people usually mean when they say "marine ply". It is a high quality ply suitable for outdoor applications. As its name suggests it will remain waterproof, and won't blister or de-laminate even if soaked and then left to dry in the sun. Unlike marine ply it may have small voids, and is not suited to constant immersion, but is cheaper. Finish is usually nice and uniform (if a little plain) with no visible knots in the outer surfaces.

Unfortunately there are also non-weatherproof plys being sold as WBP. brief discussion

Shuttering ply

This is also WBP but it does not look as nice or "finished". This is because it is usually made from spiral cut laminations, and so has knots and other marks visible in all the laminations, and a slightly rough surface. Its intended use is for building shuttering to temporarily enclose poured concrete work. It is strong and waterproof, but quite a bit cheaper than standard finished WBP ply. Shuttering ply tends to be somewhat absorbent at first, and is hence harder to decorate. The grain and texture of the surface will also tend to show through any finish.

CDX

Interior grade of ply - Unlike WBP this will not take well to getting wet. A couple of exposures to moisture is usually all it takes to have the surface start to bubble, and the laminations start to come apart. It is cheaper than WBP and much better looking than shuttering ply, it will also decorate and finish well.

Fair faced

This is a whole category of veneered and finished plys suitable for furniture making. Strong and dimensionally stable, the outer layers of veneer are usually cut from a more attractive hardwood, that will look to all intents and purposes like a solid hardwood when assembled and finished. Depending on the veneer chosen, these can be expensive (although still cheaper than solid hardwood). Note that similar MDF cored products are also available.

Underlay

Underlay ply contains no voids, giving it maximum resistance to point loads.

Underlay ply is used to provide a tough gap-free surface for tiling, carpeting, lino etc, and to take up slight differences in floor height, eg where lino abuts carpet. It comes in sizes from 1/8" to 3/8".

Underlay ply is not waterproof. It should only be installed on completely dried floors. 2 days in its final location are recommended to acclimatize before laying.

Russian ply

Ply with thick birch faces, used for furniture.

Hatter's ply / Wigglewood

Flexible ply with the grain of all layers running in the same direction. Used for making curved furniture - and top hats.

Laminate

There are different constructions of laminate flooring,
- Hardwood on chipboard, with or without a balancing underside layer of wood for greater stability, makes a good quality lamiante floor
- Lower quality laminates may just be printed hardboard
Used for flooring

SIP

Structural Insulated wood Panels
2x OSB outer layers with insulation fill.

Pinboard

known as LDF, pinboard or Sundeala (brand name)
soft fibrous board
easy to push pins into it, used for noticeboards
discussion & suppliers

Sheet plastics

Opaque sheet has high price & lacklustre performance for most DIY purposes. Translucence is usually what makes plastic sheet useful for DIY.

Acrylic

Clear sheet used to replace glass
Perspex is a well known trade name
Tends to crack when cut or drilled
Can be glued with acetone or acrylic dissolved in acetone
Available in semi-flexible 2mm and rigid 4mm

Cutting methods:

score on both sides & snap
- quick but sometimes goes wrong.
Fine toothed saw
- less risk of breakage
- keep saw pressure always low
Die grinder with cutting disc
- melts through the sheet
- won't crack the sheet
- occasionally necessary to recut any bits that re-fuse
Angle grinder with thin grit cutting disc
- melts through
- keep pressure low
- cutting disc ends up a mess

Drilling methods:

standard twist drill
- tends to crack the sheet
- best avoided
mini grinding stone in die grinder
- melts its way through
- fast & safe

Polycarbonate

One of the toughest plastics
Clear or tinted
Flat sheet, Twinwall & Triplewall available
Multiwall sheets contain air spaces giving insulation
mainly used as clear & tinted roofing sheet
much higher price than acrylic

uPVC

Used for cills, bargeboards, soffits, cladding
White is the most popular colour
Also used to line showers sometimes, but a poor substitute for ceramic tiles

Corrugated PVC

Roofing sheet
White, translucent or tinted
Different corrugation sizes & shapes available

Sheet Metals

EML

Expanded Metal Lath
Sometimes loosely called 'gauze'
Used to support and reinforce render & plaster
Galvanised
Stainless steel also available, at several times the price

Stainless Steel

Extremely durable
Used as a kitchen splashback
SS sheet is too expensive for other uses in any significant amount

Rebar

an open grid of steel bar
for reinforcing concrete
Cut with bolt croppers or angle grinder
Available in 6mm to 16mm bar diameter

Lead

Sheet lead is mainly used for joins, valleys etc in roofing
Occasionally used as a very effective sound absorbing stud wall lining
Lift lead rolls safely, back injury is a risk

Composites

Composite roofing sheet

Onduline, coroline etc
corrugated roofing sheets
made from cellulose fibres & bitumen
fairly low strength
need good support
longer lasting than felt roofing
Onduline is 3mm
Coroline is 2.6mm

Asbestos

Corrugated asbestos cement sheet
No longer installed due to safety concerns
Long lived
Asbestos is still widespread in Britain's housing stock
Rigid asbestos sheet can normally be made safe in situ
DIY disposal of asbestos at home is legal if you follow some basic rules

Asbestos replacement

Glass fibre reinforced cement sheet
looks & behaves like asbestos sheet
safe, in current use
corrugated sheet used for roofs
flat sheet used wherever a high strength thin flat sheet is required
much longer lived than soft composite sheets
not cheap

Other Sheet Materials

Plasterboard

Most popular walling sheet
Cheap
Not as strong as wood sheets
Cut with handsaw or knife
2 sheets of paper with gypsum inbetween
12mm for walls, more robust
9.5mm is lighter for ceilings
Thinner flexible PB is used for curved surfaces
Available with various edge profiles: square edge, taper, recessed
2 layers gives better soundproofing and longer fire resistance
Smaller sheets eg 3x5 are used for ceilings due to the fairly heavy weight of 4x8 sheets
More expensive specific use types also available:
- Foil coated board acts as a vapour barrier
- Fire protection boards have added glass fibre
- Soundproofing boards have lower sound transmission

Clayboard

Used as plasterboard
Typically 1" thick
Construction as plasterboard, but using clay based plaster
Much heavier than plasterboard
Better sound absorption
Not very popular

Fibre Cement

New fibre cement sheet is normally glass fibre reinforced cement. Other fibres may be used.
Old fibre cement sheet (until 1986) was normally asbestos fibre reinforced
Both have similar properties, except for the health issues with asbestos
Totally weatherproof
Waterproof
Very robust
Fairly fireproof
Long lasting
Ruins drill bits & saw blades
Not cheap
Possible to make non-compressed fibre cement sheet at home
Used for soffits, bargeboards, furniture, garages, bunkers, heatproofing, fireproofing, and sometimes found in place of plasterboard.
Breakage on outbuildings is largely due to the very thin elements used.
Old asbestos cutters are not suitable for use on new fibre cement sheet

Sag

Sag can be an issue with sheet materials, especially the lower strength ones like chipboard.

The Sagulator calculates short and long term sag, given the dimensions, loading and material type.

Sheet material