the story
First made in 1916, Homasote fiber board consists of 100 percent post-consumer newsprint mixed with a small amount of other ingredients, including paraffin wax for water repellency and copper metaborate for resistance to fungi, termites and carpenter ants.
Homasote has literally thousands of uses. Available in plywood-size panels but lightweight, it is easy to handle and cut, yet sturdy enough to be screwed to studs on the interior or exterior to add insulation and deaden sound. (One half inch of #440 insulates with an R value of 1.2 and blocks sound with a noise reduction coefficient of 0.20). Although the Homasote winds up being covered either by siding or drywall, it is still very weather-resistant. During World War I, it was used on field hospitals and military housing in France. Explorers to the South Pole in the 1930s and 1940s lined their buildings with it.
The Homasote company is the nation's oldest manufacturer of building products made from recycled waste paper. Each year, it has the capacity to convert 80,000 tons of old newsprint into useful building products.
performance
Homasote is dense enough so that it doesn't crush if walked on. It is often used underneath flooring to insulate and deaden sound.
Homasote is fire-resistant, but not sufficiently to meet fire codes for wall surfaces inside buildings. Covering it with drywall solves this concern. Where codes are not an issue, Homasote can be painted and left exposed. The surface has a slight texture.
Because it's soft enough for a tack to penetrate, Homasote also serves well as a base for bulletin boards and wall systems that may double as bulletin boards. Homasote doesn't self-heal, however, so tack holes will show. We sell burlap-faced Homasote, which hides the holes. You can also glue fabric or a thin sheet of cork to the top of the Homasote.
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