Homasote is a brand name associated with the product generically known as cellulose-based fiber

wall board Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick ...

, which is similar in composition to

papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

, made from recycled paper that is compressed under high temperature and pressure. Homasote contains no adhesives. It is held together by the surface tension between the paper fibers, a process that is augmented by hydrogen bonding and the presence of a wax binder (2% volume). It is available in multiple thicknesses and comes in sheets . The Homasote Company operates a factory in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

History

The Agasote Millboard Company was founded as a division of the Bermuda Trading Company in 1909 by

Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge (March 8, 1860 – November 10, 1932) was a businessman and promoter of patent fiberboard, and the first chairman of the interstate agency known then as the Port of New York Authority. The Outerbridge Crossing, a Por ...

. Outerbridge brought the process to the United States from England. The first commercial use of the panels were for lining railroad cars. In 1915, the company won a contract to use the panels as automobile tops. From 1915 to 1925, they supplied board for the tops of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

Nash Motors Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 195 ...

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...

, and

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

. They also manufactured a larger panel, sold as "Vehisote" for truck panels. The panels were used for the exterior of

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

s and military housing in France during WWI. By 1925, car manufacturers switched to canvas tops and Agasote lost sales, so the company heavily promoted Homasote for its versatility and insulation properties. The company then changed its name to Homasote after its now largest product. Contemporarily, the company produces several variants of the product, including 440 SoundBarrier, Firestall Roof Deck, and Ice Deck.

Uses

Homasote was widely used as wall sheeting from the 1940s into the 1970s. Due to the development of more fire-resistant

gypsum board Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thic ...

, it has decreased in popularity as a wall sheeting. Homasote is found in studio spaces and featured in many art institutions as a wall covering and doubling as a type of cork board. It often receives hundreds of coats of paint over the years due to the product's strength. Homasote is frequently used by

model railroading Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

for the sub-roadbed or roadbed, because of its noise-deadening qualities, ease of forming into shapes used as roadbed for tracks, ease of driving nails to hold track sections to the bed, light weight and retention of form under plaster scenery.

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

hardboard Hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard (HDF), is a type of fiberboard, which is an engineered wood product. It is used in furniture and in the construction industry. Description Hardboard is similar to particle board and medium-densi ...

drywall Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick ...

, and

foam insulation Building insulation materials are the building materials which form the thermal envelope of a building or otherwise reduce heat transfer. Insulation may be categorized by its composition (natural or synthetic materials), form (batts, blankets, lo ...

are common alternatives to Homasote. Homasote is used for blocking knit or crochet pieces. "Homosote (''sic'') is sturdy, and incredibly absorbent. It will wick water away from your garment so it dries more quickly. And it's like a bulletin board—you can stick pins in it easily." At

Northwest Folklife Northwest Folklife is an independent 501(c)(3) arts organization that celebrates the multigenerational arts, cultures, and traditions of a global Pacific Northwest. The Northwest Folklife Festival is an annual festival of ethnic, folk, and tradit ...

, the dance floor in the Fisher Pavilion is built each year from two layers of Homasote overlaid with a layer of painted

Masonite Masonite is a type of hardboard, a kind of engineered wood, which is made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibers in a process patented by William H. Mason. It is also called Quartrboard, Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex, and pr ...

. The Homasote base reduces the incidence of impact injuries such as

shin splints A shin splint, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, is pain along the inside edge of the shinbone (tibia) due to inflammation of tissue in the area. Generally this is between the middle of the lower leg and the ankle. The pain may be dull ...

caused by dancing on the concrete floor. Homasote is used in theatrical sets as a noise deadening layer for stage platforms consisting of a plywood sublayer, a Homasote layer, and a Masonite top layer.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.homasote.com/ Composite materials Engineered wood 1909 establishments in the United States