Particleboard or veneered MDF sheets buckled

Causes

Moisture absorption from high internal moisture levels

Sheets have become wet from a wall, window or roof leak

Listed under: Interior, timber and wood-based, medium-density fibreboard (MDF), particleboard, timber, Roof, walls, windows, moisture, timber veneer, leaks

Cause

Moisture absorption from high internal moisture levels

Repair

  • increase the amount of ventilation in the house. In particular, add a rangehood over the kitchen stove and an exhaust vent near the shower in the bathroom, both vented to remove steam to outside the house. (A plastic shower dome over the shower is another way of keeping steam under control)

  • opening windows fully for at least 10 minutes every day can make a difference

  • avoid using unflued gas heaters, drying clothes on drying racks inside the house or using unvented clothes driers – these all add a lot of moisture to the air inside a house

  • replace damaged boards. If reconstituted wood boards such as particleboard are used for repairs in wet areas, they should be H3.1-treated

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Cause

Sheets have become wet from a wall, window or roof leak

Repair

  • where the leaking problem has the potential to be widespread around the house, engage a registered building surveyor to investigate and report on cause and extent

  • where there is just a single leak, repair it following the advice on other pages of this site, such as for Roof leaks or Window leaks. Wall linings or claddings may need to be removed as part of the work. If the leak has occurred within 15 years of the original construction then the house has not met Building Code durability requirements and building work to repair the leak requires a building consent 

  • replace damaged boards. If reconstituted wood boards such as particleboard are used for repairs in wet areas, they should be H3.1-treated

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