What is NewWood?
NewWood is a revolutionary new building material manufactured from 100% recycled materials. It is a totally green product comprised of 50% wood and 50% polyethylene plastic formed with heat and pressure into panels that are durable, insect-proof and virtually waterproof.

What Do You Use NewWood For?
NewWood has a wide variety of uses, similar to how plywood or plastic sheeting is used in everything from crating to home building. Because NewWood has a surface that is easy to clean and durable, it is a great substitute for wood materials anywhere it comes in contact with food, animals or humans. So fruit bins, commercial kitchen walls, pallets for food products, and barn or animal enclosures are perfect for NewWood. Because it is highly water and chemical resistant, NewWood is used for underlayment in kitchens and bathrooms, as well as forming boards for concrete walls and walkways. With a durable surface that has a UV inhibitor, NewWood can be used for exterior sheathing, trim boards and fencing.

Where can I buy NewWood?
NewWood is sold through the professional lumber and building material distribution channel. NewWood is available in the summer of 2011 through a variety of distributors and retail outlets. Contact NewWood at info@newwood.com or by calling (360) 482-0888 to be put in contact with your nearest NewWood dealer.

What sizes are available?
Our standard size is a 7/16” x 4’ x 8’ (nominal) panel. Custom sizes up to 7/16” x 8’ x 16’ panels are available. Thickness is limited to 7/16”. Two or more layers of NewWood panel can be bonded together by a number of means, including heat lamination or gluing with products like Liquid Nails.

What colors are available?
The NewWood product is manufactured in four colors – Natural (clear), Blue, Tan and White. All colors have a semi-transparent coverage to allow the natural variation of the recycled content to be visible through the surface treatment.

Does NewWood Have a Warranty?
Yes it does. NewWood products are warranted to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of ten years from the date of delivery to the buyer.

Can you machine and cut NewWood with existing tools?
Yes. You can rout, cut and shape NewWood with the same woodworking tools you use on particleboard, plywood or structural lumber. It reacts to nailing and screwing just like wood does, with the added benefit that you can fasten up to1/4” from any edge and our plastic content minimizes dust generation.

When NewWood is cut, does it melt from heat that is generated in the cutting process?
No, it will cut much like other woods. Typical carbide saws will produce sawdust made of wood and plastic from NewWood. Melting from heat generation or gumming of a saw blade will only occur from worn, dull or damaged blades.

Can you paint NewWood?
There are several products we have found which adhere to the top face (the rougher of the two sides) of NewWood. These include Sherwin Williams’ Exterior Alkyd Wood Primer; Valspar’s Duramax Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint; Rust-Oleum Direct to Plastic Aerosol and Glidden water-based acrylic Gripper primer. NewWood has asked several other paint manufacturers to test their paint lines.

Penetrating stains also work on NewWood, such as Behr water-based Premium Weatherproofing Sealer and penetrating stains.

Does NewWood product have an odor or off-gasses toxic chemicals?
NewWood has a slight wood products odor. No glues or urea formaldehyde is used in producing our panel. Therefore, NewWood has no volatile organic chemicals or off-gassing. NewWood will be submitting panel material to Air Quality Sciences / GreenGuard Institute to scientifically evaluate off-gassing of the newly produced NewWood product. This testing and data will be available by the end of this year.

How much does a sheet of NewWood weigh in comparison to plywood or OSB?
A 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood, 15/32” thick weighs approximately 42 lbs. A similar sheet of OSB, 7/16” thick, is approximately 54 lbs. NewWood weighs 60.5 lbs. per sheet. The weight difference is because of higher density.

What is NewWood’s fire-rating?
NewWood achieved a class C flame spread rating, similar to most wood products. It is well-suited for exterior applications and not recommended for passive fire protection systems. See definition of fire-rating at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-resistancerating.

How Does NewWood Fare Against Termites and Carpenter Ants?
NewWood’s plastic content makes it highly resistant to termites and other insects. Research has shown that NewWood outperforms other building products because these pests will not eat plastic.

What is the coefficient of expansion for NewWood?
Unlike most wood-plastic composites or other extruded plastic building materials, NewWood has a negative coefficient of expansion. That means that NewWood is dimensionally stable when it gets warm. It resists warping when one side is exposed to the sun and the other is in the shade.

What is the maximum linear expansion from swelling caused by moisture absorption?
NewWood swells far less than most all wood products when exposed to water or humidity. The hygroscopic linear expansion of an 8 foot length sheet when left in water 24 hours will expand 0.1152” which would be about 1/8” of an inch in length.

What is the thickness swell after 24 hours?
NewWood absorbs far less moisture than any wood based panel product when measured at 24, 48 or 72 hours using standard test methods. The average thickness swell of NewWood at 24 hours is 0.89%.

What is the strength of NewWood in comparison to plywood and OSB?
Two common measures of plywood and OSB performance are stiffness (MOE) and strength (MOR). The MOE (modulus of elasticity) and MOR (modulus of rupture) of NewWood is approximately one half the MOE and MOR of plywood and OSB, depending on type and grade.

Is NewWood more pliable than typical wood products?
NewWood has much higher internal bond strength in comparison to engineered woods (plywood and OSB type products) and possesses the ability to be bent without breaking to significantly tighter curvature than other engineered woods. With this pliability NewWood is uniquely suited for curved elements in construction applications, or use as a concrete forming material where curvature is desired.

Is NewWood more waterproof than OSB?
Our research indicates that NewWood is 3 times more water resistant than OSB in a 24 hour water soak test. NewWood’s surface face is a polyethylene film layer which resists water absorption and the recycled plastic in its core minimizes edge swell and water penetration at exposed edges. Common sealants, such as paint or acrylic products, to waterproof NewWood’s exposed edges are compatible with our panels.

What is the recommended installation gap between two sheets of NewWood when used in exterior applications?
To allow for both thermal expansion and expansion due to changes in moisture content NewWood recommends the installer leave a 3/16” of an inch gap between two adjoining pieces of NewWood.

Should the gap between two sheets of NewWood be caulked or sealed?
To prevent penetration of water between two adjoining panels NewWood recommends the installer seal the gap. NewWood recommends the use of elastomeric sealants that comply with ASTM C920 as specified by the sealant product manufacturer.

What is the nail head pull through value for NewWood?
Nail head pull through capacity was evaluated and found to be 275 lbs. This is approximately double the value for OSB or plywood.

Does NewWood have a structural-use panel rating?
NewWood is not yet structurally rated.

Can NewWood contribute points for a LEED project?
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across a variety of metrics. LEED credits cover the performance of materials in aggregate, not the performance of individual products or brands.

NewWood products can potentially contribute 1 to 4 possible points to Materials and Resources (MR Section Credit) and also possible points to Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ Section Credit) in the low emitting materials – Composite Wood and Agrifiber category. NewWood’s recycled content is generally sourced within 500 miles of our plant and, unlike particleboard or engineered wood panels, NewWood has no added urea formaldehyde.

What are the LEED statistics for using NewWood?
NewWood products can potentially contribute 1-4 possible points in each of two different qualification areas depending on application and project.

What Happens to NewWood at the End of its Useful Life?
NewWood will accept back any used product and recycle it into a second generation of NewWood. Alternatively, it can be dropped off at construction and demolition recycling operations and recycled just like plywood or structural lumber for a number of secondary uses.

What are the LEED statistics for using NewWood?
NewWood products can potentially contribute 1-4 possible points in each of two different qualification areas depending on application and project.

Can NewWood be overlaid with vinyl or some other type of overlay to give uniform color?
NewWood utilizes a polyethylene surface film which can be changed to produce different colors and alter the opaqueness of the board. In addition, adhesives that will bond with polyethylene films may be used to overlay with a laminate or other surface to the NewWood panel.

Do adhesives bond with NewWood?
Yes. NewWood has both wood fiber and polyethylene. When drilled or cut, the wood fiber is exposed and will accept any adhesive that bonds with wood. The top and bottom surfaces of NewWood are primarily plastic film. Contact cement will bond to NewWood, as will products with MDI (methylene diphenyldiisocyanate) or organic solvents, such as Liquid Nails.

Can you edge band onto NewWood?
Yes.

Can you use hot melt glue on NewWood?
Yes.

Will aliphatic glues (yellow carpenter’s glue) bond to NewWood?
Yes, but the wood fiber in NewWood must be exposed for the aliphatic resin glue (yellow carpenter’s glue) to bond.

Should you use thermoplastic adhesives or thermoset?
Thermoplastic adhesives do not require adding heat to get the surfaces to bond. Two basic types of thermoplastic adhesives will work: cyanoacrylate (which does not require air to cure) and saturated polyesters combined with isocynate catalysts. They should cure at room temperature and can be accelerated for solvent evaporation and press curing at 100 to 154 degrees Fahrenheit.

Do spray adhesives bond to NewWood?
You can use any high quality contact adhesive, such as 3M’s Hi-Strength 90 Spray Adhesive. It’s a high strength, fast drying, contact adhesive designed for permanently bonding decorative adhesives.

Does NewWood recommend a specific type of fastener?
No. Fastener selection is a function of application and required holding value. To provide for adequate structural integrity and performance NewWood recommends the installer fasten, nail or otherwise mechanically attach the NewWood panel per the ASTM Standards established for wood products in that application.

Will NewWood dull my saw blades?
NewWood cuts just like wood. You can use a standard carbide-tipped saw blade and it should stay sharp just as long as if you were cutting wood.

Is NewWood certified as CARB 2 compliant for indoor air quality?
As a wood/plastic composite building material, NewWood is categorically exempt from the requirements of the California Air Resources Board for wood products. However, NewWood has been evaluated by an independent testing laboratory for formaldehyde emissions. NewWood was found to emit less than the threshold for plywood under the CARB Phase Two regulations. Testing found less than the detectible limit of 0.01 parts per million. NewWood is safe for use in home and office interiors.

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