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Kitchen ceiling submitted for asbestos comment (C) InspectApedia.com Jess Pinex Ceiling Composition
Q&A on Asbestos & Fire Resistance of Australia & New Zealand Pinex products

Composition of Pinex ceiling panels. SBI Micore 300 is a mineral fibre board, according to New Zealand Pinex - Woodpro Ltd .

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Asbestos in & Fire Resistance of Australian or New Zealand Pinex Ceilings

Micore 300 fiberboard at InspectApedia.comDoes Pinex contain asbestos?

How might we best improve the fire-resistance of old Pinex ceilings or similar fiberboard products used as interior ceiling or wall coverings?

We include questions & answers about ceiling tiles that do, do not, or might contain asbestos were posted originally at ASBESTOS CEILING TILE IDENTIFICATION - be sure to read that article.

Bottom line: the various descriptions of the ingredients in Pinex fiberboard (a Woodpro product) given here tell us that the product is made of wood fibre, probably principally pine wood.

For readers worrying about asbestos in Pinex ceilings, pine wood is a plant fibre, not an asbestos material.

Unless your fiberboard ceilings or walls have already been plastered-over, if you need to improve the fire-resistance of those ceilings or walls check with your local building officials before doing anything costly; you may find that an easy approach is to install a layer of drywall or gypsum board on those surfaces.

On 2018-10-05 by (mod) - SBI Micore 300 is a mineral fibre board compared with wood-fibre NZ Pinex Soft Board

Modern Woodpro "Pinex" is not the same product as the wood-fibre "Pinex" softboard produced in New Zealand between 1941 and the 1960s.

Details about Pinex are at

IDENTIFY PINEX FIBERBOARD from which we excerpt here.

Chiladaki et als. described Pinex's ingredients:

Low-density fibreboard is used widely as insulating board and is commonly referred-to (in New Zealand) by its trade name Pinex.

Over time some changes have occurred in the manufacture of the board, but generally it is the same. . ... [chipped or flaked] wood (Pinus radiata) ... further reduced to wood fibre with the aid of steam ... Starch adhesive as well as different additives are added before the board forming operation, depending on the final product.

... Nowadays 96% of the final product is wood fibre, 2% starch that binds the fibres, 1% wax for moisture resistance. Alum is sometimes added. ... back in the 1940s the wood used would have been solely pine, and most likely no chemicals would have been used, but maize starch [corn starch]. - Chiliadaki 2006.

Excerpting from the modern product description of SBI Micore:

We received this follow-up from NZ Pinex - Woodpro Ltd: "From our knowledge Pinex was made from wood chips and cardboard. We are unsure of the exact composition of Pinex."


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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: coat Pinex Caneite acoustic softboard with BondCrete to improve fire resistance? Meet fire code?

BondCrete at InspectApedia.comI have a question in regards to a ceiling. It is a old accoustic softboard, pinex caneite. I am after weather it is
possible to skim coat or render with a gyprock plaster compound mixed with bond Crete to give it joint structure and a nice application finish.

I spoken to some other people but they seem unsure. My question have you ever seen it done and is it possible. I have looked on your site and it says consult your building inspector and you actually give a guide saying it can increase fire retardant and meet future codes.

This house was built in 1975 in Tasmania, Australia. Any advice would be very much acknowledged and appreciated.

Kindest, Good day. - Anonymous by private email 2021/10/27

Moderator reply: not the best approach

Thank you for a helpful question on covering exposed fiberboard walls or ceilings at building interiors to improve fire resistance and to meet contemporary fire and building codes.

Indeed some fibreboards were used as a plaster base to form a wall system that might, when plastered, meet current fire codes and standards.

But for buildings where the original fiberboard ceilings or walls remain, a more-effective and probably considerably less-costly approach to fire safety improvement that is more-likely to find easier approval by your local building officials, would be to simply install a layer of drywall, or where-needed, fire-rated drywall, over the existing fiberboard.

In our OPINION that approach requres less skill, less labor expense, and is faster than skim-coating the exposed surfaces with BondCrete.

For other readers:

BondCrete is described by Bondall, its manufacturer as a bonding and sealing agent, not as a fire-resistance improvement coating. A typical application for BondCrete is for concrete floor topping or patching on concrete floors or driveways, applied in the mm- thickness range. It is also used to improve bonding onto steel-form structural concrete and for tiling over old or new concrete surfaces.

BondCrete might also be used to bond quarry tile or ceramic tile to timber floors, atop a layer of fiber cement sheathing. (BondCrete 2021)

Watch out: nowhere in the product description does the manufacturer recommend use of BondCrete as a fire-resistance coating used over soft fiberboard products like Pinex.

BondCrete Universal Bonding Agent Australian made since 1951, this versatile Bonding & Sealing agent has developed and improved for your building and renovating needs. The result is one of the strongest high solids bonding agents on the market. Our exclusive resin additive ensures maximum bonding every time. It’s so strong there is little need to hack, chip or acid etch the surface before bonding. - Source: Bondall, retrieved 2021/10/27 original source: https://www.bondall.com/concrete-additives/bondcrete/

  • Bondall, BondCrete APPLICATION GUIDE [PDF] Bondall, 113 Belmont Ave. Belmont, Western Australia 6104 Tel: (08) 6272 3800 Email: bondall@bondall.com Website: www.bondall.com - retrieved 2021/10/27 original source: vhttps://www.bondall.com/wp-content/uploads/BC_DL_MAG_110420.pdf

At FIBERBOARD SHEATHING - home - we discuss fire rating and fire resistance questions for fiberboard products including ones like Pinex or Caneite - made from plant fibres.

At FIBERBOARD SHEATHING FIRE RATINGS we give flame spread classifications for several building materials including fiberboard - placing it in flame-spread class III.

On 2020-07-29 by Sean

After all the reading I have done I am still very confused about whether Pinex ceiling tiles used commonly in NZ in the 60's & 70"s may contain asbestos. In fact was asbestos ever used in NZ pinex?

On 2018-09-30 by (mod) -

Liping

No, not likely in a wood-product fiberboard.

I suspect from the name that it's a cellulose or wood product (made from pine and starch) but I do not know. I'm researching and will add information here.

I have not come across Pinex softboard and would be glad to do some further research on it.

Some photos of the ceiling material face, back, edge, and any stampings or markings would help alot.

There is a New Zealand Nz Pinex ceiling tile product. Is that what we're discussing? If so, this New Zealand company is familiar with that product: http://woodpro.co.nz/ceiling-tiles/

WoodPro Wards Road Rolleston, Christchurch 7614 New Zealand Phone: 027 446 4355

I asked WoodPro to comment; Are you in NZ?

On 2018-09-28 by Liping - Would Pinex softboard ceilings in a 1975 house contain asbestos?

Hi

Would Pinex softboard ceilings in a 1975 house contain asbestos?


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Continue reading  at DO THESE CEILING TILES CONTAIN ASBESTOS? or see ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST for access to certified asbestos testing labs, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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