Homasote

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Homasote is a type of wallboard made from recycled paper that is compressed under high temperature and pressure and held together with a glue.

Contents 1 Agasote 2 Railroad cars 3 Homasote 4 Loss of car market 5 External link

[edit] Agasote

The Homasote Company operates a 750,000 square-foot factory complex in West Trenton, New Jersey. It started as a division of the Bermuda Trading Company in 1909. Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge founded the company as the "Agasote Millboard Company." Outerbridge brought the process into the United States from England.

[edit] Railroad cars

The panels were first used for lining and sides of railroad cars. In 1915, they won a contract to use the panels as automobile tops and for the next 10 years they supplied board for the tops of Ford, Buick, Nash, Studebaker, and Dodge. They marketed a larger panel as "vehisote," for delivery truck panels.

[edit] Homasote

The Homasote version of the board was marketed in 1916, as "Versatile Homasote Board," an un-sanded panel, strong and lightweight with excellent weather-resistant properties. The panel was impervious to moisture and Homasote was used for the exterior of field hospitals and military housing in France during World War I.

[edit] Loss of car market

By 1925, cars were using 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 it's now largest product. Homasote, 1 3/4" thick and tongue and grooved, is used for upstairs sub-flooring in two story homes. Covered with carpet, it has superior sound deadening and insulating qualities.

[edit] External link

• Homasote homepage