Thread: Is MDF suitable for a seating project?

A couple of years ago I built a large window seat. I made a frame out of 3 x 2 pine from bunnings using pocket hole screws and clad it in chipboard using a double layer for the tops.


Bench came out very strong and is going strong after 5 + years.


With a good subframe and timber edging I think MDF will be ok, but if it were me I would use yellow tongue chipboard/flooring (whatever its called) its cheap tougher and 18mm instead of 16mm the regular stuff comes in.


good luck

joez

Thanks joez, that's got me thinking. I wasn't thinking of a sub frame before, you reply has made me consider this as the load bearer.

I often use MDF for projects such as seating, day beds, cubby shelving etc, but I always make sure I use the 18mm thick sheets. I like MDF because it is cheap and precision cut. One annoying thing about using fibreboard is that it doesn't glue as easily as working with real wood, but there are special MDF glues to help with that. Just thought I'd mention it because MDF absorbs regular wood glue so a lot of your strength comes from screwing it rather than gluing it.

Mdf will absorb moisture and swell over time. That can be a problem if you like to mop the floor. I did an island bench with mdf panels going right to the floor once and all was going well till the pipe to the dishwasher burst. My wife thought she was doing the right thing by trapping the water against the island bench with towels till I got home . Seriously, you shouldn't put mdf against a floor.

In terms of structural considerations, there's about a million ways that you could strengthen that internally, so not really a problem. A bigger challenge is hiding the screw holes.

Cheers
Arron