HMR particle board, top, compared with regular particle board, bottom, after both have been soaked in water.

"HMR (High Moisture Resistant) particle board is drawing interest from local architects and DAGS (state officials at the Department of Accounting and General Services)," says Gary Okimoto, architectural sales representative for Honolulu Wood Treating Co. Ltd..

The product is made by Australian-based CSR Timber Products and has been used in Australia for 15 years, Okimoto says. It's also being sent to China, Japan, Guam, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Standard particle board is not well accepted in Hawaii and other places with moisture problems, because it can swell up and deteriorate, Okimoto says.

HMR uses special bonding resins. Okimoto says HMR is "not a preferred food source" of termites because they must eat through the resins to get to the particles.

HMR is dyed green to show its difference from standard particle board.

Cost for HMR is $27.75 per 4-foot-by-8-foot sheet in the three-quarter inch thickness, if you buy 50 pieces at a time. For purchases of only one sheet at a time, the price is $2 higher, Okimoto says.

Honolulu Wood Treating, based in the Campbell Industrial Park, brought in five containers of HMR in its first shipment a month ago.