page_title: Fiberglass
section_title: House building
hierarchical_section_title: Fiberglass / Applications / House building
caption_attribution_description: English: Dome 4 at Baggin's End, Davis, California. Photo taken on December 17, 2011 by Alfred Twu. Note new decomposed granite pathways installed in November 2011.
context_page_description: Fiberglass, or fibreglass is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet, or woven into a fabric. The plastic matrix may be a thermoset polymer matrix—most often based on thermosetting polymers such as epoxy, polyester resin, or vinylester—or a thermoplastic.
  Cheaper and more flexible than carbon fiber, it is stronger than many metals by weight, is non-magnetic, non-conductive, transparent to electromagnetic radiation, can be molded into complex shapes, and is chemically inert under many circumstances. Applications include aircraft, boats, automobiles, bath tubs and enclosures, swimming pools, hot tubs, septic tanks, water tanks, roofing, pipes, cladding, orthopedic casts, surfboards, and external door skins.
  Other common names for fiberglass are glass-reinforced plastic, glass-fiber reinforced plastic or GFK. Because glass fiber itself is sometimes referred to as "fiberglass", the composite is also called "fiberglass reinforced plastic".
context_section_description: Glass-reinforced plastics are also used to produce house building components such as roofing laminate, door surrounds, over-door canopies, window canopies and dormers, chimneys, coping systems, and heads with keystones and sills. The material's reduced weight and easier handling, compared to wood or metal, allows faster installation. Mass-produced fiberglass brick-effect panels can be used in the construction of composite housing, and can include insulation to reduce heat loss.
caption: A fiberglass dome house in Davis, California
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