Patent ID: 7976655

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a wood-like plywood substitute comprising the steps of: shredding discarded and/or recycled carpet segments to obtain shredded yarn material; cross-lapping at least one ribbon of fibers formed from the shredded yarn material to form a cross-lapped fibrous mat; compressing the cross-lapped fibrous mat and then needle-punching the compressed cross-lapped fibrous mat to form a dense needle-punched cross-lapped fibrous mat having a width of at least about four feet; forming a single layer of viscous adhesive comprising a foaming mixture comprising two components between two of the dense needle-punched cross-lapped fibrous mats as the fibrous mats are pressed together; allowing the single layer of adhesive to foam such that foaming action of the adhesive causes the adhesive to generate pressure and travel outwardly in two directions to permeate thoroughly into and throughout the entire thickness of the dense needle-punched cross-lapped mats; maintaining the dense needle-punched cross-lapped fibrous mats and adhesive under pressure while the adhesive cures and chemically bonds to fibers of the mats to thereby create a wood-like plywood substitute having a wood-like hardness.