does anyone know of a good dealer near Los Angeles to purchase owens Corning pink foam? seems not as common here due to mild winters.
I always got my pink foam from Home Depot in Massachusetts, but I hear it's hard to find further south. You might try talking to them locally to see of you can order some, or call Owens-Corning and ask where it's available where you live. Some big commercial building supply place might have it, too.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyI always got my pink foam from Home Depot in Massachusetts, but I hear it's hard to find further south....
johnbalichOwens Corning pink foam? seems not as common here due to mild winters.
It's always puzzled me why insulation seems to be not used in areas where the weather is hot. Up here in the Great White North, insulation helps to keep the cold air out, which takes stress off the heating system. It works just as effectively when the weather here gets hot, and our air conditioning is running.
In a hot climate, insulation keeps the heat out and the cool air in, with less stress on the air conditioning.
While I am in Canada, it's about as far south as it could be, while still being in Canada. Over the years, I've seem temperatures here as low as -40ºF and also over 100ºF...those are, of course, extremes, not occurring for long periods or on a regular basis.
Wayne
I believe houses in warmer areas that need a lot of air conditioning are also insulated. The issue is that they use other forms of insulation.
My house in Louisiana was just as insulated as my house further north, but the insulation was more fiberglass batting.
I can't say why the foam was not used as much.
York1 John
possible reasons foam insulation is not used in warmer US climes:
takes longer to cut to size
must cut to fit around wiring and pipes
must seal edges of foam
On a recent house I worked on, foam insulation was added as an external layer to a roof. It was also used on the inside of the concrete basement (floor and walls). The foam for the walls had slots cut in the back of the foam, and it was actually faster to run the wiring than if it had been a stud wall. But that's not the kind of foam we're after.
But aside from the above, I'm not seeing an advantage to using foam in wood frame construction without basements (the typical warm clime US method).
When I wanted some foam for my layout, I went to a real lumber/building supply place to get it. They didn't have much.
Ed
If you go to the Contractors' counter at Home Depot they will order it for you. It may not be a local item for the region you are in but it is in the HD product line.
Drop the manufacturer an Email and see where you can buy it in your area. I did this for a similar product and was directed right to the local wholesaler and ended up paying 40 cents on the dollar for it as they sold to me at wholesale.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Lastspikemike It is a puzzle why houses in hot climates are not insulated even more so than in cold places. AC consumes a lot of power compared to a gas heated furnace.
What???
I guess what??? Do you really think houses in hot climates are poorly insulated???
Do you really think our builders and engineers are that inept?
Houses down here are required to have insane amounts of insulation, and "foam board" is not good enough.
johnbalichDoes anyone know of a good dealer near Los Angeles to purchase owens Corning pink foam? seems not as common here due to mild winters.
Hi John. Since this thread has been unfortunately "Spiked" and driven off topic, you might not get much help.
I live in an area where foam insulation board is only available in 3/4" thick 4 by 8 sheets. It is also possible to find 1" thick foam in 2 by 2 "hobby" sized sheets, but it is very expensive like that.
To get my 2" foam and Homasote, I rented an SUV for a trip I was making anyway to Indiana, and stocked up at a Menard's up there. Homasote is also not readily available in Florida unless you are buying an entire pallet.
You could team up with other hobbiests (CosPlay people use lots of 2" foam) and special order in a contractor quantity. People used to do that here to get Homasote.
This is the load I brought back from Indiana. I had to cut the sheets to fit them into the Ford Explorer. It is enough for my home layout and my planned portable layout.
Good luck.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Thats why I use beaded foam as when I started the other foams were just not available.
Some bad information and speculation in this thread. Pink and blue foam are often used for underfloor heating systems and elsewhere in basements, both of which are rare in California. Pink and blue foam are available in So Cal, but can be hard to find. There are dealer-finders on both the Owens-Corning [pink] and DuPont [blue] (formerly Dow) sites, but they will often suggest big-box stores that do not actually have the material in stock – and minimum orders are often large. Call first before driving.
Dupont (their version is called Styrofoam Square Edge)Dealer Locator
Owens-Corning (their version is called Foamular)Dealer Locator
Another option (though expensive) that some friends and clients have used is:
Foam Sales Group1540 Gage Rd, Montebello, CA 90640(818) 558-5717
Good luck with your search. Oh, and call first before driving.
Byron
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
SeeYou190Since this thread has been unfortunately "Spiked" and driven off topic, you might not get much help
Doctorwayne's post came before Lastspikemike's and was no more on topic, so it's a little disingenuous to accuse Lastspikemike of driving it off topic.
The whole thread is likely off topic. It seems to me that the OP is looking to buy some pink foam board for his layout, not to insulate his house. Granted, the OP suggests that pink foam board is less common in LA due to mild winters.
But, as Kevin points out, insulation is not unique to Canadian homes. Here in the Chicago area, we have summer days approaching 100 degrees and winter days approaching minus 25 degrees. Of course, our houses are fully insulated. In fact, quality builders often substitute 2x6 framing for 2x4 framing in the walls to create more depth for more insulation.
What are our Canadian friends thinking?
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain What are our Canadian friends thinking?
Of somewhere warmer than Chicago, perhaps. They didn't specify, only said "hot climate".
In previous threads. people who live in California the Southwest, and the South can only buy 2" foam on special order in huge quantities.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
You must find some of that stuff John.
Owens Corning pink extruded foam isn't just for breakfast anymore so to speak. It has many uses and it's even used under airport runways as geothermal qualities to prevent heaving from extreme temperature swings. The Panther made airport runways float.
The reason this stuff is not ready available in the south is the lack of demand. Fiberglass batt insulation is way cheaper and breaking cold air drafts and outside infiltration of winter is not needed down there in the south. Airtight defense of the cold in the Northern Hemisphere, it is quite effective.
I think ordering it from the contractor desk at Home Depot as suggested here would be your best bet. Or Menards if you have them down there.
I hope you can get some because personally I really enjoyed working with the stuff as I think you will. It was one of the funner craft projects I took on.
I just hate the pink color untill its finished. I think silver or beige would have been a better choice the Pink Panther could have decided on
But then again I don't think the Panther ever anticipated his product would ever be used on Model Railroads
I wish you the best John
TF
richhotrainThe whole thread is likely off topic.
Yes, and I apologise for that. The reason for my comment was my puzzlement why extruded foam seemed to be unavailable in warmer areas of the U.S., as it's been used a lot here in Canada, likely shortly after it became available. If few builders use it, then it does help to explain why it's hard to find it for model railroading useage.
I'm using some extruded foam to replicate the appearance of the layers of shale, limestone, and clay which characterize open-face areas of the Niagara Escarpment, but I don't use it for a layout base or for track inclines.
And no, I didn't use extruded foam for insulation when I built my house: fibreglass batts between 2"x6" studs, and more than a foot of the same stuff in the attic.
I think that Brent's suggestion of contacting Home Depot might be a good idea for getting some foam board available.
Lastspikemike I do wonder why foam seems popular for scenic effects.
Weight, ease of use, availability of product, personal preference, etc.
SeeYou190
Plaster cloth works fine on show layouts but it must have solid backing, like carved foam.
This 6' x 18' piece of bench is 1" x 4" open grid with 2" foam on top. My neighbour and I carried it the 230ft around the house easily. The layout is movable but not portable. There is no way the two of us could have picked it up if it had been plywood instead of foam. If moving a layout may be in your future, foam is an option to consider. When and/or where we move determines whether the layout comes along or not, but at least the option is there.
As previously stated, fiberglass batt insulation is more popular in Southern California so the local big box stores don't stock extruded foam insulation. The big box stores will not accept orders of only a sheet or two of extruded foam insulation as they simply can't guarantee it will be in one piece by the time it gets to the store.
Hornblower
rrebellPlaster cloth works fine on show layouts but it must have solid backing, like carved foam.
Yes it does. I know several people that finish off their foam surfaces with a layer of plaster cloth.
I built my 1/100 Atlantic Wall like that. It was portable and worked perfectly.
is the woodland scenics foam "bead" board?
LastspikemikeWS also sells a low temperature "hot glue" gun and glue sticks which stick foam without melting it.
Any decent big box store sells glue-gun sticks that have various melting temps for much less than WS sells it.
In the heatwave, we had this summer, we had some glue failures because my wife had not noticed the bags of sticks had different melting temps. Remember this if your layout is exposed to high summer heat.
BATMAN Lastspikemike WS also sells a low temperature "hot glue" gun and glue sticks which stick foam without melting it. Any decent big box store sells glue-gun sticks that have various melting temps for much less than WS sells it. In the heatwave, we had this summer, we had some glue failures because my wife had not noticed the bags of sticks had different melting temps. Remember this if your layout is exposed to high summer heat.
Lastspikemike WS also sells a low temperature "hot glue" gun and glue sticks which stick foam without melting it.