Anybody check out the prices for pink extruded foam board lately?I went into Menards today, and a 2" sheet (4X8) is over $38!
Just for laughs I asked about white beadboard. Same dimensions is $24.
I may look into an alternative scenery base with those prices!
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Is the bead board less strong? Some people use the pink foam without plywood base.
But with the 4'x8'x2'' pink/blue board I can still cover a lot of ground fast for $38.00. I suppose it would make more of a difference to me whether I needed 25 sheets or 4 sheets to finish the layouts. I'm glad I got in to this hobby when I was maybe 12 or 14 years old.
MidlandMike Is the bead board less strong? Some people use the pink foam without plywood base.
Yes.
White bead board comes in different densities, the tighter/mashed more compressed the beads are, the stronger it is. I only use white bead board for the sub base if I need a tall piece of ground and top that with blue/pink foam board.
Just take a piece of 1/2'' white bead board and snap it in two, then take a piece of 1/2'' pink/blue foam board and snap it in two. Now look at the broken ends and see which has the smoother broken edge. Smoother edge more dense, stiffer.
Mounting anything like track, ground throws, track signals, under track switch machines, tall WS plug and play ''wooden'' light poles on pink/blue board takes a different approach then mounting those items on cork, homasote or plywood.
Prices for many things are crazy. That includes wood also. Who knew that applied to foam also? Glad I started before the pandemic and don't need any more. I feel terrible for anyone needing the foam now.
PruittI went into Menards today, and a 2" sheet (4X8) is over $38!
In the summer of 2019 I bought three sheets of 2" pink board to use as foundation insulation. I just looked at the receipt and they were $32 per sheet. I recall thinking at the time it was $1/SF. This was from Home Depot. So, yeah, six bucks over three years is a bit of an increase.
Good Luck, Ed
gmpullmanIn the summer of 2019 I bought three sheets of 2" pink board to use as foundation insulation. I just looked at the receipt and they were $32 per sheet. I recall thinking at the time it was $1/SF. This was from Home Depot. So, yeah, six bucks over three years is a bit of an increase. Good Luck, Ed
The product I cannot rationalize is the price of OSB.
Right now 1/2" plywood suitable for roof sheathing of $56.00 per sheet, and 1/2" OSB is over $60.00 per sheet?
How did OSB get more expensive than plywood?
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I use the bead board for my layout and my last one too. Works great and dose not warp like the pink stuff. Use the 2" stuff. It cuts like butter with a hot wire cutter and is not as (beads blow everywhere) as people think. I do all my basic work and then cover it with plaster cloth after cork and track is laid, just cover the track with blue painters tape from the $ store. Plaster cloth is not very messy if you do it right (but your hands get messy so have an old towel at the ready because it is hard to smooth it without using your hands).
Just got back from Home Depot. 2 inch pink board- 4x8 sheets- $49.95
1-1/2 thick 42.95
Yikes.....
Mark B
Perhaps this is where cardboard strip webbing with hot glue can really save you some money, especially since many cut away foam to make land forms which may mean you throw alot of that expensive material away. If you save your cardboard boxes, the cardboard is free! Glue sticks are pretty inexpensive too.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I did the first section of my layout using 2" foam but after that I switched to more traditional methods like open grid and plywood in towns and yards. To me the advantage of foam board is that it is light weight and easier to move if that is a consideration but I expect to be carried out of the house I'm living in now so portability is not a high priority for me. I prefer a wood base because it's much easier to attach things like switch machines to. I can't remember what I paid for foam board about 20 years ago but I'm thinking it was about half of the prices I see now.
I do use the sheets of foam that come in boxes that hold heavy items or electronics. Typically, these are about 3/4" thick. I use them to build up the ground under a structure that is above the plywood level.
Comment retracted as this is an MRR forum, not a business or global affairs platform.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Canadian homebuilders and renovators are still using Imperial sizes. When your floor joists are 16" on centre, then you need 4' by 8' sheeting materrial. Same when replacing a forty year old roof, and need a little replacement sheathing.
If you haven't noticed plywood and osb are being made in thickness's that I haven't seen before but width and length is what we are used to. It is a simple job for a modern mill to cut width and length to any dimention, it is thickness that needs all the recalibration.
rrebellIf you haven't noticed plywood and osb are being made in thickness's that I haven't seen before but width and length is what we are used to.
From what I understand, the "new" thickness is actually a more honest representation of the actual thickness. Nothing has actually changed.
1/2" became 15/32", but it is the same product. Just an accurate description instead of nominal size.
Maybe soon "two by fours" will be sold as "1-5/8 by 3-1/2" or something.