Buying Foam

[Anonymous]

im looking for a horizontal light weight top for a shelf layout. i went to home depot, all they have is owens-corning FOAMULAR in 2'x8 pink sheets. i called the mfr. they said that this is NOT EXTRUDED STYROFOAM, it is EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE. apparently the plastics industry salesmen use these inaccurate terms interchangably because the components change almost daily, and they can't keep up. im about to try Lowe's. they list a styrofoam panel made by georgia-pacific, and they seem to stock only 4x8's. but i will get back to you on that. i hope it's actually 'extruded. ' the expanded polystyrene may be good for vertical scenery, but i read that extruded styrofoam is the only way to go.also, if you check the net, urethanes , polystyrenes and styrofoams can all be mixed up in the same 'vat' in different configurations, to produce something that LOOKS like a 'pure' extruded 'styrofoam'. caveat emptor....

[Anonymous]

adws
sorry it took so long to get back to you.

Yes, I just glue several layers together or buy the thicker woodland scenics stuff.

you're right, you are as far south in texas as you can get. i live up between houston and san antonio.

[bogp40]

When laminating layers of foam, try using ceramic tile mastic/ adhesive. I came upon it's use by accident. The product is relativly inexpesive for the small amount needed. I glop it on spread w/ a notched trowel- holds much better has a good initial tack and drys overnight on most applications. The notched trowel is important- allows tiny air pockets for suction and drying. Weigh the foam down on large areas to stop edge curling. Give it a try on some scraps I think you will be pleased.
Bob

[Jetrock]

Outstanding! I'll check it out...I'm getting ready to build the only piece of scenery on my layout (an artificial berm about 20' high, with the SP mainline on it, where it ran over the WP and SN lines) and was planning on having to use wood--but flower-arranging foam would be a much more elegant solution!

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock

QUOTE: Originally posted by nfmisso

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock

It depends on where you live--in California, you can't get the pink or blue foam anymore--supposedly it has been banned. Home Depot doesn't carry it. You can get the extruded foam (Styrofoam) board, which is messy to use and not as strong, but can be utilized.

You are referring to EXPANDED foam - which you do not want. You DO want EXTRUDED foam.

Right, right. I am referring to EXPANDED foam, which is apparently the only kind you can get in California. I DO want EXTRUDED foam, but they don't sell that here, probably for some stupid reason. Welcome to the People's Republic of California...

Jetrock

Go to your nearest Micheal's craft store, go to the flower arrainging aisle and look for big blocks of white EXPANDED foam boards. They sell the stuff in blocks and sheets. They use this stuff for flower arraingment and i have found it to work pretty well for scenery in the past. The only caviet is that its not as dense as the blue stuff but a coating of thick latex or artist's gesso works great.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Paul Milenkovic

One board, two board, pink board, blue board!

That curl is a real pain when trying to get a flat contact between the cement wall and the insulating board so you don't get air leakage and loss of insulating power by having cold air flow past those gaps.

Anyone else have trouble trying to get a flat surface out of foam board? Is the problem specific to pink board?

These foams are meant to be plastered over, so to answer your question, no, the problem relates to all of them. At lest with thicker boards. The thinner half inch to one inch seem to be straighter to the ends.

I haven't even begun my railroad yet - still working on drying the basement. But I use this stuff all the time in my work for sculpting, and have noticed the difference. Might be worth a look to see if you could top the 2" with a 1/2" peice?

[Jetrock]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nfmisso

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock

It depends on where you live--in California, you can't get the pink or blue foam anymore--supposedly it has been banned. Home Depot doesn't carry it. You can get the extruded foam (Styrofoam) board, which is messy to use and not as strong, but can be utilized.

You are referring to EXPANDED foam - which you do not want. You DO want EXTRUDED foam.

Right, right. I am referring to EXPANDED foam, which is apparently the only kind you can get in California. I DO want EXTRUDED foam, but they don't sell that here, probably for some stupid reason. Welcome to the People's Republic of California...

[Paul Milenkovic]

One board, two board, pink board, blue board!

I have been building modules using yellow board (Certainteed), blue board (Dow brand Styrofoam), and most recently pink board (Owens-Corning). All of these products are extruded styrofoam, which is the preferred stuff for foam benchwork, for scenary foundations, and so on.

Most recently I bought some 4' by 8' sheets of the 1 inch thick pink board in the 250 rating (25 PSI compressive strength). The stuff comes in 15 PSI all the way up to 60 PSI, depending on if you just want to use it in walls or if you want to pour concrete on top of it. Home Depot only sells the 15 PSI board, but a local lumber yard has the 25 PSI board (250 rating). I went with that on the theory that it will dent up less when a module gets banged around in use or in transport.

I am having serious buyer's remorse about the Owens-Corning pink board. They brag about a patented vacuum forming method, but their vaunted method puts a curl in the edges of the board -- about an 1/8 th inch deflection in the last four inches of the board. I am having a hard time getting a flat surface on which to lay my subroadbed (I am using foam core poster board for that).

I am sure there are ways to work around that, but the best way if you are using pink board is probably to cut off a 4 inch border as scrap. There is nothing harder to work with on the model railroad benchwork than building materials that are out of square or warped to begin with. You end up with an uneven track laying surface that will only lead to trains jumping the tracks.

Come to think of it, I experienced that same curl in some 2" thick pink board I have been trying to use to insulate my basement walls. That curl is a real pain when trying to get a flat contact between the cement wall and the insulating board so you don't get air leakage and loss of insulating power by having cold air flow past those gaps.

Anyone else have trouble trying to get a flat surface out of foam board? Is the problem specific to pink board?

[ecdowney]

I live in NM. The Home Depots here do not have the extruded foam at all. But I found it at RAKS, another builders supply chain. But they call it "gray board" for some reason, even though it is blue.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mehrlich

adws-you probably don't live in a backward community, you probably live in the south. we don't need thick insulation down here if it doesn't get real cold..

mike (in sunny, warm south texas)

I didn't think about not needed the thick insulation here. Well Mike I don't know what you call south texas, but you can't get any father south than me. Well you can you would just be in Mexico. So what do you use Mike? Since you are from the same area or close to it. Do you just glue lots of three quater of inch together or use something different, that might be cheaper in my area?

[cwclark]

I guess I'm fortunate..I get the stuff free from work...we have it laying everywhere ...benefits of working in a cryogenic plant..use it for pipe insulation...Chuck[:D]

[Anonymous]

adws-you probably don't live in a backward community, you probably live in the south. we don't need thick insulation down here if it doesn't get real cold..

mike (in sunny, warm south texas)

[Anonymous]

i dont have any expuierce cuting the pink stuff but i will once again goin to reiterate thay you can buy it at home depot or lowes

[Anonymous]

I went to my Home Depot that I have and all they have is either half inch or three quarter of an inch. They don't carry 1" or 2". I guess that is what I get for living in a backwards community....LoL.

[Anonymous]

See the reply I just submitted on the thread "To use foam or not?"

[orsonroy]

Be careful when working with that foam-like insulation with the silver backing paper; it's a fiberglas product. I used it back in my wargaming days to create geodesic terrain elements, and I would up working with it while wearing heavy leather gloves, so I didn't get fiberglas fibers embedded in my hands (they hurt like heck!)

[Anonymous]

I live in California, I've not seen the "blue" or "pink" foam, but there is a light yellow/cream colored foam at Home Depot. I can shape it well with a surform, it's strong and light.
I can't say if it's the same as the "blue" and "pink" foam boards because I've personally never seen them.
The only problem with this kind is that is comes with an Aluminum/Paper/Aluminum backing and it's a pain to remove.

Anyway, ADWS... to answer your question, I get 8x4 board for ~$14 at Home Depot

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock

It depends on where you live--in California, you can't get the pink or blue foam anymore--supposedly it has been banned. Home Depot doesn't carry it. You can get the extruded foam (Styrofoam) board, which is messy to use and not as strong, but can be utilized.

You are referring to EXPANDED foam - which you do not want. You DO want EXTRUDED foam.

[snowey]

yes,any large Home Improvment store, like Home Depot or Lowes should have it. And Home Depot will even cut it for you, for free. Break it, I should say, since you can just use the "score n' snap" method that's used with sheet styrene).
My Home Depot just sells it in 2' x 8' sheets, though. But, like I said it's easy enough to cut or they'll do it for you.

And, NEVER use that white styrofoam that's used for packing! It's too, too, messy and not strong enough.

[Jetrock]

It depends on where you live--in California, you can't get the pink or blue foam anymore--supposedly it has been banned. Home Depot doesn't carry it. You can get the extruded foam (Styrofoam) board, which is messy to use and not as strong, but can be utilized.

[Anonymous]

Home Depot or Lowes most likely have both 1 inch and 2 inch full 4x8 foot sheets, or 2x8 foot pieces. Most any lumber supply outlets would also stock either the pink, blue or grey stuff. I cannot recall the price.

[Anonymous]

Can someone please tell me the cheapest place I might find this foam that everybody is talking about? Thank in advance.