does any one know of a place to purchase pink foam board sheets in greater los angeles area?
Previous threads have indicated that it is not available in Southern California, the Southwest or the South. Maybe something has changed with the new housing explosion, but why would a tiger change it's stripes?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I have read that some of the big building supply places can order you some, but I don't know how small an order they'll accept.
I think it's just lack of demand in warm climates. California puts cancer warnings on things like this just in case you're planning to eat them.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
It seems the issue about CA not selling foam is discussed elsewhere:
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,1143883
Interesting that there is no other option but cross state lines to purchase from a neighboring state.
Best,
Lee
Beaded foam is the answer.
Can you get the blue foam? Both colors are the same thing..extruded polystyrene sheet (Owens Corning is Pink, Dow (now Dupont) is blue)
BTW, the "Blue" Styrofoam is being replaced with "gray" due to environmental rules
https://www.dupont.com/brands/styrofoam.html
The new gray Styrofoam may be an improvement over the "blue" foam
The "bead board" isn't as strong, can't be carved or cut easily without beads going everywhere.
As higher "R" value insulation is generally not required in Southern California, it is actually cheaper to use traditional fiberglass batt insulation when building here. Since they can't sell it to anyone in large enough quantities to make it profitable, building supply retailers in Southern California tend not to stock the pink or blue rigid board insulation. They also don't like to order a few sheets of it because they can't guarantee that any of it will show up in one piece. Arnie's Trains in Westminster used to keep a small stock on hand but I don't know whether they still keep it in stock.
Most of my own layout is flat, but where I do have small hills and/or grades, I just use pieces of white styrofoam I save from product packaging. Rather messy with lots of static cling but it can be made to work.
Hornblower
azrail The new gray Styrofoam may be an improvement over the "blue" foam The "bead board" isn't as strong, can't be carved or cut easily without beads going everywhere.
It may be banned. They have cancer warning labels on verything out there.
ndbprrIt may be banned. They have cancer warning labels on verything out there.
The cancer warning labels do not mean it is banned.
Down here in Florida, we can get 3/4" thick foam, but nothing thicker in 4 by 8 sheets because it does not meet building codes. Since builders cannot use it, the building supply places have no reason to sell it.
The 3/4" thick foam can be used on exterior block walls between the furring strips.
I go to Georgia and bring it back with me. I need to got to Indiana for Homasote.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
This is the haul back home from one trip to Indiana in a Ford Explorer:
If you go to Home Depot customer service and ask them to bring it in, you might be successful. If you go to the "contractors" counter you are likely to have more luck having them order it in.
I ordered 11 sheets of coroplast right from the manufacturer and got it wholesale at 40% of retail. I used the four sheets I needed and sold the rest easily and made enough to get my money back and pay for the four sheets I kept. Think outside the box.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."