What?

[Anonymous]

I need to know what kind of foam sheets are best.

Basicaly how thick of a sheet should I get and what company to buy from?

[tstage]

wjc09a,

What are you going to use the sheets for? A layout base? Scenery?

As far as general infomation, what you want is extruded foam insulation (EFI), used in construction for insulating basements walls. It comes in various thicknesses and can be had at any home center or Home Depot in your area. Owen Corning is one manufacturer of it.

For layout bases, 2" thick is generally an except thickness, although I decided with my 4 X 8' layout to go with 1-1/2" thick foam. The cost (in Cleveland)? $15 for a 4 X 8' piece of 1-1/2" insulation, $20 for a 2". I chose the 1-1/2" thick foam because I wanted to frame it in 1 X 3's rather than 1 X 4's for asthetic reasons.

The extrude foam is GREAT for laying down and securly holding your track temporarily* in place, in order to try out your layout design ideas. All you need are standard track spikes. You can just pu***hem through the prefabricated spike hole(s) in the track ties.

*Temporarily vs. final design. Once you've "nail down" your final layout design, you should solder and glue the track in place for the "long haul". I just started my layout and am in my "3rd month" of temporary. The EFI is dense and holds spikes VERY well. The only downside is that using the same exact hole a second time will not be quite as secure. I love the stuff. I can try out a design without worrying about my track joints pulling apart. [:)]

For scenery, you can stack, glue together, and shape the foam however you want. I believe the foam comes in 1/2" thickness.

WORD OF WARNING: Make sure when you either paint or glue extruded foam insulation, you USE ONLY A LATEX OR WATER-BASED PAINT OR GLUE!!! (Solvent-based paints or glue will MELT THE FOAM.) Either Elmer's School or Wood glue, as well as a product called Liquid Nails (for LATEX) would do. You also may need to give the glue a prolonged period (5-7 days?) to cure properly.

Hope that helps.

Tom