I live in an apartment and want to start working on a small sectional layout. I can move 1x4s easily enough in my small car as well as anything else I should need except for plywood or foam sheets. I’m toying with using just foam for the table top, but in either case my question is the same. Is there anywhere I can get less than 4x8 sheets of plywood or foam that don’t cost a fortune? Thank you!
My local Menard’s store has various thicknesses of plywood in 2X4’, 4x4’, and 2x8’ sizes.
4’×8’ foam sheets have factory-cut longitudinal scores at 16", 24", and 32". Easily popped by hand. You can also easily make cross cut scores and pop to any length you want with a box cutter or a sharp pocket knife in the parking lot. Or you can get one of the red- or orange aprons to make cuts for you. They also cut plywood as needed for free.
I carried stuff like this in the back of my Subaru Outback. Easy.
Hope this helps.
Robert
You beat me to this by about one minute!
The foam will snap if you score one side. And as Bob said, Menards sells various sizes of plywood, or they will cut what you want.
Have fun!
There’s an app for that.
Bungii and Pickup are two, I have not used either, but it’s like an uber for pickup trucs.
The foam sheets I can get around here are almost ALL 2x8. I think I saw a green extruded foam 4x8 at Lowes once. Plywood comes in all sorts of panel sizes.
–Randy
Where I live, Menards, Home Depot, and Lowes has plywood, of various thickness, can be bought in 4x8, 2x8, 2x4, and 4x4.
I don’t think foam rigid insulations comes in the same variations.
I guess it depends on where you live, and whats available.
If you only have 4x8 sheets of foam available in your area, you can always the the extra foam for scenery, and elevation changes.
Just a thought.
Mike.
You can put a 4x8 on a cart at Home Depot, wheel it to the back of the store and they will do 2 cuts for free. Extra cuts are cheap, if they bother to charge for them.
Get a circular saw and maybe a saber saw. Eventually you will need them, and they’re a good investment.
Home depot and lowes have a truck you can rent. Dont forget ryder and uhaul have rental pickups as well
And at least some of them also have “handi panels” (2’ x 4’) of homasote by the way.
Dave Nelson
as far as i knew, the insulation board came in 2 foot by eight foot size only, while the white bead board came in 4 foot by eight foot size …
you really don’t want the white bead board there, it’s pretty flimsy and very messy , just my opinion
The Home Depot by me also sells “project panels” of plywood and foam in 2x2. That’s how I got the foam for my 2’ wide shelf layout. One issue is that they can be bowed slightly so make sure to pick out good ones.
Yup, I generally use the 2’ by 4’ pieces, easy to move around and fit in even a small car. Menard’s also has shelving components that are different sizes - I think 8", 12" and 16" width; 3’, 4’ or 8’ long. I’m building a primarly ‘around the walls’ layout, and use the 16’ by 3’ shelves as my main benchwork pieces.
Our local building supply stores sell plywood “Handy Panels” in two foot by four foot sizes.
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-Kevin
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A full 4x8 sheet of plywood cut into 4 2x4 pieces is much cheaper than buying 4 pre cut pieces. Where I am, Lowes will do 2 cuts for free and $1 thereafter.
Make sure you use quality plywood, the cheap stuff can be a pain to use.
Paul
I’ve seen that at mine as well. Many home improvement stores will cut wood for you often the first cut is free and each additional is a buck or less.
Also, insulation foam usually comes pre-perforated, I think at 16" sections (I’d have to check though) Easy enough to break them apart in the parking lot. Of course you can easily score and break as well.