does anyone know of a good dealer near Los Angeles to purchase owens Corning pink foam? seems not as common here due to mild winters.
I always got my pink foam from Home Depot in Massachusetts, but I hear it’s hard to find further south. You might try talking to them locally to see of you can order some, or call Owens-Corning and ask where it’s available where you live. Some big commercial building supply place might have it, too.
It’s always puzzled me why insulation seems to be not used in areas where the weather is hot.
Up here in the Great White North, insulation helps to keep the cold air out, which takes stress off the heating system. It works just as effectively when the weather here gets hot, and our air conditioning is running.
In a hot climate, insulation keeps the heat out and the cool air in, with less stress on the air conditioning.
While I am in Canada, it’s about as far south as it could be, while still being in Canada. Over the years, I’ve seem temperatures here as low as -40ºF and also over 100ºF…those are, of course, extremes, not occurring for long periods or on a regular basis.
Wayne
We have AC as well as heating (not the norm up here and hardly necessary where I live at 1,000 meters elevation). Our house is well insulated (retrofit) with 2" foamboard (blue up here, not pink) added to the outside of the walls and loosefill added in the attic. When it’s 35C outside (about 90F) the AC doesn’t come on until after 4:00 pm most days, if at all.
It is a puzzle why houses in hot climates are not insulated even more so than in cold places. AC consumes a lot of power compared to a gas heated furnace. It should save money if you were to insulate any house these days.
I believe houses in warmer areas that need a lot of air conditioning are also insulated. The issue is that they use other forms of insulation.
My house in Louisiana was just as insulated as my house further north, but the insulation was more fiberglass batting.
I can’t say why the foam was not used as much.
possible reasons foam insulation is not used in warmer US climes:
takes longer to cut to size
must cut to fit around wiring and pipes
must seal edges of foam
On a recent house I worked on, foam insulation was added as an external layer to a roof. It was also used on the inside of the concrete basement (floor and walls). The foam for the walls had slots cut in the back of the foam, and it was actually faster to run the wiring than if it had been a stud wall. But that’s not the kind of foam we’re after.
But aside from the above, I’m not seeing an advantage to using foam in wood frame construction without basements (the typical warm clime US method).
When I wanted some foam for my layout, I went to a real lumber/building supply place to get it. They didn’t have much.
Ed
If you go to the Contractors’ counter at Home Depot they will order it for you. It may not be a local item for the region you are in but it is in the HD product line.
Drop the manufacturer an Email and see where you can buy it in your area. I did this for a similar product and was directed right to the local wholesaler and ended up paying 40 cents on the dollar for it as they sold to me at wholesale.
What???
I guess what??? Do you really think houses in hot climates are poorly insulated???
Do you really think our builders and engineers are that inept?
Houses down here are required to have insane amounts of insulation, and “foam board” is not good enough.
[:^)]
Hi John. Since this thread has been unfortunately “Spiked” and driven off topic, you might not get much help.
I live in an area where foam insulation board is only available in 3/4" thick 4 by 8 sheets. It is also possible to find 1" thick foam in 2 by 2 “hobby” sized sheets, but it is very expensive like that.
To get my 2" foam and Homasote, I rented an SUV for a trip I was making anyway to Indiana, and stocked up at a Menard’s up there. Homasote is also not readily available in Florida unless you are buying an entire pallet.
You could team up with other hobbiests (CosPlay people use lots of 2" foam) and special order in a contractor quantity. People used to do that here to get Homasote.
This is the load I brought back from Indiana. I had to cut the sheets to fit them into the Ford Explorer. It is enough for my home layout and my planned portable layout.
Good luck.
-Kevin
Thats why I use beaded foam as when I started the other foams were just not available.
I didn’t take this thread off topic. Just incidentally, insulation requirements in my locale are about double the spec used in Florida.
For accurately dimensioned foam products you just can’t beat Woodland Scenics bead foam board. It cuts nicely using the hot wire or knife producing minimal objectionable fumes. It’s a bit pricey for large areas. But then it’s moulded to exact dimension unlike house building stuff.
A combination of the WS flat foam board and risers turns out to be pretty efficient for constructing a foam layout. Jointly with Kato WS has developed a variation of their Modu rail system incorporating hardboard panels and other structural items to use with Kato’s sectional track which is interesting enough to take a look at. If you use a plywood base then adding the WS riser system is very effective.
Some bad information and speculation in this thread. Pink and blue foam are often used for underfloor heating systems and elsewhere in basements, both of which are rare in California. Pink and blue foam are available in So Cal, but can be hard to find. There are dealer-finders on both the Owens-Corning [pink] and DuPont [blue] (formerly Dow) sites, but they will often suggest big-box stores that do not actually have the material in stock – and minimum orders are often large. Call first before driving.
Dupont (their version is called Styrofoam Square Edge)
Dealer Locator
Owens-Corning (their version is called Foamular)
Dealer Locator
Another option (though expensive) that some friends and clients have used is:
Foam Sales Group
1540 Gage Rd, Montebello, CA 90640
(818) 558-5717
Good luck with your search. Oh, and call first before driving.
Byron
Doctorwayne’s post came before Lastspikemike’s and was no more on topic, so it’s a little disingenuous to accuse Lastspikemike of driving it off topic.
The whole thread is likely off topic. It seems to me that the OP is looking to buy some pink foam board for his layout, not to insulate his house. Granted, the OP suggests that pink foam board is less common in LA due to mild winters.
But, as Kevin points out, insulation is not unique to Canadian homes. Here in the Chicago area, we have summer days approaching 100 degrees and winter days approaching minus 25 degrees. Of course, our houses are fully insulated. In fact, quality builders often substitute 2x6 framing for 2x4 framing in the walls to create more depth for more insulation.
What are our Canadian friends thinking? [*-)][%-)]
Rich
Of somewhere warmer than Chicago, perhaps. They didn’t specify, only said “hot climate”.
Ed
In previous threads. people who live in California the Southwest, and the South can only buy 2" foam on special order in huge quantities.
You must find some of that stuff John.
Owens Corning pink extruded foam isn’t just for breakfast anymore so to speak[(-D]. It has many uses and it’s even used under airport runways as geothermal qualities to prevent heaving from extreme temperature swings. The Panther made airport runways float.
The reason this stuff is not ready available in the south is the lack of demand. Fiberglass batt insulation is way cheaper and breaking cold air drafts and outside infiltration of winter is not needed down there in the south. Airtight defense of the cold in the Northern Hemisphere, it is quite effective.
I think ordering it from the contractor desk at Home Depot as suggested here would be your best bet. Or Menards if you have them down there.
I hope you can get some because personally I really enjoyed working with the stuff as I think you will. It was one of the funner craft projects I took on.
I just hate the pink color untill its finished. I think silver or beige would have been a better choice the Pink Panther could have decided on[(-D]
But then again I don’t think the Panther ever anticipated his product would ever be used on Model Railroads[:^)][(-D]
I wish you the best John[Y]
[;)]TF
Yes, and I apologise for that. The reason for my comment was my puzzlement why extruded foam seemed to be unavailable in warmer areas of the U.S., as it’s been used a lot here in Canada, likely shortly after it became available.
If few builders use it, then it does help to explain why it’s hard to find it for model railroading useage.
I’m using some extruded foam to replicate the appearance of the layers of shale, limestone, and clay which characterize open-face areas of the Niagara Escarpment, but I don’t use it for a layout base or for track inclines.
And no, I didn’t use extruded foam for insulation when I built my house: fibreglass batts between 2"x6" studs, and more than a foot of the same stuff in the attic.
I think that Brent’s suggestion of contacting Home Depot might be a good idea for getting some foam board available.
Wayne
Blue or pink is just the manufacturer preference. Same stuff.
Having used both plaster cloth and foam I do wonder why foam seems popular for scenic effects. Hot wire or knife cutting works better than shaving, messwise, and plaster cloth can involve excesses of plastery water you need to deal with but cutting foam or grinding it is just plain messy.
Weight, ease of use, availability of product, personal preference, etc.
-Kevin
Pefect!
My number one reason for using the stuff is it’s so light weight. Otherwise I would not be putting up with the static storms[(-D]
I want to take my portable layout to the train shows some day for the kids to enjoy. I guess I was trying to think ahead for when I get older, I don’t want to be putting my back out moving it.
Plaster adds up surprisingly quick and gets very heavy. Plaster doesn’t like movement either as it tends to crack at the stress areas. Plaster is great if it doesn’t get moved around and I do miss working with it.
TF