I want to build my scenery using 1" and 2" thick foamboard. I see it in blue and pink in many construction videos here. But I can’t find it anywhere. I’m in SoCA and have yet to find any hobby story that carries any of it. And Amazon has been no help as well.
Suggestions? Sources?
Thanks
kenben,
That’s one downside in living in a temperate climate. Living in OH, finding it is not a problem. [:D]
I’m guessing what you are looking for is extruded foam insulation, which comes in 4 x 8’ sheets. (That may also help you with your online searches.) You can see if your local hardware store or home improvement store (e.g. Lowe’s or Home Depot) has it or can order it for you. You can also purchase it in 1/2" thicknesses then glue them together using a foam-safe adhesive.
Tom
Perhaps California considers extruded foam to be another cancer-causing product, but it does surprise me that the foam is so hard to find in places where insulation would be a good idea, even if the area doesn’t experience cold weather like we have in our Canadian winters. Insulation works as well to keep excessive heat out as it does to keep warm air in, in colder climates. Good insulation reduces the costs of both heating and cooling.
That said, google gives me a long list of nearby home improvement stores and lumber yards where I can buy extruded foam, even though my search terms specifically reference California, U.S.A., so I’m unable to offer you any help.
If you find it, I doubt that it will be in a hobby store. Instead, Home Depot, Lowes, perhaps a local lumber dealer, if you have one.
I’ve heard that in some areas where insulation is not normally used, you may have to place an order for more than you need - if that’s the case, your best option might be to find enough other interested modellers to go into it with you.
Wayne
Lumber yards and home improvemenrt stores (Lowes, Home Depot) are the best place to look. It comes in many thicknesses from 1/2" to 3" and maybe 4" sheets, either 2x8 or 4x8. The problem that I have heard is that if a store doesn’t carry it the minimum order can be quite a number of sheets. Around here it can be seen as a full load on a tractor trailer. One 4’ stack would make a lot of layout.
I find it easy to use, though you want to keep a vaccuum handy if you saw it. If you carve it with a knife or box cutter it’s not as messy. Also, when you are working with it, get a can of anti static spray, helps a great deal, as it does like to cling.
I’ve ben lucky and have found quantities of it at building sites for the pieces needed for making hills and other scenic features, sometimes quite large pieces… Can make things as small as a dirt pile to full size mountains. I have also seen bridge piers and abutments made from it, scribed with a ball point pen to look like large stones or it can be left smooth to look like concrete. I have even made a couple of pieces to look like stone walls.
I haven’t figured out why warm climates haven’t started using the stuff to make their air conditioning more effecient.
Good luck,
Richard
Go to the order desk at Home Depot and get them to bring it in for you or do an online order and check will pick up in-store.
You cannot get it in Florida either.
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I suggest you make a business trip to Indiana and rent a large SUV. That is what I do. Seriously, that is how I get the supplies I need.
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Just stock up at Menard’s before heading back home.
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They sell Homasote at Menard’s too.
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-Kevin
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Not generally true in California at any big-box store, unfortunately (unless one wishes to buy a pallet-full). The extruded foam is hard-to-find in California, but not impossible. I’ll check to update some sources and post more later.
In So Cal, it is usually available, though expensive, at Foam Art in Burbank
https://foammart.com/
Byron
False. Hundreds (probably thousands) of layouts have been built with extruded foam in California, and it wasn’t all smuggled in.
It’s simply not stocked in mild-winter areas. I’ve been told this is because it’s often used with radiant floor heating systems, which are a rarity in California.
It can be hit and miss on ordering it, I think it really depends on how motivated the staff are. I would say it is 50/50 based on the results I have seen. It never hurts to try.
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Yes, when I was looking at getting some Homasote, I would need to buy a full pallet, and that was serious $$$ and way too much quantity.
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Foam and Homasote do not need to be smuggled into Florida, there is just no need for them in construction, so they are hard to find.
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Home Depot does sell 2 by 2 “hobby panels” of 1 inch thick foam
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-Kevin
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We’ve had these threads before and aside from ordering a huge quantity, no one has success in finding reasonably priced foam in California or Florida.
Insulation firms may have it, but they want an arm and a leg for it.
Maybe some place cold like Lake Tahoe might have it and if I lived in Cali, I could always justify a road trip to Lake Tahoe.
The foam haters will say they would never use it and you don’t need it, but if you really, really need a light weight layout, homasote and hydrocal just doesn’t cut it.
That’s not correct, individual sheets can be found. But one does need to know where to shop.
I don’t have time to update suppliers, but in the past, Pacific Coast Supply locations have had some sizes in stock or could special order.
2" thick foam can be found in Florida, just not at Lowes or Home Depot. You need to look around for it.
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I am always amazed when I am in a Home Depot in Atlanta, and there is it, 2" foam board, right on the shelf!
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Homasote is another issue. I don’t know anyone who ever found it in Florida by the individual sheet.
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Here in Florida, if you look around, you can find the 2" Orange structural foam board. That stuff is amazing. I have wondered why know one makes model railroad benchwork out of that stuff. That is the stuff Surf Boards are made out of.
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-Kevin
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Wow! You’re not kidding about the expense. They charge $112 for a 2x48x96 sheet.
In the Menards here in the midwest, the same sheet is $32 regular price, and they have an 11% rebate.
Just a thought here.
All you need are scraps. Can you look for a local contractor that works on commercial buildings? I’ve seen lots of extruded foam used in the “Dryvit” process where a substrate (the foam) is applied to metal studs then coated with a faux-stucco material. It is used all the time in commercial buildings.
https://www.dryvit.com/products/
If you talk to the manager of a contracting firm you may be able to get them to set aside some scraps for you. They probably load tons of it into dumpsters. Hopefully you can find someone willing to help you be “green” by recycling this material to your model railroad.
Good Luck, Ed
I used to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in Lee County, Florida before the late 2000s real estate crash.
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I scrounged a good bit of scrap 2" foam from those construction projects.
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-Kevin
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I guess I should consider myself lucky. I just bought a 1"x 48" x 96" of DOW blue foam board from Lowes for $16
You can get 2" thick 4X8 sheets reasonably priced at IDI Distributors in Ontario, CA. Their phone number is 951-682-0809, address is 1600 S. Chablis Ave, Ontario 91761. Web site is idi-insulation.com