Blue/ Pink foam alternatives...

styrfoam/white beadboard? homasote? saw were a guy actually built his baseboard out of balsa-wood! talk about lightweight!

You are being fed a line of garbage. Blue and Pink extruded foam is a common insulation material. Can be found at any home improvement store. Just avoid the stuff that has foil on it....

Like I said in my post, it doesn't matter because I can't find the stuff. I can't find it at the usual sources and even places where the contractors go.

So, I was asking for an alternative.

-John

*You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North American*

It's expensive and only available in 1x2' sheets of various thicknesses, as well as risers and inclines, you might look at Woodland Scenics. I do like the lack of noxious fumes when cut with a hot wire. But like I said, it is not cheap.

Ed

in article snipped-for-privacy@mb-m29.aol.com, Ditch at snipped-for-privacy@aol.compost wrote on 6/25/04 5:52 PM:

Only partially a line of garbage. The OSHA things sounds bogus to me, since I was able to special order some. The insulation distributors in California handle it.

But... Home Depot does not... they buy whatever is a half penny cheaper, and they switched suppliers. They now carry Mansfield foil-backed white-bead floppy board insulation. Likewise, the one Lowe's I checked had the same stuff from Mansfield, although I did not go to the effort to locate and quiz a manager that knew something as to why. Anyone in the SF Bay Area looking for either the pink or blue brand will most likely be skunked. A year or two ago HD did have it, but no more. The "found at any home improvement store" comment is.... uninformed :-) I suspect it has a lot more to do with regional pricing differences than OSHA.

Anywayz... I went to Minton's Lumber in Mountain View, and they were kind enough to special order the exact Foamular that I wanted.... as I type this I sit surrounded by the swirling toxic gasses of recently hot-knifed styrofoam. The only catches to special ordering: 1) Distributor requires that you order in minimum 24 sheet lots. Doesn't matter if it is 1" x 24" or 2" x 48", you get a bale of 24 sheets. 2) Pay up front. 3) Wait a week to 10 days for a truck load of other stuff to be heading from the disty to the lumber yard so that they can just throw it on... unless you want to pay the whole freight bill yourself.

-dave

That sounds more like it. Doing more research tonight, I did find a place in Fremont

that supposedly carries the blue foam. I'm going to check them out on Saturday.

If they have it, I will report back here. It beats having to buy a lot of 24 sheets.

-John

*You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North American*

DC> Only partially a line of garbage. The OSHA things sounds bogus to me, DC> since I was able to special order some. The insulation distributors DC> in California handle it. DC> DC> But... Home Depot does not... they buy whatever is a half penny DC> cheaper, and they switched suppliers. They now carry Mansfield DC> foil-backed white-bead floppy board insulation. Likewise, the one DC> Lowe's I checked had the same stuff from Mansfield, although I did not DC> go to the effort to locate and quiz a manager that knew something as DC> to why. Anyone in the SF Bay Area looking for either the pink or blue DC> brand will most likely be skunked. A year or two ago HD did have it, DC> but no more. The "found at any home improvement store" comment is.... DC> uninformed :-) I suspect it has a lot more to do with regional DC> pricing differences than OSHA.

And maybe the fact that people are not as concerned about freezing cold basements... The most *common* use of the foam insulation here in NE is to insulate basements, since you can just stick it up against the poured concrete cellar and then just back fill against the foam. It is more common to use fiber glass insulation in the walls and ceilings, particularly with wood frame construction. That is, foam tends to go with masonry construction (it is common to see foam used on concrete block w/ brick facing type *commercial* construction) -- the foam does not need studs to support it, you can just tack it up against a concrete (poured or block) wall and then put something (dirt or bricks) up against the foam.

DC> DC> Anywayz... I went to Minton's Lumber in Mountain View, and they were DC> kind enough to special order the exact Foamular that I wanted.... as I DC> type this I sit surrounded by the swirling toxic gasses of recently DC> hot-knifed styrofoam. The only catches to special ordering: 1) DC> Distributor requires that you order in minimum 24 sheet lots. Doesn't DC> matter if it is 1" x 24" or 2" x 48", you get a bale of 24 sheets. 2) DC> Pay up front. 3) Wait a week to 10 days for a truck load of other DC> stuff to be heading from the disty to the lumber yard so that they can DC> just throw it on... unless you want to pay the whole freight bill DC> yourself.

Sounds like the SF area model railroaders should get together and put in a group order (can you say 'buying club').

DC> > > So anyway, is there an alternative that can be used? I am starting my DC> > layout DC> > > and would like to build it so it is light weight, as I anticipate a move DC> > in DC> > > about 18 months. Thanks to all... DC> > >

DC> > >

DC> > > -John DC> > > *You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or DC> > North DC> > > American* DC>

\/ Robert Heller ||InterNet: snipped-for-privacy@cs.umass.edu

|| snipped-for-privacy@deepsoft.com /\FidoNet: 1:321/153

I was in the San Carlos Home Depot today and they had the pink foam board. FWIW

!! Astounding! I just checked Cupertino HD a week ago, and no pink. That's the first reported sighting of pink foam in the bay area in over a year. Wonder if the return migration has started? I think what we need to do is find HD's regional buyer for insulation products, and find out his favorite brand of refreshment.

-dave