Locate extruded foam in Dallas

[cdouglas]

Hello all,
I'm new to the forums and the hobby in a very long time. I am in the process of procuring items to create my first layout in 30 so odd years. Actually two separate ones, one dc setup for my son with my 30 year old trains and a DCC setup with new trains for me. I have decided that I want it to be made from 2"x4'x4' extruded foam sheets so I can create realistic scenery. The problem is I live in the Dallas area and I can't find any place that sells anything thicker than 1".

Does anyone know where I can either get it in north Texas or a place to order it online?

Thanks in advance.
Chris

 

[tooter]

I'm glad you raised this issue, c...
...as I'm in an even worse situation and can't find any extruded foam that's uniform, regardless of thickness. The only stuff available where I live has some kind of lousy lumpy facing on both sides.

 

[Motley]

If you can get the 1" foam, why don't you just glue the sheets together with latex caulk, that's why I did. I have 2" of foam with 1" sheets glued together.

 

[cdouglas]

Some of the sections I am planning having up to 6" thick or more and its going to be alot easier to work with 3x2" thick than 6x1" thick. And as tooter said, finding uniform sheets is hard and getting all that to lay flat will be difficult if not impossible,

 

[UP2CSX]

Even in Dallas, the current building codes are required to have much higher R values of insulation than they used to. Styrofoam sheets are the cheapest and easiest way for builders to accomplish this. Prowl around some residential construction site and see if you spot some pink or blue foam in use. If so, find the foreman and ask him where the company gets it from. In many case, odd pieces get tossed in the dumpster, and the foreman or job superintendent will be happy to let you have the scrap pieces. I've laminated as many as eight 1" pieces of foam with latex caulk to make hills. It works fine as long as you go one level at a time, give it a few hours to cure before you go on to the next level, and have some bricks and scrap plywood to weight down the foam so it all dries straight.

 

[trainmastr1]

Have you tried Lowes, Home Depot, or the phone book for insulation suppliers. There has to be something in the DFW area. Good Luck!

 

[Larry]

Some of the sections I am planning having up to 6" thick or more and its going to be alot easier to work with 3x2" thick than 6x1" thick. And as tooter said, finding uniform sheets is hard and getting all that to lay flat will be difficult if not impossible,

When I use to use Foam to make mountains I use to take the warped pieces & cut them down to the flat part of the foam. Then I would put the glue on & hold it down w/large nails pushed into the sections. After the glue dries then pull the nails out w/a pair of pliers.
You can also find those foam sheets in Blue, Green, yellow, gray & sometimes black. I used the green & blue all the time, because that is what was used on all the commercial const. sites around south florida. I use to go to the building & zoning dept.'s in the surrounding towns to find out who was doing const. & then go to their sites & get all the free foam I wanted. One time I had about 2 tractor trailer loads stacked in my barn.

 

[Beachbum]

"Uniform sheets". Huh. Strange. The foam I see at HoPo, etc is all uniform except for dings from handling and shipping. I'll look more closely next time I'm foam shopping.

If you're stuck with 1-in, laminating sheets together isn't that much of a pain. 6-8 layers will take awhile, but...

Actually, I prefer 1-in b/c I can't fit a 4x8 in my car so I have to cut the sheets to 2x8 in the parking lot - 1-in is a breeze to cut with a utility knife.