Foam Sheets

[azpaul]

I went to my local HD and Lowes today to check on foam sheets. How disappointed I am. The sheets they had there were the Blue Dow and was 2'x8' and 1/2 inches thick. They had a severe bow in the middle. Lowe's had a 2x8 tongue and groove. Nothing in the size of 4x8 though. No one had the pink sheets.

I am looking to make some signs and I think 2" foam is ideal. I am going to check a couple other stores but I am afraid here in Arizona, this might be what I am going to be stuck with. They also had the thicker bead board but that stuff is so messy to work with.

Lowe's had a different type of insulation board that has a foil backing and was a little more of a brittle foam. It looked like a lower density expanded urethane foam. Has any one worked with this type of foam before?

[RoxyBlue]

Don't know about the foil backed material, but give some thought to gluing the regular foam sheets together in layers to get the thickness you want.

[SeaHoCaptain]

I tried the foil backed stuff. Hard to peel that crap off. I just painted over it in the end. Staying with the pink myself.

David

[turtle2778]

Try the Ghostess method since she also has to sandwich several layers to make the desired thickness for her tombstones too. She uses the crappy white styro as the back and then adds the thinner pink for the fronts to do your detail work. I hope that helps.

[RandalB]

I dunno, 2" is the thickest I ever use.. Looks good in the dark..and you can layer it if necessary....

Don't forget the foamboard glue... Love that stuff...

RandalB

[Spooky1]

I use Gorilla glue to glue a couple thinner foam boards together.

[azpaul]

Will the bow straighten out when glued together? I am sickened by the low quality that our local stores carry and they are not exactly cheap. The 1/2 has a defines bow in the middle and a 2'x8' sheet is $8.46 per sheet.

Is that foam board glue something special. I have used the 3M Spray glue, the high strength stuff in a can that coast about $13.00, and that seems to work pretty well. Gorilla glue is really strong too.

Thanks for the info.

[Jaybo]

You have just stumbled across the bane of being a haunter in a warm climate state. They only have the thick foam up North. We have to layer our foam to get the same results. I wouldn't use the spray glue, I don't think it will hold up too well over the long run. A lot of people use Liquid Nails, but Gorilla Glue does wonders as well.

Usually, Home Depot carries the pink insulation foam and Lowes carries the blue foam. It's the same exact thing, just different manufactures and color. I would ask a manager at the store to check on the 4' x 8' sheets. There are lots of haunters from AZ around, so they have to be getting their foam from somewhere.

If you are forced to use the 2' x 8', don't worry too much about the bow in the sheet. Since you have to layer the pieces anyway, they will straighten out if you put a weight on them while gluing them together. Also, don't agonize over getting that "perfect" piece of foam. The best stones are the ones that look distressed. You can always fill in imperfections and seams using wood filler.

You can also make your own filler by mixing saw dust and glue, or even sand and glue together. The sand and glue makes the final product even feel like real stone.

Another alternative for gluing the foam together is plain old wood glue and hot melt glue. Spread a generous amount of wood glue between the sheets of foam, then apply a good amount of hot melt glue. The hot glue will hold the sheets together rather well allowing the wood glue to setup overtime.

[Warrant2000]

I used the foil backed sheet to make 3 giant gears for a Christmas clockwork last year. It cuts easy with a box cutter very cleanly - no mess. I left the foil on themon the non-display side.

[azpaul]

An update on my dilemma, or maybe not a dilemma? I have searched the local building supply wholesalers, Lowe's & Home Depot. The pink and blue foam only seems to come in a 2x8 sheet. Not too bad, it is tongue and groove so I should be able to glue them together easily. 1" seems to be the the thickest they stock around Phoenix in the 2x8 sheets but again, I can glue to make the needed thickness. The good part is I found to be be a decent price of $5.26 per 2x8 sheet. I called my Lowe's store and commercial sales matched it. So for about $10 I can get the 4x8 sheet needed.

I like the idea of using the white bead board type for the thicker than 2" needs and then lining with the pink or blue foam. Local stores have up to 6" thick in the beady white foam.

I was successful in finding suppliers by Google Search "building suppliers with city and state" in the search. Google maps showed closer matches than our local online phone directory. Made the calls and found a good wholesale supplier. It helps to be a business with some of them.

[rmwitch]

Hey guys,

I guess I'm pretty lucky. I live in upstate NY and I have an Amish (yes Amish) saw mill close to my house. They sell foam insulation made by Dow for really cheap prices!

They are all 4X8 sheets and they are foil covered (I haven't had any problems with it coming off and it carves great).

1/2" = $6
3/4" = $7.50
1" = $9.00

Now we get to the fun part (remember, they are 4X8 sheets)..

1 1/2" thick = $11.50
2" thick = $14.50
3" thick = $16.50
They even have 4" thick for $20.50 for a 4X8 sheet!

Furthermore, if it is damaged, they will discount it even more!

Yesterday I picked up 3 4X8 sheets of 2" and 1 4X8 sheet of 3" (all slightly damaged) for $40.00!

I use my jig saw to cut it. I just use a really long blade. It cuts fine. Then I carve out the letters with a roto-zip tool (equipped with a small router bit that I got at Harbor Freight Tools for $20) (the router bit was extra and the tool has a depth gauge). I will post photos when I'm done making them.

They also have SLAB WOOD. These are the sides of the logs they cut off to get at the "meat" of the logs. Although it is considered "green" wood it is great for building things like shacks, witches' houses, etc.

The best thing is that it is only $25 for a FULL pick-up truck load. $35 if you want THEM to sort through it for the nicer boards. They even load it for you if you want.

When you're done with Halloween, have a bonfire! It's cheap enough.

One final note.. I had an Amish boy help me with my foam and I gave him a $2 tip. It was like Christmas for him! He was sooo happy, I bet he would have cleaned my car with a tooth brush!