BASEBOARDS

[John D]

I have an idea I've seen something in a past thread but....has anybody used this foam insulation board from B&Q for baseboards, and if so ....what's it like? Is it any better/worse than the blue styrofoam variety? Am getting to an age when the thought of lugging heavy boards does NOT appeal........

 

[Phill Dyson]

I have an idea I've seen something in a past thread but....has anybody used this foam insulation board from B&Q for baseboards, and if so ....what's it like? Is it any better/worse than the blue styrofoam variety? Am getting to an age when the thought of lugging heavy boards does NOT appeal........

I haven't a clue either John, but I remember Jordan mentioning B&Q on this subject so if you go to Jordans profile, then search Jordans posts from there you should be able to find it

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi John,

not a direct answer to your question, but you might find something of interest here

http://migoforum.co.uk/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1113

for long life qualities alone, Styrofoam would be hard to beat.

regards

Mike

 

[John D]

Thanks for the info....will pay another visit to B&Q and have another look at the stuff, what appeals is that it would appear to be  cheaper than blue Styrofoam...... but it may be a case of cheap not being cheerful 

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi John,

you're more than welcome. I've found that B&Q prices are higher in a lot of cases than 'local' type suppliers - the extract fan that I bought for £8.50 was £15 in B&Q as an example. For Styrofoam, look in the Yellow Pages for Insulation Suppliers - Warren or Sheffield as examples, they could well be a lot cheaper in the long run.

regards

Mike

 

[John D]

Mike.....In that hideous modern phrase....'I hear what you're saying'  The stuff in B& Q was £4.85 for a 4ft by 1' 6" sheet , I've seen the blue stuff elsewhere at about £14 for about the same size (both 50mm thick) .....hence I was wondering if the cheap stuff was OK or not......

 

[28ten]

When I priced it up 8x4 sheets worked out a lot cheaper.

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi John,

the price paid for the 300XL Styrofoam 2.500x600x75 thick worked out to £11.50 + VAT per sheet in packs of five sheets - that was last April/May from Warren Insulation. As they say, you pays your money.....................

By the way, 600 is the standard width.

regards

Mike

 

[28ten]

Hi John,

the price paid for the 300XL Styrofoam 2.500x600x75 thick worked out to £11.50 + VAT per sheet in packs of five sheets - that was last April/May from Warren Insulation. As they say, you pays your money.....................

By the way, 600 is the standard width.

regards

Mike

I did actually find some  places online that did 8x4 max size and they will cut it to any size/shape, cunning plans of jigsaw baseboards crossed my mind  I will try and find a link. But as Mike correctly says 60mm is the standard width from building suppliers

 

[Jordan]

... I remember Jordan mentioning B&Q on this subject so if you go to Jordans profile, then search Jordans posts from there you should be able to find it

Yes, I did, but I'd have to go through exactly the same process to find out where I posted, too!!! :vista:
There's a thread on RMweb here about the Blue Styrofoam.
I bought some of these pink sheets a few months back, and they had been reduced from £4.75 to £3.50 or so IIRC, although I had to argue at the Tills about it, as the Till showed the £4.75 price and the Racking the £3.50...
Then the cold weather set in and I haven't done anything more with them, although I know another modeller who has used them, (RMweb thread here) and seen his layout, and certainly for the small scales they're fine. My intention is to use them for an HO layout, although that could be a while off yet :-[  I have heard that the blue foam is a much stronger grade, but of course it's also more expensive and needs to be obtained from a specialist Insulation Supplier. The B&Q-size sheets fit in the car okay, too...

 

[John D]

The B&Q-size sheets fit in the car okay

This also appealed to me when I saw them....may well give a couple of them a try to see what happens.I have an idea to build a small set up to run a couple (or three!) 1:32 scale Rustons and a few waggins on ....the 'Bodger of Bath ' 'planted' an  idea in my head a while back about the Burnside Paper Mills  8)....
  Re: the blue stuff...There's a guy, not too far from where I am, advertising on evil-bay ('blue styrofoam' into the search bit , click on a listed item and then 'other items') who's selling individual 4ft x 2ft sheets of 2" (50mm) for £14.75 plus post..........two sheets for a tenner from B & Q is winning at the moment  ;D 

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi John,

a couple of B&Q sheets - for experimentation would be a good idea (possibly sealing all faces with PVA before doing anything with them) - evil-bay purchases are a non-starter with me - I like to see what I'm buying before parting with the folding stuff

regards

Mike

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi :wave:

Then there are the health and saftey implications with the use of this material (all sensible precautions apply) - either the dust issue or hotwire cutting (which has been banned in industry so I am led to believe...).

CME :wave:

One advantage of true 'styrofoam' is that it can and should be cut with an ordinary hand saw. The dust produced is no more than sawdust - not the thousands of static charged pills you get fron polystyrene and the cheaper boards.

regards

Mike

 

[28ten]

One advantage of true 'styrofoam' is that it can and should be cut with an ordinary hand saw. The dust produced is no more than sawdust - not the thousands of static charged pills you get fron polystyrene and the cheaper boards.

regards

Mike

I agree with Mike. I obtained some samples and the stryofoam was, imho a better product for our purposes, much easier to cut and handle and it is what I shall use, as I cant see any mileage on economising on the foundations of a layout.

 

[Jordan]

...I understand that, even with specialist storage, Mr Gravett has had problems with his 'foam' boards sagging in the middle.......it seems that everyone has focused on tortional ridgidity and yet sagging is an issue yet to be conquered.

What's the problem with baseboards sagging...?? It happens in real life:-
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2390623

 

[7mmMick]

It's all my wife goes on about, the price of three children  Anyway, onto base boards, my Dad's latest EM layout has treated chip board base board tops and marrine ply profile boards and ends but they still sewll and move all over the place  . I'm keeping a clsoe eye on this as I intend to build some boards soon,

ATB Mick

 

[Jordan]

Chipboard just has to be one of the worst baseboard materials ever...
A couple of years ago now, I used Contiboard (laminated chipboard really) on Withyn Reach, well braced with L-girders of 2"x1" softwood - it weighs a ton, especially compared to the Ply boards on Schiller Point.
I know why chipboard gets used, though; it's relatively cheap and easily available, but for me - never again.....  :

 

[28ten]

Chipboard is ok for perment layouts as long as you dont want to move it - ever 
The problem is that we want light weight and rigidity from our portable boards and in my pre-carbonfibre racing car days we used to say you coukd have one and not the other 
I shall be building large boards using the methods Mike suggests, I dont intend to move the assembly very often, but when I do I want to be able to lift it!

 

[Simon Dunkley]

The other thing about chipboard is that it needs to be a high-density high-quality board: anything else is a waste of money. Melamine coated shelves are unlikely to be to this quality, and indeed it is hard to get.
And if it is high density, it weighs more, of course!

Lightweight ply is very strong if built properly, which means a flat surface on which to lay the top side of the trackbed (upside down) and a few weights to hold things in place whilst the glue goes off. Personally I favour 9mm ends and central spine, 6mm side frames and the rest - including the tops - in 4mm, using triangulation to brace it all. The bracing and central spine only need to be 2" deep, but the ends and sides I make 4" deep (can take 2 sets of folding legs). The end pieces are screwed and glued to the top surface - which doesn't need to cover the whole area - and are 8mm shorter than the width, having the 4mm side pieces screwed and glued to them. The central spine is also screwed and glued in place. The rest is fitted in afterwards, making sure pieces fit reasonably tightly, glued in place with something like a few books placed on top until the glue has held. If you have MRJ 86, you can see how Trevor Nunn has used 4mm ply throughout to this basic design, and the boards were built in 1993 and have been to well over 100 shows, so the design is proven.
I will only use Resin W for this sort of work: other brands are available, but they are usually more diluted, and a professsional joiner who liveed down the road when I lived elsewhere said he would never use anything else.

 

[28ten]

Hi Cynric :wave:

I usually bow to your greater knowledge, yet this time we shall have to agree to disagree on your - highlighted - comments re chipboard , our layout is semi-permanent too and like you we wont be using chipboard either (see all previous comments) that's why we're experimenting with other styles/techniques. We may need to move it from time to time too. I am with Jordan, I used chipboard once yet never again. It's heavy, not all that stable, when cut it contains some chemical nasties too etc etc.....

I see what you are saying about your racing car days, and all things 'manmade' on this planet are a comprimise, yet I would look to aviation build techniques (wooden aircraft etc.) for some of the answers - build in lightness/build out weight etc.

We are still going to have to comprimise on the boards too....more to follow...then I shall duck behind the parapet once more

I dont disagree with what you say, the emphasis is on ok as in adequate, and will do a job  I personally wouldnt touch it with a barge pole and the same goes for mdf and cheap ply.
I have seen boards made from ply with fibreglass reinforcement, but the fibreglass part is rather messy and unplesant to work with, which is why a foam core faced with ply is so appealing.
I agree with Simon about glue Resin W is good as is titebond - forget the cheap stuff