So I found out today that all of the big box stores in the PNW region don’t stock PVC 4x8 sheets. I was interested in buying a sheet to use as a building base as I get ready to start building. Apparently, PVC is just a east coast thing. The box stores do carry PVC trim but its only a max of 1’ wide. They can order in up to a 2’x2’ sheet, but the cost is super high. I asked what a 4x8 sheet would be if they could order…

The sheet would be $75 plus a 2 pallet delivery fee of $250-275…

So what’s a good plastic alternative for buildings?

I have a building built out of 1/8" styrene, but it feels flexible and is really lightweight.

Acrylic? I think I might be able to get acrylic from a plastic supply company but I haven’t checked yet.

Oh, it was funny the salesman was from the eastcoast and he said he couldn’t ever get cedar on the east coast.

Craig,

Here in Southern Oregon I get it from a local sign shop, 1/4 inch is about $100 a 4 x 8 sheet.

They have to have it delivered and I pick it up the following week but no big deal.

I use Sintra expanded PVC board from this source:

http://www.foamboardsource.com/sintra-pvc-foam–sintra-pvc-board.html

How big a piece, and what thickness do you need? I always have scrap from sign builds lying around. If its not too big, my boss will give it away. You could have some for the cost of shipping by UPS (cheaper if sent to a non residential address).

I have scrap in 3mm, 6mm, 12mm, 19mm and 25mm. If you need more than 2 square feet I probably can’t help as that is our criteria for discard.

BTW - this IS NOT an open offer to everyone. I don’t have the time to pack and ship a bunch of it!

Rick,

Thanks for the suggestion of a plastic supplier. I will have to call around and see if any of them have sheets. I used 1/8" styrene before and it seems fairly stable, just lightweight. Hence the idea to move to PVC, thicker and heavier. Still at $100 a pop that’s a lot more than a 4x8 sheet of styrene. I’m not sure how much acrylic in 4x8 sheets would be either.

Ray,

That website link doesn’t work.

Jon,

Thanks for the offer, but I really need big sheets. The building that I want to replace the styrene with is huge (6’x 7’)… It’s 160’ scale feet in one direction. I don’t like selective compression.

Hopefully soon, I will share some plans of the new backyard, and the layout ideas. I might even mock up a model in HO scale.

Craig

Can I ask for a picture of this building? That’s one big model!

Sure Greg, it might take a while to find the photos, but I have them online somewhere. I started this building 10 years ago, then due to moving away to grad school, moving back, and them selling buying a new house all in the last 6 years garden railroad construction (and building) has been put on hold (plus a little detail of getting married and having 3 kids). I designed the building to be broken down in sections, but the moving and storage of the building hasn’t been nice. I’m not too bummed about it, because I wasn’t that far along anyway. The whole building needed lots of details and I hadn’t gotten that far yet.

My avatar is a photo of the prototype…

Ah - I read your need as a base to put a building on, not a base to build upon! You’re going to need a lot.

Acrylic might be a better choice in that case. The thinner PVC sheets (3mm and 6mm) are pretty flimsy. A 4x8 will not stand on it’s own. If you build structures with the thin stuff you need framing. Acrylic in 3/16" and thicker will stand on it’s own and you can build a pretty big box with no internal support. Other advantages of acrylic are; window glazing is part of the structure if you use clear; parts can be joined with liquid MEK so long as cuts are very clean and tight fitting. For less than perfect joints you can use Sci-Grip Weldon 16 which is a gel.

Photos for Greg…

Edited to try and fix the photos.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the URL of the photos, but they don’t show for me. If I copy the URL to another tab I can see the photos, or if I right-click and choose “View Image” the pic comes up but without any ‘back’ button so I have to close it and start again!!
Here’s the URL, slightly modified so it isn’t a link:
https //scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/41324_433631761911_6706943_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ohc=mUIGGvQcNTIAQl_xfL2FqeO5zJpPHE5EAc2VnlmJjtGsyt3ty5GW9av6g&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.xx&oh=2bd5fd82a0e99fe9ab54e9ce29870c5d&oe=5E6BB336

Attached is the first pic.

Humm sorry Pete… I will delete and fix later.

I can see the pictures just fine. and the folamboardsource link doesn’t work for me neither.

Around here the Acrylic Sheet seems to be quite a bit more money than the PVC board. But I agree with Jon it makes a great substrat for buildings, you can glue almost anything to it and as he said the window glazing is a done deal.

Well considering that probably 75% of the model is in decent shape still maybe I will just stay with styrene. Maybe glue a flange or two along the inside of the bottom edge that would allow for fastening from below?

Well I have a while to ponder this problem as I haven’t built the layout far enough yet to get to that point.

Don’t know much about the materials myself but learning from this thread.

When do you project the structure will reside outdoors Craig?

Well, the short answer is as soon as I can. The realistic answer is probably this spring/summer.

I have a few small projects that I want to try and finish before I start tackling the building again.

But regardless if magically I had the building done tomorrow, I still have a elevated layout to build. This past summer I was able to build the staging yard in the garage and then the short section out the man door.

Considering my wife and I have been married for a decade now, and I started this project before we got married I have little hope if it finishing any time soon. Maybe I will post a build log for the stuff I’ve gotten done in,the past ten years.

Craig, what about a sheet of waterproof hardi-backer board? Comes in various thicknesses, and it’s basically waterproof concrete with fiberglas mesh embedded.

Have had mine outside about 10 years, did not paint or seal it, for the switchyard, looks as good as new.

Greg

Greg,

I’ve thought about that, but I wasn’t sure long term viability in the wet Seattle area? The Lowe’s has a fiberglass sheet of some sort, so maybe that’s the same thing?

It is all going to be covered in paper crimpered pop cans, so the underlayment really doesn’t matter so,long as I don’t have to replace it. It would be too big of a structure to have to rebuild every few years.

So, there are many different brands and qualities… this one was advertised as waterproof, and the display had a chunk of it in an aquarium.

It is smooth on both sides, and was twice as expensive as the cheap stuff that is normally used behind tile in a bathroom/shower.

It looks as good as the day I installed it, and I clean the switchyard by hosing it off with a needle stream from a hose, to get the leaves out of the ties.

From what I can tell, there are sheets of fiberglas just underneath the smooth surface, which gives it some strength.

Again, there are many grades, but few that say waterPROOF…

Maybe 10 years ago:

this year:

cheap and worth a try I think… I have even used a fan spray pressure washer to get the leaves out of the track.

How hard/easy was it to cut?