Help! Where to buy 3/4" pink/blue board

[Katie&Craig]

Has anyone in the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia/Puyallup area found a source for 3/4" pink or blue board extruded polystyrene insulation?? I have called a number of sources, all of whom say they cannot get it for me. I even called Owens Corning, who makes the stuff, and have stumped the sales rep. Home Depot says they can get it, but won't order it unless I order 250 pieces. An isulation company I called said that it was an unusual size and very hard to find (and no, they can't get it) Help!

Thanks,
Katie

[Ira]

Katie--I gotta ask:

Why do you have to have THAT stuff?

There's plenty of other 3/4" rigid foam insulation available out there.

[EZ]

Katie, you'll have to blame that on your perfect left-coast climate.

Never too hot


never too cold



Ed

[Gerald_G]

I was just at my local Home Depot looking into the same question. There was no 3/4 pink rigid stocked, but I did some reading and printed right on each pink piece was the R values of each thickness.

I think 3/4" was rated at R4, and near the pink products was a white insulation panels advertised for under floor heating. It was in 3/4" thickness, and has a slightly lower R value of 3.5 or close to that. My memory is only so good.

At about half the price per sheet of even the 1/2" pink board I was considering using this stuff instead. Half the money and only slightly less R value.

[Katie&Craig]

Ira & Gerald & EZ,
From what I have read the white stuff is expanded polystyrene, which fluctuates in insulation value depending on the outside temperature. I don't know much about it, but I really want the best R-value for the thickness.

I know we live in the temperate NW, but we tend to camp in very hot places in the summer and would like to be able to do some cold weather camping as well. We are not putting in a battery, so won't have any heater or AC available, so good insulation is important.
Katie

[Chuck Craven]

Katie
Try gluing ¼” plywood strips to your wall studs and use 1” pink stuff.
If you can get that, 1” has a higher R-value.
Chuck

[rainjer]

The only 3/4" I could find was the white R-tek stuff at Home Depot. I liked it. It was easy to bend around the roof profile.

[Gerald_G]

Did you glue the white stuff to one or both of the sides sheeting materials ? I wonder if it changes R value with the temp, it must be expanding and contracting a lot. I wonder if this would cause any problems if glued in place ?

I would think, just setting it between the studs/stringers should be fine.

[grant whipp]

Hmmmm ...

... I was in my local Home Depot (Redding, FarNorCal) day-before-yesterday and they had a whole rack of the stuff! Curiouser & curiouser ...

Check with any local stucco supply outfits ... they use various thicknesses of the stuff for "architectural highlights" ... ;-} ;-} ...

CHEERS!

Grant

[Katie&Craig]

Thanks for the replies.

It is weird not finding it here - you would think it would be easier to find the thinner insulation in temperate WA.

Thanks for the simple suggestion of glueing the 1/4" piece on - I was thinking about how to cut down larger pieces of wood down to be a true 1" X 2" - I suppose I could also do the framing out of 1" ply (might be heavier than 1X2" pine??).

I will try a stucco supply places. I also think i may be able to get the blue board. I called Dow and they told me to call Weyerhauser, who can get it from Oregon, but won't sell to me. They gave me the name of a local lumber place to call to order it through. Of course, the local lumber place had already told me they couldn't get it, so I told them to call Weyerhauser. Hopefully I will know on Monday whether they can do a small order and how much it costs. It will probably be cheaper to go with the 1" pink board that is available and do the extra work of filling out the framing. I think I am going to hold out for the pink or blue, rather then the white stuff - insulation is a priority with us so the extra cost is worth it.

I was hoping to start building this week, so it would be nice to actually find some of the supplys I need!
Katie