# Bricks, Precision Board and attn Bruce Chandler



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Hot on the trail of the perfect brick material for my chimney (see related posts in Buildings) I checked with my neighbor, an aerospace pattern maker and large scaler, who showed me some samples of Precision Board, a high density urethan material that can be carved, machined, etc. He took a cllinic with the Pipers, who I believe belong to the San Diego Garden Railway Society, and learned how to carve bricks, shingles, stone and other stuff, shown below. The Pipers, who have a website (Rainbowridgekits.com) sell the stuff in sheets (it ain't cheap) and also sell kits and other things. But you can buy the stuff elsewhere and since I need a 3x18-inch block of the stuff to make my chimney, I believe that's where I'll go.

Meanwhile, I'm asking: what do we think of Precision Board? I recall it being a topic on MLS some time ago. Also, one of our guys may have shown photos of how the stuff can be carved into bricks using a Dremel tool or something. So, as you can see, Mr. Bruce Chandler, I still haven't given up on that idea.

To get you excited, check out the stuff my neighbor made when he was fooling around with the stuff. BTW, the top two examples are roof shingles, although ya can't tell from the photo because I layed e'm flat on my scanner. And don't ya love those individually painted bricks?


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

That's really good looking. I have been to that website, but, like you said, it's not cheap. I'm waiting for someone else to try it first!


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

PB is in wide use here in San Diego. It definitely will be my construction material of choice. When properly sealed, it flat doesn't degrade from what I can see. The Piper's are very clear about that. It needs careful sealing...and once sealed, it's sealed forever. Precision Board is made for professional sign makers (and mold makers too...but that's not really relevant to our use). Since it's made for outdoor signs, it really lasts. It comes in many thicknesses...but the 1/2" and 3/4" are the most useful for us. Joe's idea of needing a chunk for a chimney...well, chimney's are hollow, so you can easily make a chimney out of four pieces glued together. Getting a 3" thick chunk could be hard.


OK...as far as resistance to weather...here's what I think is true. It's impervious...if properly sealed. Period. Well...I guess tornadoes might dent it some...but sun and rain and irrigation sprinklers don't seem to harm it from what I've seen. I would not think snow would effect it either. t's hard enough that it really doesn't dent....especially the 20 lb/cu ft version. Even in 110 degree heat...it's very stable...no expansion or contraction. My guess is that the plastic windows and doors...the kind you buy and add to the model...are likely the weakest part of a PB structure. So...if you leave em out in 3' of snow, the snow pressure might push in a window...not sure it would harm the PB though.


PB is very rigid. I wanted to use it for a retaining wall...and carve rocks in it...but it won't bend. You can relieve the back side of it and make it bend, but it's not really designed to be bent around a curve. The rigidity means it's really structural for our use. You don't need much inside bracing.


As to cost...again, it's a tradeoff for durability. PB buildings last...practically forever. No bugs eat em. Water doesn't rot em. If properly sealed, they're UV proof. You can hit em with irrigation sprinklers...and they last. So...if you spend 100 hours making a building out of wood...and you put $50 worth of windows in it...and it lasts three years outside...you got a cost of $17 a year. If you make the same building out of PB, with the same windows, you'll probably spend $150...but it will last for 10 years easy...so it's a $15 a year building. If it lasts longer...you're ahead more.

Now...a friend of mine here in San Diego built a house out of wood...and after 5 years he replaced it with a PB version of the same house. He kept the wooden house in the top of his garage. These houses sat in a garden within 5' of an irrigation sprinkler that sprayed them daily in the exact same place. Here's what the houses looked like after 5 years outside EACH. The PB one on the right is NOT new. The difference is dramatic...











Now, Tom looks at this site every now and then...and maybe he has a photo of that house that is current...because it's now 8 years old.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Bruce, I don't think I'd use Precision Board for walls, as it is pretty thick. So if you wanted to cut out windows, which I do, it would take some doing. But I'm not saying "no" to PB walls just yet, as Mike's friend's house, shown above, looks great. And after all, I have to save face after making such a fuss about the accuracy of brick sizes, ha,ha. 

Mike, weather is not a problem at our home in Seal Beach, about a half-mile from the ocean. We get a lot of May Gray, June Gloom, No Sky July and Fogest August, but that's about it. Plus I don't think I'd leave my buildings outside, or so I think. Regarding the size of PB: although the Pipers sell only sheets (or so it says on their site), there's a place in Orange, CA called Coastal Enterprises, that claims they have the stuff in thickneses up to 24 inches, so finding a 3 x 3-inch square block shouldn't be a problem, you would think. As for building that chimney out of sheet, granted, it would be easier to scribe the brick pattern as the material would lay flat so ya could work on it.. But then you'd have to piece the corners together and make 'em match, which is how I got into that "discussion" with Bruce on another post. 

I can think of the perfect way to make this chimney, but it would mean taking advantage of a friend, whose company, which has built Indy cars, GTP cars and even a Formula 1 car, which won the Belgian GP back in the day, has a five-axis mill (I think that's what it's called) and could knock that puppy out in no time flat. But at what he pays his craftsmen, that would be one expensive chimney! 

Meanwhile, while I continue to investigate PB, I have begun work on my small hotel, having cut the walls out of 0.100 styrene this evening. I need to do the side walls next, then punch out the windows and doors, which has me stumped, as I need to dig up my info on how to make windows, since my Grandt Lines aren't the right size (there's that anal thing again).


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By joe rusz on 26 Apr 2011 12:03 AM 
...Mike, weather is not a problem at our home in Seal Beach, about a half-mile from the ocean. We get a lot of May Gray, June Gloom, No Sky July and Fogest August, but that's about it. Plus I don't think I'd leave my buildings outside, or so I think. Regarding the size of PB: although the Pipers sell only sheets (or so it says on their site), there's a place in Orange, CA called Coastal Enterprises, that claims they have the stuff in thickneses up to 24 inches, so finding a 3 x 3-inch square block shouldn't be a problem, you would think. ... 
Coastal Enterprises is the manufacturer of Precision Board...not just A seller. It's made right up there in Orange County where you live. Since you're close, you might be able to get a chunk from them. PB comes in up to 5'x9' sheets as I recall...in many thicknesses. The mold makers want it thick so they can just machine it for boat molds and such. You're likely to be able to find some excess PB in the dumpsters at Coastal. I've heard folks talk about getting small amounts that way.


If you're not into leaving your buildings outside, you're probably right. It's overkill. But, not for me. I want anything I build to last...and the sun and irrigation sprinklers are the bane of GRR buildings down here in San Diego. That's why PBs become so popular.


Also...the half inch thickness is not a problem for our use. You can route the inside out if you want around the windows to make the "wall" not look thick where the windows and doors go. The major strength of PB is your ability to carve the outside to give you whatever look you want...siding, brick, block, rock, ... you name it. The Piper's have spent a lot of time making devices to "machine" the PB into standard patterns...and how to use PB to make buildings...but most of what they've done, you can do yourself with a Dremel too and a metal ruler. And lastly, they're tough buildings...as durable at plexiglass framed buildings...but without having to worry about the laminated "siding" coming off over time.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Mike, you are so right--on every issue. I called Coastal this morning and spoke to a nice chap who is sending me some samples of various materials. As you said, they are manufacturers. The guy knew all about the Pipers. He also mentioned a place in Santa Ana that sells to the public. And, as you said, it comes in sheets, not blocks that look like 2x2's, etc. I jumped to that conclusion after visiting their site where it mentions it can be up to 24-inches thick. Maybe they mean the sheets are that thick. I dunno. BTW, although my neighbor who made the bricks and stuff shown above, told me that stuff is 20 pound, the guy at Coastal said it's--and I forget--either 12 or 15 pound, which you know, means the density. My neighbor also says the really high denisity material looks shiny and looks like plastic, which doesn't look realistic when you're doing brick and shingles, where ya want grain. I was hoping to make the chimney my Rainy-Day-In-Maui project, but since getting my hands on the stuff is getting complicated, I think I'll work on my hotel, for which I've already cut (actually, scribe and snap) the end walls, with plans to cut the sides today. I'm thinking I'll take the walls along in our suitcase and work on them, although I'd have to lay in various sizes of styrene strip for the doors, windows (I'm thinking of scratch-built) and other stuff. Man, my wife will be, ahem, annoyed when she sees me stuffing styrene into our carry-on. :-(


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Yow! What a wake-up call! I Googled the place in Santa Ana that sells Precision Board and got this. And that's for 10 pound, not 15. Maybe we could pool our resources... 
BTW, it does come in thicker pieces--3-inches. I could make a lot of chimneys with that! 

Item Number: PB103 
10 Pound Density 48"x96"x3" Precision Board 256 
Availability: Normally in Stock 
List Price: $834.21 
Qty Pricing Per SHEET: 
Less Than 2 2 or More 
$519.67 $459.42 


Available Ordering Units: 
Qty Description Unit Retail Price/Unit Qty Order 
1 SHEET SHT $519.67


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## SandyR (Jan 6, 2008)

Mike, that pic of the two houses...the wooden one, while pretty badly weathered, sure looks like the not-so-nice part of town!!! Very realistic! BTW, what about contacting a sign-making establishment and asking if they have scraps? 
SandyR


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Go for it...what do you have to lose?


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Yup, that is my plan.


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