Chipboard ?

[T.C.]

How thick of chipboard or roofing material do the kit manufactures use?I need to replace or redesign roofs from time to time and thought I would pick up some board to make my own.If there is a better product for this application please let me know.
Thanks T.C.

[Dennis Bourey]

T.C., All the kit's I have except for a handful use 30 point chipboard.... Dennis
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BYMDNJV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[T.C.]

Thanks Dennis, That's just what I needed to know.I appreciate your quick reply.
T.C.

[Dennis Bourey]

That's what were here for. The guy's are great here.Dennis

[NEMMRRC]

How does a cereal cardboard box compare to the 30 pt chipboard ?


I use cereal cardboard boxes as view blocks inside my buildings. I spray paint the cardboard box flat black and cut it to fit.


Jaime

[jerryrbeach]

Jaime,


The cereal box I just measured varied form .022 to .024.  Maybe they should improve their quality control?

[T.C.]

Thanks for the reply's.I was thinking of going a little thicker, maybe 46pt. or even 50pt.?   My thinking is that the stuff that comes in the kits always seems to bow when the shingles are applied. Sometimes it needs to be reinforced on the underside to make it  sturdy enough on larger roofs.    What do you all think?  I dont want it to look out of scale, although it won't be seen.

T.C.

[vinceg]

Thanks for the reply's.I was thinking of going a little thicker, maybe 46pt. or even 50pt.?   My thinking is that the stuff that comes in the kits always seems to bow when the shingles are applied. Sometimes it needs to be reinforced on the underside to make it  sturdy enough on larger roofs.    What do you all think?  I dont want it to look out of scale, although it won't be seen.

T.C.

If it truly won't be seen you're probably fine. 50 point is pretty big, though. About 4.35" in HO scale. If you see that as underlayment under some shingles or tar paper it might look pretty thick.

[Dennis Bourey]

T.C I bought 50 pt and the card is 1/20th of an inch, about the thickness of a penny. And it seems to be really thick. But it's really what you want.... That's why I bought 30 point.....Dennis

[Dennis Bourey]

T.C More info for you...Dennis

Thickness
Chipboard thickness is measured by a point system. Each point is 1/1000th of an inch.

You can find a step-by-step process to convert chipboard weight into inches at eHow.

Light - 20 pt or 1/42nd of an inch, about the thickness of a cereal box.
XL - 32 pt. or 1/32nd of an inch, about the thickness of a credit card
Extra Heavy - 50-52 pt or 1/20th of an inch, about the thickness of a penny.
2X - 85 pt. or 3/32nd of an inch, about the thickness of 2 dimes.

[T.C.]

Thanks again guy's
Dennis I was actually thinking of 42pt.or 46pt. and was assuming  that it would be around .040 to .045 of an inch ?That would be just a little more stiffness w/o adding to much bulk?I realize it's what makes me happy but if I can tap into you guy's knowledge before I waist my money on something that has been tried and proven wrong then that's the way to go.Thinking about it I guess there is a reason the manufactures use 30pt., probably because the other's are to thick...............Duh !
Thanks again to all !
T.C.

[vinceg]

Thanks again guy's
Dennis I was actually thinking of 42pt.or 46pt. and was assuming  that it would be around .040 to .045 of an inch ?That would be just a little more stiffness w/o adding to much bulk?I realize it's what makes me happy but if I can tap into you guy's knowledge before I waist my money on something that has been tried and proven wrong then that's the way to go.Thinking about it I guess there is a reason the manufactures use 30pt., probably because the other's are to thick...............Duh !
Thanks again to all !
T.C.

One other thought - if you're seeing warping problems because you're using wet glues (Elmers, Canopy, etc) to attach your roofing materials, you might consider going to something else. I attach all of my roofing material with either glue sticks or transfer tape. Never have any warping problems. FWIW.

[Dennis Bourey]

T.C, I just measured the 50 pt cardstock and it's 1.40 mm and my walls from one of George's kit's is 1.57 mm so it's pretty thick. And my 30 point is 0.88 mm....Dennis

[jerryrbeach]

TC,


Here's something that may help your decision.  If I am going to add rafter tails I try to use nothing thicker than .020, slightly less than 2" in HO scale.  That way the edge of the roof card doesn't look horribly out of scale.  If I am modeling a roof with a fascia board along the edge I will use thicker material.  Then I either paint the exposed edge of the roof card or I add stripwood to the eaves and the rake, gluing it to the edge of the card, thus hiding the card. 

[bparrish]

T C....

Have you considered framing out the roof?  it doesn't take a whole lot more time and it looks really cool up close under the eaves. 


You do go through a lot of wood however.  Additionally, it will never warp or curl along the edges ten years from now.


Here are two photos from a build on this forum many years ago with Jimmy's Falberg Station kit.  He did not provide for framing but I chose to do it as it supports and demonstrates how they originally support a hip roof.





see ya
Bob