I looked around Lowes and Home Depot. Their HCD stock is cheap, but it is all faced with hardboard. In many of the photos on this board I see nice ply or veneer faced doors. Are these better? If so, where did you get them from? Local lumber supply companies? I have read elsewhere about sagging/warping with cheaper HCD - not sure if that is in the external frame or center of the panel. Do you need to add framework for added support or is this just over enginneering it? I was planning on just using Ikea trestles (2 per door). I am planning on using 1" of foam, but advice on precautions against sagging and warping gratefully received.
If I recall correctly, I bought mine at Home Depot. But it wasn't faced with hardboard, it's faced with thin Luan plywood. No problems with warping, but I do have more support than just at the ends. Regards Ed
Best Hollow core door Well what I would do if that was my choice is to goto a Building Construction Reclamation Center. It will be cheaper & keepin it "Green". After all it's only the base which will not be seen, so new is not absolutely necessary. Just a thought:tb-cute:
Ikea sells a TON of really dirt cheap hollow core. The stuff has a load limit of 55 lbs, if htat tells you how cheap!!
In general, the biggest differences between HCDs are cosmetic. The core is typically a cardboard webbing glued to the back surfaces of the skin panels. The skin panel carries the majority of the load, one panel under tension and the other in compression when used as a table structure. Wood faces such as oak, birch, maple, and lauan are thin surface veneers that are purely cosmetic. They don't contribute significant structural value to the door. HCDs available at the big box stores are all adequate for model railroad use. Sagging is most likely caused by poorly placed supports combined with overloading and possbily moisture stresses. Warping usually would be due to differential moisture-induced expansion. Consider that the door is as dry as it will ever be when you buy it; it's made from kiln-dried materials and the glues are often rapid-cured by microwaves. If you use it as a table in a damp garage with the top surface sealed or protected, the bottom face of the door panel may expand with absorbed moisture, thus curling the panel. If flat panel hardboard faced doors were available in my town at a lower price when I bought mine, I would have bought those. But, they weren't available and I bought the least expensive lauan faced HCD panels I could find. Here's how I've supported mine with minimal framing. My Layout Construction album includes other photos you may find useful. If yours will be a stand-alone island layout on a single door, I recommend that your table legs be mounted 9" - 12" from the ends and 4" - 6" from the long edges.
You certainly don't need the best nor the strongest. It will be supported by benchwork and every square inch of the surface will be covered with scenery.
I agree with Fotheringill. I found my door at Home Depot. It had a hole in one side about the size of a silver dollar (the old ones) and I got it for $5.00.
I would go with the luan surface door if you can find them. There are a number of good mounting options including: metal folding legs, running 1x4s around the outside edges and then attaching wooden legs, resting the door on a table or shelving units, resting it on some other type of framing, etc. I would suggest having multiple support points holding the door up to avoid any chance of sagging. I rest mine on eight foam pads which are glued to the bottom surface, and those eight points rest on two plastic shelving units.
