"Cork Buildings - Where can I find cork tile in the US" Topic

Ok, I decided to give Matakishi's cork buildings a try…

link

… but to my surprise I have found it very difficult to find any decent cork tiles. After searching the local craft stores, office supply stores, and a hobby store I found a pack of four at the local Target for $4. USD The tiles were 12 x 12 x 3/16 (just a bit thicker than the recommended 3-4mm). However, once I started to cut the cork tiles I noticed they were very crumbly (sp?) and wanted to fall apart.

Does anyone know a good source for these tiles here in the states? Thanks.

You need floor tiles which are made of compacted cork. Flooring places sell them but I can't point you to a particular one as I'm not in the US.

Here's a link to a similar discussion from Jan 07

TMP link

And here's the link for where I got my tiles.

link

ttfn
Preston

Preston – Thanks. I searched the TMP archives for cork and nothing came up. I appreciate the assist.

You guys are lucky in that you can find them. I have been looking for some for the very same reasons (Matakishi's article) here in Australia and it seems they are rarer than Hen's teeth.

you might want to check with a commercial flooring store, not the big box stores. My guess is you would have to get them specail order, so you might be stuck with a minimum order. If you deal with stores that do both residential and commercial jobs you might have better luck.

I get my packs of cork from a Dollar General store.
2-6" by 9" or 4- 6x6" for, yes, you guessed it, $1 USD

I use the corkboard cork all the time and it works just fine. Currently the local Dollar Store carries some. I usually get it in stacks at Walmart though. The secret as Matakishi suggests is to give it a good coat of paint. Several actually.

I also brush diluted wood glue then sprinkle fine-grained sand over some of my ruined structures. That helps to toughen them up a bit and give a nice concrete/cement texture.

I don't have any photos of my building ruins, but here's a link to my photobucket.

link

I used the same approach to make a 15mm castle ruin. It's pretty sturdy.

Cheers!
~OD

Thanks, Preston! I tried many flooring places and even Cork.com, but I couldn't find the right stuff. With your link I can get the goods and start building my tenements and what-not for Supersystem and Pulp games.

Shelldrake, try Bunnings at Highpoint. I had a pack from the Sunshine Bunnings then they told me Bunnings weren't stocking them anymore. Yet when I tried the Highpoint store, I could get a 10 pack of them. That's ten packs of nine. So I am set for the next few years.

regards
Bob

And if you get reeeeaaaally desperate and coincidentally have cash to just BURN, you can always try McMaster-Carr.

mcmaster.com just type "cork" in the search window…

Wal Mart, Office Depot, etc carry them

I found them in the most unlikely place.

Target! no kidding! Target!

it is in packs of 4 of 12" x 12". i think its about ~$4.00. It was in the office/school supplies area.

Found the same pack in Walmart. Think it was on sale for about $3.00 USD for either 4 or 6 12" square tiles.

Just got back from Home DEpot: 2X3' (yes feet)tiles, regular price $14.88, are now $1.50!!!!!!!! Thats about .50 quid to Paul and those in the Old Country!!! I went to two stores here in the Ft. Pierce/Vero area and both had the deal!!!!!!!!! They are 1/2" thick, but I uses them for river banks and rocky hill bases!!!

Where they sold mas underlaying material? If not which department did you find them in?

I found them in the isle with panneling, they were on a high shelf (about head high) right above various panneling sheets. Niether store eben knew they had them apparantly, both had to double check prices and such

Oh yeah, they called 'em "acoustic tiles"

A few weeks ago, I bought a package of the dark brown 12" x 12" 'Hobby Cork Tiles' (the thicker "crumbly" ones about 3/8 of an inch or 1 cm thick).

Just to try out, a couple of days ago I cut a few pieces for ruins and glued them with plastic cement.

They finally cured and are ready for a layer of brushed wood glue. I figure that, though the crumbling ability is great for getting the right look, it may get in the way of durability. A couple of reinforcement layers of wood glue will be a must.

CC

CC – I finally found a large stockpile at a local Big Lots. I cleaned them out and now I have enought to make a small city. I am slowly cutting the sections out so my son and I (3-1/2 years old) can assemble then together. : )

Got any pics CC?

Captain Apathy's latest here:

TMP link

CC