
Do It Yourself Whiteboard - Paul_Morgan
http://nimbleunion.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/do-it-yourself-white-board/
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stevoyoung
I'm not sure if this is the same material but I've used what's called
"Showerboard" to do this. It was $7 a board if I remember correctly. I put
some particleboard behind and made a nice wooden frame for it.

In terms of "erasability" it's more than acceptable for the cost of it.
Basically if you erase something within a few day it erases fine with minimal
ghosting. If it's longer than a few days then you need to erase a little
harder or use windex, which works just like the dry eraser liquid.

Having used the very expensive whiteboards at my previous job I don't see a
big difference. The expensive ones still left ghosting and needed to be
cleaned every week or so.

Lastly, I would experiment with markers. I've found that some (brand and
color) erase better than others.

For what it cost, I definitely recommend doing this.

EDIT: Here is a picture of my whiteboard.
[https://app.box.com/s/jby2cznhev66ec1izvck](https://app.box.com/s/jby2cznhev66ec1izvck)

~~~
hablahaha
The article actually says not to use Windex, it strips the surface. I'm
wondering if Expo whiteboard cleaner has the same effect. We use Windex so I'm
guessing that for us at least, it probably has something to do with the
ghosting getting progressively worse.

I really like what you've done with your setup, that black moulding looks
really sharp.

~~~
jamesbritt
I had a similar setup at a small company a few years ago. We first "primed"
the surface by intense scrubbing with that Expo cleaning. This made it easier
to wipe later on.

We also used Tabasco sauce for tough marker residue.

It's worth experimenting with different brands of markers and different colors
to see what ends up easier to clean if left around for any length of time. If
you really want something lasting, take a picture.

(I have a laptop-sized whiteboard I use like that: sketch out stuff, if it
looks good, snap a picture to save it.)

~~~
stevoyoung
Tabasco for cleaning? Sounds like someone accidentally got their hot wing
fingers on the board and discovered it cleaned it nicely.

I completely agree with the markers. Finding the "good" ones made a big
difference for me.

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mczepiel_
We've wall mounted many Ikea Torsby table tops (53 1/8x33 1/2") and really
enjoyed the streamlined look and hassle free cleaning. Best whiteboards I've
ever used. There's actually a white backing behind the glass so everything is
easy to read.

For $80 it's much more affordable than actual whiteboards while clearly
outperforming cheaper alternatives.

[http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90154644/](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90154644/)

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lrichardson
When I was designing our office I had dreams of having giant wall-covering
white boards everywhere. Of course, to save costs, we tried using the shower
board material from Home Depot like this post is suggesting.

The ghosting ends up being a pretty big problem. We found some window cleaner
(not windex) that does a pretty good job cleaning it, but the boards are
getting more and more worn over time. Eventually I hope to replace them all...

I've ended up going a different route in my home office, and it's been quite
successful.

Ikea sells these long and skinny white-colored glass. 63" x 19" for $32.00
USD.

[http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80160645/](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80160645/)

I have two of these mounted on the wall forming a pretty good-sized white
board. It's a little bit weird with the seam in the middle, but it matters
less than you'd think. The glass ends up looking WAY better and classier than
the shower board would, and you don't have to worry about ghosting ever.

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jessaustin
I'm sure this material works OK, but why not just go with glass? Glass will
_not_ ghost, and even paint can be removed easily with a razor blade.

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dm2
YES, these panels are awesome and I've put them on 2 full walls of my office.

The price for the 8' x 4' whiteboards: $13. Great value. You can have them cut
the panels at the store into 2 x 4 foot sections if you don't have a way to
transport the full panel.

I also just use an alcohol/water mix rather than real whiteboard cleaner.

I use normal drywall screws with a countersunk washer which helps the looks.
[https://www.google.com/search?q=countersunk+washers&tbm=isch](https://www.google.com/search?q=countersunk+washers&tbm=isch)

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mfisher87
A friend of mine introduced me to this... one of the best moneysavers I've
come across. I've had a smaller section, 2'x4', mounted on my wall for about
three months. It was $7-$9! I use it heavily and it erases just like a normal
board. Maybe a _little_ more ghosting than a good metal whiteboard, and
sometimes I have to put a little more effort in to erasing older marks, but
nothing worth spending an extra even $10 to rectify. I've never had to use
cleaner, but will just use some diluted alcohol if it ever gets bad enough.

I bought three other "real" whiteboards from big box stores or office supply
stores (for about 5x the price each) in the 6 months prior, and every single
one has had the surface peel and bubble from the backing, so some areas of
those whiteboards are now pressure-sensitive. They are unused since mounting
the new board and will eventually find their way out of my possession.

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cdr
I found 3'x2' "Board Guys" magnetic whiteboards while browsing through Target,
on sale for $11 each. Two 3x2 is good for me personally, although 3x2 boards
would probably not be for an actual office. Good material, backed, framed,
magnetic and a tray. There's something to be said for not DIY sometimes.

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Kerrick
My company got some of those peel-and-stick whiteboards after we moved offices
(I think whiteyboard, but I'm not certain). Prior to the move we had
IdeaPaint; it soon had erasure problems, and ended up looking like a
disgusting mess. I'm really pleased with the peel-and-stick kind after about 6
months.

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mey
We tried this at our work, where we use whiteboards extensively. I am not a
fan. You spend a lot of time trying to make them clean over a 2 year period.
It's annoying to be constantly replacing them.

We have moved on to
[http://www.ideapaint.com/products/ideapaint](http://www.ideapaint.com/products/ideapaint)
and are really happy with the result. Cheaper then traditional white boards
and better then the Showerboards. The room we tested it in currently has had
it up for a year and still works well and easily erasing things that have been
up for a month.

~~~
hack_edu
IdeaPaint does not compare. It more reminiscent of a white truck bed liner
than a writing slate, even when installed by their contractors. It gets the
job done for silly after-hours doodles but its simply not as precise as a real
glossy whiteboard when it comes to legibility and ease to clean.

All of our old traditional whiteboards mysteriously appeared after a few
weeks.

~~~
mey
If you are going cheap, my lower bound is ideapaint, but I agree there is a
reason good whiteboards are still sold :)

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thisjustinm
Another common name for these boards is "shower board."

One thing I noticed with the one I previously built was that different color /
brand markers made a big difference in how easy it was to erase.

IIRC red and black Expo brand were the hardest to erase while green Expo would
wipe clean even after a couple months (we left a couple of test marks on the
board once we realized color made a difference to see how each fared).

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prawn
I tried a stick on whiteboard decal approach and it just didn't stay on the
wall in Australian summer temperatures. Cost me $100+ and is now in the bin.

At the office, another business uses a thin magnetic sheet with magnetic
whiteboard tiles they can move around, write on, etc. Means that anything
likely to be written up for a long time is usually isolated to a small
replaceable piece.

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smoyer
During construction of my office walls in the '90s I had this same paneling
installed over raw drywall. I was almost the same cost because the contractor
didn't need to finish the drywall (very labor intensive) but rather used
liquid nails to glue the paneling onto the drywall. Don't try using this
paneling directly as the wall.

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Donzo
The problem with using shower board is ghosting. Even Expo markers will leave
behind tracks.

The smoother and harder the surface, the easier it is clean. The actual
whiteboard material is very smooth and hard, almost like porcelain. Glass is
an ideal surface, so long as you don't have children around. Windows work
pretty well too.

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JoeAltmaier
They also sell whiteboard material, whatever that is. It cuts good, erases as
well as the real thing. I recommend it.

~~~
a1a
Did some quick research out of interest. Melamine and porcelain steel seems to
be the most common.

References:

[http://mywhiteboards.blogspot.se/2012/06/melamine-vs-
porcela...](http://mywhiteboards.blogspot.se/2012/06/melamine-vs-porcelain-
steel.html)

[http://www.whiteboardsetc.com/laminated_panel.htm](http://www.whiteboardsetc.com/laminated_panel.htm)

[http://dryeraseboard.com/aluminum-trim-porcelain-steel-
marke...](http://dryeraseboard.com/aluminum-trim-porcelain-steel-
markerboards.html)

[http://www.usmarkerboard.com/s/Unframed-Whiteboard-
Material/...](http://www.usmarkerboard.com/s/Unframed-Whiteboard-Material/13)

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AjithAntony
I can't find the post, but there was an article about this stuff on here a
while back. Like large sheets of dry erase contact paper.

[http://www.amazon.com/GoWrite-Dry-Erase-Rolls-
White/dp/B0037...](http://www.amazon.com/GoWrite-Dry-Erase-Rolls-
White/dp/B00377TWSE)

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protomyth
When we really needed dry erase boards at one place I worked we laminated
white cardboard. That was fairly cheap and it actually erased. We had
inherited a 60-ish inch (maybe 65) roll laminator. You can buy some big
cardboard sheets to fit in those things.

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vhost-
I've been using this stuff for years. Can't beat the price! Just be careful of
scratching it too much. After a while my boards get pretty un-eraseable and
the grooves will tear up markers at an unfavorable rate.

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kosei
Would be great to see how well this works (especially over time). I've used
IdeaPaint before, but it always seems to get worse and ghost over time. Also
it's quite expensive.

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joezydeco
Seconding the awful.

Besides being hard to erase and leaving ghosts behind, this stuff does NOT cut
easily. The finish is very thin and will chip like crazy when you try to cut
it.

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joshdance
hardpanel or IdeaPaint?

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chrismeller
Which of the two would you be cutting?

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joshdance
A hardpanel panel, or something painted with IdeaPaint.

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sk8ingdom
Can confirm, did this in college and it worked great.

