ajfries Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I've found a few threads from years past about using shower board or tile board from a hardware store to use for giant, cheap whiteboards. Does anyone have one? It seems that the overall consensus was pretty mixed. Some people loved them & used them for years, but others found that they were difficult to clean. I would think, for us, even if they do require some extra care, it would be worth it for the savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 We have one and we like it. It doesn't clean well. New markers do better than older ones, but they all leave shadows. I bought a gallon bottle of white board cleaning solution from Amazon soon after we put it up and it has lasted years (and will last longer than homeschooling here). It isn't a big deal to clean it when it gets some marker build up. Someone posted the trick of using turtle wax on the board to make it erase cleaner. I tried it and it didn't help here. I would have preferred a huge, high quality board that cleans easily, but frankly, the cost difference isn't worth it. A 10 year supply of cleaning solution was something like $10 :). For us that was a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 My husband was going to get showerboard at Home Depot, but saw they also had sheets called Marker Board for a similar price. He bought that and it's great! It's thin, so it has to be mounted, but it cleans just fine. If I leave the marker up a long time, then I use Simple Green all purpose cleaner and it comes right off. Here's a post with a picture of how we did it: 31 Days of Organizing Homeschool Stuff: Schedule & Chore Board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility7 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I also bought whiteboard from HD (or maybe Lowe's?) and we love it. It is probably 3' x 4' and was not called showerboard. I think it was called melanine or something, but I could be wrong on that. I just asked at customer service for exactly what I wanted - whiteboard to use markers on - and this is what they directed me to. I actually have four of them, and I use them on an easel. They are thin and so a little "bouncy" for easel use (esp when DS tries to write on them). It would be better if they were mounted, but I don't have the wall space for that (plus I like being able to move them around anyway). Sometimes my marker does stain the board, but a damp Magic eraser has always gotten it totally clean again. I think it is more the marker's fault than the board, in my case, since some of my markers stain worse than others. I think the Expo markers do the best... I have another brand called Boone that I have tossed a bunch of for immediate staining (I write then immediately try to erase and they already stain!). The Expos stain also, but only if I leave the writing a few days, and the Magic Eraser always removes it without too much elbow grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
froggiemomof3 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 We have the 4x8 ft shower board as a whiteboard in the basement and love it. It only tends to stain if I leave the writing on the board for a length of time...like our weekly proverb will leave a light shadow but nothing major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I found memo board contact paper. :) Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 We should be getting ours put up today. Do you guys think it would be ok to use washi tape on it? I was thinking about doing something like this calendar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoHomeschooler Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 That's a cute calendar, but I would be afraid of the washi tape leaving behind adhesive residue, if I ever wanted to use it for something else. I use an erasable calendar that I got at a teacher supply store, and mounted to foamboard. We use the white board too much to tie it up as a calendar, but YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtzc2009 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 My hubby just installed ours today. He built a little frame to mount it to so it wasn't taped or glued to the wall and he used white trim around the edges to finish it off. Ours is 4X8 I think. We haven't tested it out yet to see how easily markers erase but I'm sure my little magic eraser will get anything off that lingers :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtzc2009 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 My hubby just installed ours today. He built a little frame to mount it to so it wasn't taped or glued to the wall and he used white trim around the edges to finish it off. Ours is 4X8 I think. We haven't tested it out yet to see how easily markers erase but I'm sure my little magic eraser will get anything off that lingers :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 instead of tape, I use wet erase markers for the lines that I want to be semi permanent and then I use dry erase for the other. I have the top portion of my white board marked with boxes for each subject and the children's names in them (done in wet erase) and the chapter/book/assignment for the week in dry erase. I probably have to re-do it three times a year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 We've had ours up for 2 days; my DH trimmed it & made a little tray for the markers. It's been pretty awesome so far. DS draws dinosaur murals spanning the entire 8 feet. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 We love ours. Use a magic eraser to give it a good cleaning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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