Where do you get your big dry erase boards?

August 10, 2008 8:02 PM

Looking for suggestions for a good vendor for a large dry erase board in the US.

I am looking for a large dry erase board for my office. I am thinking of something in the neighborhood of 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall, but I'm flexible on this.

Some other considerations:

- Something that erases easily, will last a long time, and doesen't leave a lot of "ghosting" marks would be nice, as would a white or wood frame instead of a metal one.

- Magnetic would be nice, but is not essential.

- I'm not really interested in making one myself or buying dry erase paint. I can see that idea turning into an expensive disaster.

- The cheaper the better, which includes shipping.

Thanks in advance.

posted by 4ster to shopping (15 comments total)

Dry erase paint is garbage (IME). Look into shower board. It comes in 4x8 pices at most hardware stores and is skads cheaper than a white board. Works 90% as well, costs 2% of the price. Have to frame it and mount it yourself though.
posted by Ookseer at 8:09 PM on August 10, 2008

I got a 6' x 4' for my office from greenlightoffice.com. Keep in mind that delivery'll cost extra.

It was more than big enough, but then I have a small office.
posted by meta_eli at 8:27 PM on August 10, 2008

For 4x8, why not just buy a ful sheet of showerboard at your local building supply place? It's really cheap (I think I paid ~$15 the last time I bought one) and works great. I guess I'm saying "make it yourself" but there's no making involved — you buy a sheet, you carry it home, you screw it to the wall. The end. No cutting, measuring, or anything complicated involved at all.
posted by Forktine at 8:35 PM on August 10, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I guess I should have said this earlier, but if this were in my home, I'd be all over the showerboard/DIY idea, but since it's my office, the DIY is definitely out.
posted by 4ster at 8:39 PM on August 10, 2008

I would ask your local high school or school district where they get their white boards if they have them. Seems like they'd know, and maybe they could get you a deal.
posted by papayaninja at 9:20 PM on August 10, 2008

I did a similar search recently; after seeing really high prices targeting academic and industrial products, I looked through the offers at alibaba. I didn't see anything approaching the higher quality U.S. offerings, so I'll be following the progress of this thread with interest.
posted by acro at 10:38 PM on August 10, 2008

A comment on this showerboard wiki points to a product from Avery - Write On - Sheets, 27x34 Con: Not really a permanent whiteboard solution. Pro: $27.72 with free shipping.
posted by acro at 10:48 PM on August 10, 2008

We called polyvision directly and they were happy to ship a 5 x 8 one right out. They seem to no longer do that, but the thing you want is their c3 ceramicsteel whiteboard.

Prepare to spend $700.
posted by mrbugsentry at 4:50 AM on August 11, 2008

All,

This morning, I found this, and the price seems to be too good to be true. Am I missing something here?
posted by 4ster at 7:34 AM on August 11, 2008

4ster - those numbers are followed by double-quotes, not single-quotes, so I believe that means eighteen inches by twenty-four inches.
posted by ewingpatriarch at 2:31 PM on August 11, 2008

(cf. wikipedia)
posted by ewingpatriarch at 2:32 PM on August 11, 2008

I'd definitely go with the showerboard idea. If you need it to be a bit more professional, find a local woodworker (or mill) in your area that could make a frame for you. I think your total expense doing it this way would be under $50 still.
posted by stuboo at 2:33 PM on August 11, 2008

@ewingpatriarch: EGAD I wasn't paying attention on that one. I knew it was too good to be true.
posted by 4ster at 3:43 PM on August 11, 2008

I'm seconding the idea of asking a school where they get theirs. 4'x8' magnetic white boards are pretty standard in classrooms. They are usually purchased in bulk, but there is always the classroom that needs a single replacement for a damaged board, etc, so the school office might be able to tell you where to get one pretty cheap.

Even better, if you know a teacher, they could probably get you one at a teacher warehouse store (some place like this, where I have seen them for $15).
posted by lisaici at 8:46 PM on August 11, 2008

What about dry erase film. A conference center had their whole walls rolled with some sort of dry erase film floor to ceiling, it was brown and not white, maybe searching around will find something similar. The brown color may just have been their paint color.

http://www.dryeraseforless.com/
posted by so_ at 2:30 AM on August 12, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]