I was so surprised this week when I asked my colleagues if they knew about how to make super easy and cheap white boards out of white panelboards. They did not know! So I thought some of you may not know! Here's the scoop:
Go to Lowe's or Home Depot (lumber store) and locate the White Panelboards (in the paneling section of the store).
It is 4 ft by 8ft which cuts into 24 pieces of white board (12 inches by 16 inches).
Did you know that they will cut it for you? It is just a couple bucks extra and bam! You have 24 white boards ready to go for under $15. Can't beat it!
Just use kleenex or paper towels as easers!
A quick and easy alternative is also to run an sheet of white card in the laminator. Done! You might even chose a different color for fun.
That is an awesome idea!
I love this idea! Also, I hot glue pom poms on the lids of their dry erase markers (the fine tip ones) for my students to use as an eraser that is attached to the marker. It’s so easy and it won’t get lost. Works great!
Love the pom pom idea! Brilliant!
The only problem is that they don’t work. You can’t erase the dry erase markers.. I went to Home Depot followed your instructions and it DOES NOT WORK. I am annoyed.
Cheryl,
I am wondering if it is the same board or if the markers were different – because I have done this method for years with no problem. It has always worked like a charm. I am going to go to Home Depot and see if the quality has declined – I am curious now.
This used to work well but they changed something with the boards. They no longer erase well. My original boards from 15 years ago work well. We have also used the large boards to replace our chalkboards, but that becomes frustrating since they no longer erase well.
One of the comments above has nailed the issue – the boards have a different name than before. I need to go and search it out and test it — then report back!
glass or plexiglas with white paper or material
I’ve done or for years, it works! Make sure you only use black dry erase markers. Also don’t use any cleaning products on it.
Great advice! Another reader suggested covering the edges with pretty duct tape that she found at the dollar store.
I had the same problem with the boards not erasing well. I found out it was the markers I was using. I had gone to the Dollar Store and purchased cheap dry erase markers that came 3 to a pack. So I paid $10 for 30 markers as opposed to $30 for 30 markers at Staples. Used the cheap markers and the blue and red smeared. I used dry erase board spray to get most of the smear off but will try some of the suggestions on this blog. My school had some of the markers from Staples and guess what. i tried a red one. Not only did it not smear, the entire marking erased AND it erased the red film left by the Dollar Store markers. So you can go cheap on the board but invest in the dry erase markers. I noticed they had the same kind at Wal-Mart. The brand name for the good dry erase markers was Expo.
Thank you so much for the tip!
I had the same issue. People who bought these 20 years ago must have bought a different kind. NO, there is nothing stuck to them that needs peeling off. NO, car wax DOES NOT WORK. I tried three different kinds, synthetic and natural, and it DOES NOT WORK. Dry erase markers will erase if you erase them within a few minutes. Anything longer and the marker will need to be washed off with a cleaner and a lot of effort. Bought two, threw them both away.
WD40 will get it off the board.
We installed these white board panels in many of our math classrooms a few years ago and they have been great year after year! I’m not sure why or what you mean by they don’t work?
Some white board materials that you can get at the building supply do not work as well as others.
You can use transparent sticky back plastic on it.
We did that for our kids, works a charm.
I always used the heavy mil sheet protectors (Costco has the best price) with white/colored paper in them for my kiddos. Comes clean and kids can take them home in their binders. My husband is a C-6 (millwork and cabinetry) contractor, talked him into make small boards for my students and used them for years. This year, talked the dear into using panel board on classroom tables (he will glue the board and router it smooth onto the current table surface) this year for group work and see how that goes. Thinking I can have them take a picture and send their work to me or post the work to Google classroom.
Great idea! Also, for 99¢, you can get the 30hands Starter app for iPad, which has 2 drawing apps (Basic and Enhanced) in conjunction with Digital Storytelling. An easy usage is to have the kids draw a picture, record their voice describing it, then create a video from it to share. It’s fun, easy, and cheap.
If they use the physical whiteboards to draw, they can still take a photo with 30hands, narrate it and create a video.
Combine drawing and photos to make a class or group story.
More info is here: http://30hands.com
Great tip!
Use clear sheet protectors (heavy duty clear) and insert card stock for instant white (or any color) boards. Some kids distinguish letters better on bright yellow.
Great Idea!!!!! Going to Lowe’s tonight!!!!
What a great idea!! Just found your blog and am loving it!!
Miss J
Smiles, Crayons, and Endless Stories
you can also use plastic plate like the paper plate kind.
Thanks for this great idea. I’ll have to remember it.
YES! I love the laminated paper and have used it (sooo cheap too!) The cool thing about the panelboard is that it does not get the build up of marker smear that laminated items tend to do. But, of course, with laminated paper it is so easy to just make more!
I have not done the plastic plate idea! How cool! Does it get smeary build up?
We use Melaleuca cleaning products in our school. They have a cleaner called Sol-U-Mel. A few drops of this cleaning solution on a kleenex or papertowel will wipe the marker residue/buildup right off the laminate and it will look brand new. i also use this on our white wipe off boards when they occasionally have colour residue left behind after repeated usage. Sol-U-Mel, when diluted with water is an excellent spray disinfectant that is safe for the children to use when cleaning their tables and classroom surfaces!
Great tip! Love it!
Thanks! I use their laundry detergent, and haven’t tried any of their other products. Can’t wait to try this!
oooooh! I’ll have to try some Sol-u-mel on the whiteboards made of panelboard at school. Some are pretty old, and not erasing well. I wonder if that will help them keep a little bit of a coating to better erase in the future too! 😀
Magic eraser cleans whiteboards like a dream, even something accidentally left from the year before!
It does. However, it drastically reduces the life of your whiteboard, as it is actually a very fine abrasive. I know this from experience.
Love the inexpensive way to get more white boards. Kids love them so much! Are the edges rough when they are cut at the store? Thanks for this great idea. Renee
I had Lowe’s cut them for me so there were some boards with “not perfect” edges. They warned me that their saw was not the best choice for this panel. I do not have access to a saw so I went with it! I will say – it is pretty darn good even with the big saw.
If you have a handy man in your life – you can get perfect boards!
if you want to “dress” them up or fix the rough edges, cute duck tape words great!
Awesome IDEA! I just got mine cut and agree the edges can be rough. Went to the dollar store to get cute duct tape and my students can personlize their boards and markers to match! Thanks everyone for the inspiration!!!
The children will love that! It will be easy for them to identify their own as well as give them ownership! Who doesn’t love fancy duct tape?
I love this inexpensive idea! I am going to go to Lowe’s ASAP and get me some. This would be great for a brainstorming session with the children. Sally you amaze me daily.Keep the ideas coming!
Love, love, love your blog,
Holly 🙂
They hold up too, I’ve had mine for a while (15-16?)years. Yikes, I’m old. A bit Scratchy on front, but still going. Or I’m too cheap to replace them.. I have the rough velco tab on the back that I stick a felt square to for an eraser. And a binder clip on top makes it a clipboard. Sanding edges for a few seconds is all it needs, if that. I have sharp corners too and no one minds (until tomorrow..). I also use the dollar store 3pack micro fiber face cleaner disks? Circle things… As erasers. Not so good with the velcro, but they are a class favorite. Have fun 🙂
Oh my word – you are a fountain of wonderful information! I never thought to add a binder clip! Brilliant! And the microfiber face cleaner disks from the dollar store!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your wisdom!!!
You can also make it even more multi-purpose by spray painting the backs with chalkboard paints or even making a chalkboard substance such as this… (http://www.attemptingaloha.com/2011/02/how-to-make-your-own-chalkboard-paint.html)
At least, that’s what I plan on doing with the set I make for my classroom next year! 🙂
I am currently in the process of making some multi-purpose whiteboards: spraypainting the backs white and duct taping gel boards to them. White boards on one side, gel boards on the back-a perfect lap activity!
Gel boards? Do tell! This sounds interesting!
Take big ziplock bags. Put some colored hair gel in it and and tape it to the back of a white painted board. Duct tape the edges so little fingers won’t get into it. Helps when practicing letters and fast math.
What is a gelboard?
I tried the spray chalk board paint at Lowes and do NOT recommend it! I was pretty upset that it was basically just black spray paint in a can and nothing else. I had to go to Walmart and in the craft section is a bottle of chalkboard paint. You roll it on with a roller generously making sure it is even. Let it dry 24hrs. Then repeat. (I repeated 3x) It worked perfectly! And for the exact same price I paid for the can at Lowes but have lots left over in the bottle. I’ll know next time though where to purchase it from.
Thanks for that tip! Now we all know!
how about taping the edges? I’ve seen some really neat duct tape!
I use old or odd socks as erasers for whiteboards. It’s a more eco friendly and there’s always a constant supply from the laundry basket!
Socks also work great for storing the markers!
Hello, we all have so many great tips! I picked up a baby receiving blanket at our local thrift store and cut it up into twenty wipes. They are fantastic and was like a dream!
I have awarded you the Lovely Blog Award. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful tips! Liz McCaw 🙂
@ http://crazyforkindergarten68.blogspot.com/
This is so great! I am your newest follower!
michelle
Apples and ABC’s
My daughter is teaching summer school and has to bring her own supplies (she student taught last year and doesn’t have a classroom yet). We went tonight to Home Depot and got the board cut for my daughter. They didn’t even charge us to cut the boards AND bonus, we got 10% off for military discount. The guy told us he did this for his kids and put a big board on their walls for them to draw on. Thanks for the idea!!!!! I have passed it on to my teacher friends.
This post was a great one as I just returned from Lowes with new whiteboards ready to go. I told the store employee what was cutting them that I was a teacher and he in turn didn’t charge me for cutting the boards. I’m going to run over to Five Below the next few days and try to duct tape the edges to show which board goes with each table. Just another way to keep the edges clean and boards in one area. Thanks for sharing this great idea.
OMG what a great idea. I am a teacher and have been using laminated sheets but the build up of marker crud is aweful. As a thought, my daughter’s teacher uses baby socks as erasers.
Some awesome extra tips on here in the comments too! I would have to say, I totally see half my class on any given year picking at the duct tape and peeling it off, which would make a yucky mess. Love the binder clip idea! I had purchased clipboards at the dollar store and put contact paper on the back so it would be white board on one side, then I put chalkboard sticky paper on the clipboard side so it’s three in one. The kids started to peel both sticky papers off…sheesh!!! So this board painted on the back with chalkboard paint and a binder clip seems like a better solution.
Just finished mine! Thanks for the great idea. Love the binder clip idea and Velcro with felt on the back.
Used dryer sheets are also great for cleaning your white boards – cheap and easy to replace. They seem to clean better than socks.
Great tip!! Thank you!
I love the panel idea – I have also used old dryer sheets for erasers and they work well. Now, any ideas about the markers? They dry out so fast and our school does not buy them. Some luck with the erasable crayons, but they don’t erase as well.
The teacher in the room next to me has a seal-able plastic baggy for each of the students that holds their eraser ( a shop cloth) and their marker. Her students don’t seem to need new markers throughout the year. I am going to try it after Christmas brake.
Be sure to save all the dried up markers’ lids when you throw away a marker. I keep all the extra lids in a baggie for the inevitable- “I can’t find my lid!”
That is a genius idea! Thank you for sharing!
I save dried-up marker caps for “spares” as well as for game pieces for homemade games.
I purchased the wipe-off pockets & have used 4 yrs now. They were inexpensive and what I like about them is I can keep a blank paper in them to use as a board or I can put worksheets in the pocket and use them over and over.
I made mine this way too, years ago, and they are all holding up great. For erasers, try cutting black felt into 6×6 squares. It fits easily into their pencil box, and look great all along. I’ve used the same ones for 5 years now!
Nina – great tip for erasers! Love it!
You can hot glue a pom pom to the end of your marker….. works great! And it doesn’t get lost!
Great idea!
I haven’t tried it with other boards but when our real whiteboard was used with permanent marker I used hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol to clean it and allll the old marker came off perfectly
If you accidentally use a permanent marker (like a Sharpie) on your white board, just trace over it with a white board pen and it wipes right off! Also, if you have a white board that starts getting to where it doesn’t want to erase completely, clean it and then spray it with WD-40. Once you wipe that off your whiteboard will be as good as new! 🙂
If you put a thin piece of sheet metal (also super cheap at Lowes) behind the white panel board, you can make it magnetic – for boards that are mounted on the wall. 🙂 I think I spent less than $40 for a huge 4×8 whiteboard for our homeschool classroom. If I had purchased an actual whiteboard of that size, it would have easily cost $300+.
It held up really well for about a year. When it started leaving marker stains (I use both dry and wet erase pens), I cleaned it really well with bleach, and sprayed the entire surface with several coats of clear sealer. Note: Do not clean a whiteboard with bleach unless you plan on sealing it after, as the bleach strips off the gloss surface.
Tips: Test the sheet metal in the store though. I made that mistake and had to go back because I happened to grab one that wasn’t magnetic at all, and found that different types offered different magnetic strengths. Also, when adhering the sheet metal, use something strong and only apply it to the edges. I used LockTight and it worked great. Then I made a pretty framed border from crown molding that I found on clearance.
Wow! We bought a large chalkboard for our kids years ago,but soon realuzed that it was not meant for colored chalk. We then learned later that our third child is asthmatic.
So, today. I decided to figure out how to transform it into a whiteboard. I called HomeDepot, but their panelboards are NOT magnetic. The metal sheeting is a perfect solution! Exactly what kind of whiteboard material did you buy that let the magnetic proprties behind it work? Was the metal sheeting cut for you?
You can use an automotive drip pans available at auto supply stores. They are nice because they have rounded safe edges. Divide it into 26 slots with tape and it becomes a magnetic sorter for alphabet pictures or lay it flat to sort toys and figures into the appropriate letters. Make it into a Venn diagram board and stick words (with stick on magnets attached) about characters from stories so they can learn to identify character traits. There area gazillion uses for them.
Our local Lowe’s store now sells whiteboard paint by the quart.
By using the paint, you could make anything into a white board!
That’s my next project for my class — I want to use the whiteboard
paint on a larger size piece of wood, add a decorative frame around
it – for our classroom entrance to announce the “special days”
i.e. birthdays, special guests, etc.
I painted my door(with my principal’s permission) and used it for classroom messages, countdowns, seasonal information etc.
Brilliant! It would certainly get the parents’ attention!
I just had a thought: If you had this cut into bigger squares, you could have project whiteboards that would allow several students to use these at once! Just push their desks together, and you have a dry-erase table! Great for collaboration!!
for magnetic board…simply use a cookie sheet (of course, test first to see if it will hold a magnet…most do)
I bought Dollar Tree cookie sheets this year for my classroom. They come in several sizes but I bought the smallest size. A 9″x12″piece of construction paper fits nicely inside the tray. The magnetic strengthof these trays is great. We use our trays for lots of purposes.
I love all the dry erase suggestions as well! My kids love dry erase boards and I have purchased some and have used the laminate ideas, but the economic value of this idea is most appealing. I know what my next diy project after the holidats is! Thank you everyone for the great suggestions!
I was just wondering about the cookie sheets at the Dollar Tree. I would like to paint some with white board paint.
What do you think?
I teach math at all grade levels and I am looking for new ways to reach more students with less money.
I would LOVE to know if this worked!
What kind of markers work best on this, dry erase?
i bought one panel is 2002 and had 24 boards cut. My students ARE STILL using those same boards. They look good, write, and erase easily. Definitely a great use of money!
Empty DVD cases. Store a cloth inside and you have a great white boards
You would have to stick a piece of white paper in first, so that the pens show up OR buy the bright gliw in the dark pens…..
Ooooohhhhh, what about getting some metal sheeting to put inthe cover to make it magnetic? This would only work if you could have it cut to thise sizes.
Thanks for sharing! I love this idea and would love to use it in my office. any suggestions for how to put it up on a wall for the challenged crafter over here? =) thanks girls!
also thought my blog (for school admin/teachers/principals) would be a good fit to share here as well about ways to stay in touch online with students/parents. http://on.fb.me/1PC76DR
Great idea! Did you know that you can write on your small group reading table that was shown in the pictures? My table erases like a white board and I wipe it with a Lysol wipe at the end of the day.
It is really a great idea, i have not tried it but i will try .
I bought the boards and cut them. Any ideas of how to get the dry erase markers off them? The markers just smear all over the boards. Maybe I bought the wrong type.
Oops I bought the boards and had them cut.
Shelley – I have never had that problem. Hum. I wonder if it is a different board quality. I will look at Lowes to see if it is the same quality as my last purchase two years ago. That is all I can think. Socks and tissues work perfectly on my set.
Wow, this is a perfect activity to keep the kids occupied during summer. I’ve been trying to be more creative with ideas and this will be perfect. We could even play a home-made version of pictionary with these whiteboards. Thanks!
http://www.vistavisuals.com.au
Like Julie, I have used plastic sheet protectors with a page of cardstock in each to make a quick and lightweight erasable surface for deskwork. I have an issue with storage space where I work so the more compact and portable, the better. We use dry erase markers and I cut up a few sheets of felt paper for the erasers. Black or blue markers come off easily, but other colors (especilly red) leave a stain. A damp towel makes everything fresh and new again!
I love all the great ideas here and am planning to borrow a few for September! 🙂
I did ths years ago and was told to wax them with car wax every summer and they will erase easier. Also, I used painters tape around the edge to keep it nice. After wear and tear it does come off and leave icky sticky residue but just replace it with a new edge. Great idea and thank you for sharing with others.
Great tip! Will have to try it!
Great ideas!!
Thank you so much, because I need 30 white boards, for my students. 🙂
i use cut up felt pieces for erasers and it’s awesome.
I use baby washcloths from the Dollar Tree for erasing white boards. Work great and are 4 for $1.00.
Great tip! Thank you for sharing!
I need smaller boards… but don’t want waste.. do you know if any other dimensions closer to the size of a piece of paper… so 8.5 x 11??? Or close to it??
Thanks for your suggestions!!!
Just have them cut it down to 9″x12″ instead of 12″x16″. That should give you 35 boards from a 4×8′ sheet, with 5 slightly smaller boards that would still be perfectly usable. (Assuming you’re getting them cut at the store. If you have your own saw I’m sure you can cut it properly with no waste and get 40 boards of the same size.)
Another suggestion I have used on my wall so it could work on the back of the white boards made from the panel sheet is I painted my wall with magnetic paint and painted over that with chalkboard paint. So the children can write on it with chalk or place magnetic letters and shapes on it.
Our whiteboard just worn out so it needs replacing, and this idea is the best option. Thanks for the idea. For sure my kids will love this. 🙂
Just an FYI: Lowe’s and Home Depot now call this material “smooth white hardboard”. The dimensions are the same and it is the same material, but neither store, at least in my area, carries anything called panelboard.
Also, the Kagan website store sells really nice mini erasers for the best price I’ve found.
Thanks for the tip!
Oh my gosh! You are an angel! I wondered what the issue was! Phew! Mystery solved!
FYI, I haven’t done this yet but another article on doing whiteboards this way mentioned they sometimes have a protective coating you need to peel off before using them as a whiteboard. If you’re having a problem with them not erasing, it’s probably worth seeing if you have something clear you can peel off since they’d be fair useless otherwise anyway. 😉
I tried to do this last week, and the guy at Lowes told me they couldn’t cut it because their saw was too big and it would break the board…did you have this issue?
I am so sorry! Our Lowe’s folks did it for me. Do you have another place? Perhaps a parent might cut them for you! Good Luck!
I purchased my $15 shower board 10 years ago, my first year of teaching. Our school janitor cut them for me. Last year I stared putting a few in my prize box, because needless to say, I need to replace them. They have been well worth the money! My erasers–socks that have lost their match, whether mine or my students, too.
If you use baby wipes as erasers it helps cleans up nicely and the lanolin in them helps to keep them working properly.
Put a coat of car wax on it and buff it off before using it for the first time. It will clean off a lot easier.
Great idea! I never have heard that handy trick!
Old socks work wonders to clean off the boards.
Magic Erasers work well for erase..Just don’t get the double sided from dollar tree… the blue side doesn’t work well… You can buy in bulk on Amazon and cut them in half to make them go farther. I am a trainer in a call center we are a paperless environment so dry erase boards are great!!! I love you DIY trick.. it will save us so much money!!
Thanks for the great tip, Nicole!
I teach in a high school and have found that recycling beaten up binders works great too! Any binders students leave behind (or that you can find on the last day of school) that are too beaten up to reuse and have the clear plastic for sliding in a cover page work great! Just cut out the middle section with the ring binder, slide in a white sheet of paper and tape down the open edge and you’ve got yourself a dry erase board.
For a less sturdy option, you can also use clear page protectors and a sheet of paper too.
Great tip!
I wanted to do this but the panel board here costs 55 dollars!! I can’t believe the increase in Canada.
WOWIE! I am sorry that they are so expensive. Some of our tribe mentioned that there might be some “whiteboard” paint, although I haven’t seen it here. Also, one of the fine folks suggested old binders (the one with the clear cover page) with a white sheet slipped in works wonders. So clever!
Was looking up erase boards to buy and found this! Thanks for saving me $200!
Can an entire sheet be glued to, say plywood and hung on the wall? or will it warp?
Eric, you might try using a bonding agent and clamping or placing heavy items on the sheet and let it dry completely. I have never tried it, but it sounds like a brilliant idea! Let us know how it turns out!
Eric, I am so glad! I know teachers spend their own hard earned money everyday. Every bit helps!
You can also use the boards as dividers between students to prevent “wandering eyes” during tests. Simply cut a 2×4 board into lengths a foot long, cut a groove the thickness of the whiteboard down the length of the 2×4 pieces. The groove needs to be about 3/4″ deep. (I used my neighbors table saw to cut the groove.)This will be the stand for the divider. Put the whiteboard in the groove and bingo, you have your divider. Take them apart to store them. I love mine!
My Lowes does 2 cuts for free then charges $1 per cut. Home Depot charges $.25 per cut; however, when I told the gentleman that my 150 small boards were for a mission school in Kenya, he said no charge for materials or cuts!! So awesome! Saved me over $100 since I was buying these out of my own pocket. Thanks to everyone for all the great ideas!
I loved this idea! I just went to Home Depot and the board was called Thrifty White Panel Board. It was $13.24 for a 4X8 board. He cut it at no charge. I did just try 3 different dry erase markers on it: Expo, Crayola and the one at the Dollar Tree. Expo & Crayola came off fine, the Dollar Tree one left a smudge behind. Thanks for this awesome idea!!!
Shalane – I love the researcher in you! Thanks for sharing your results!
I have all my students bring in a sock from their mismatched bins and they used their sock as an eraser. Works very well and there is no waste. ?
Ok People. I’m trying to get money for my Mom. I’m searching to get ideas for as many DIYs as possible. So this sounded like a good idea. I already had it in mind but then thought of a ‘Push Pin’ next to it. And maybe a couple of Key holders. So it would be placed by their door. The problem is money. So, the ‘Home Depot’ thing great, since I only had a ‘Picture frame’ in mind. So, it’s *Smooth White HardBoards, Socks or baby cloths BUT which kind of Markers? Ty
I would recommend using a dry erase marker on the boards. If you check your local dollar store you can usually find dry erase markers in packs of 6!
Thanks for the great ideas! I’m going to try it to make a large whiteboard in my classroom. For individual white boards, I’ve had good luck in my adult literacy classes using heavy duty sheet protectors from Costco. I used the giant paper cutter at work to cut cardboard into 8-1/2 x 11 pieces. The cardboard came from old cardboard boxes. I slipped a piece of cardboard into each sheet protector with two pieces of letter-size paper on each side. Then I stapled the open end to keep the paper from falling out. About once a year I remove the sheet protectors and put on new ones. I bought a yard of felt and cut it up into evenly sized pieces about 4” x 4”. To use as erasers.These white boards work great. They’re light and I have huge classes so I can make 50 of them without spending too much money and without having to carry heavy white boards around.