Which coroplast for free range area? How much? How big?

[MomRat]

We're getting our little girls one week from today(eep! so excited!) and, after having 4 boys that were easily trainable to stay on the couch/in their cage, period, we're expecting a new learning experience in the realm of free ranging.

So, I finally found a coroplast distributor here in town(bout an hours drive away) who actually returned my emails and would be happy to sell me a couple of sheets(as opposed to a pallet of 50 at once). They gave me a quote of $11.15 per 4x8 foot sheet of 4mm coroplast, but asked if that was the thickness I was looking for. I think they sell everything from 2mm thru 10mm. I'm pretty sure anything over 4mm is overkill, but if the 2mm is considerably cheaper per sheet, should I go for it? We want this to last us awhile, is the 4mm really as thin as we should go, for something durable that isn't going to get crushed/damaged in storage?

Also, how many sheets should we get? Do we need to leave them at the full 4' height to prevent escapees? Would 3' be enough? Then I could slice some off to block the under edges of the couches, potentially. The couches will be inside the corralled area, and the girls will have access to them. How narrow do you tend to cut each 'panel'? We may have to cut it there, to fit it in the subaru, so I want to do it right the first time.

Thanks ahead of time for your help!

 

[SQ]

Mine is 4 or 5 mm.
3 feet should be sufficient but not less then that.
Lengths and number of sheets would depend on the perimeter of the area you are setting up.

 

[Moon]

Mine is 4 or 5 mm.
3 feet should be sufficient but not less then that.
Lengths and number of sheets would depend on the perimeter of the area you are setting up.

^Yup

I wouldn't go for the thinner coroplast... depending on the size of your area I don't know if it would be as sturdy. And coroplast is still chewable so too thin might be too easy :lol:

 

[Moon]

Oh and keep in mind what sort of stuff you'll be putting in the play area. 3' should be fine most of the time but you might want to leave it higher if you'll have stuff they can climb on near the perimeter.