Hi! For a new project…Have always used homasote board over plywood. Am looking for suggestions for an alternative since the board has become a little too pricey. Will be using Atlas HO Nickel Snap track. As always, many thanks.
I use a product called Sound Board that is made by Celotex Corporation and some others. It’s made from sugar cane and other vegetable fibers and comes in a 4x8 sheet that is 1/'2 inch thick. It’s a brown colored sheet that is used as insulation and as a sound deadener in walls, so check the insulation department at your nearest big box home improvement store. Here it sells for less than $8 per sheet.
Cacole: Thanks.
You could also try Homa-bed. It is Homasote that has been cut in to the shape of roadbed, just like cork. I don’t remember who makes it, but you should be able to find it doing a search on the Internet. I have used it and it works good. However, to make curves, they had to cut slots in it. Seems a little strange at first, but the ballast covers them.
Homasote is a brand name, it belongs to the Homasote Company and they make many products several of which look like they will serve the Model Railroader.
The LION used Celotex, a product made by the Celotex Company, the identical product to that which I used is no longer available since it would not meet anybody’s building codes. However they do have a full like of products. A Google of Celotex shoed a UK company and an American company called Celotex-Blue Ridge which has a few products that may be of interest to model railroaders. The company sells them in lots of 90 sheets, so you would have to find a dealer in your area, but it sure is interesting the kinds of products you can find in just a few seconds of Google.
ROAR
I have used Upson board in the past…another pressed paper board…was a little thinner than homasote…held spikes fine and did not seem to make as much mess.
Can’t find it any more…any help on this Homasote alternative…especially in the Mid Atlantic region ??
Upson Board, Homasote and Celotex are BRAND NAMES, and many big box home stores carry generic products which would not use the brand name. In Menards the clerk did not know what Masonite was. I HAVE SEEN THE STUFF IN THERE. But of course what I was looking at was really called “hardboard”. Ask to see soundproofing sheets either under wall or under floor, you may find what you are looking for. I posted some corporate websites above. If you see a product you want, look for a link that will take you to a dealer in your area.
ROAR