Hey guys, I need help here, I keep reading that the best roadbed is “homasote”
I will be building my “first” layout soon, but WHERE do I buy this product. i live in Eastern Ontario, near Cornwall, but have been to our local home depot and 2 home depot in the US and also Lowe’s and no luck. most places have not even hear of this product. here in Cornwall at home depot, I had 6 persons trying to help and they all came in empty.
Now with this product if and when I do find it. Do I cut it in strips or just put down the whole 4 x 8 on the table.
eveyone has been very helpful so far.
thanks again
Go to www.homasote.com There is a search for local dealers on the site. It appears
to only work for the US, but there is an e-mail contact for the sales department that
could probably help if your location is not near a US dealer.
Homasote Company
Box 7240
W. Trenton, NJ 08628-0240
(609) 883-3300
“Sheathing and decking products made from 100% recycled newsprint. Offers Easy-ply roof decking, 440 Homasote fiberboard for exterior siding, nail base sheathing, ceilings and soffits; can be fastened by nailing directly to framing, or over previously finished wall surface with adhesive. Homasote 4-way floor decking for sub-floor and carpet underlayment, protected against termites and fungi. All products are cut with handsaws or power saws and have paintable, sound-deadening and insulative properties.”
Be aware that it is pretty moisture absorbtive. You should seal it on all six sides. You can use it by the full sheet or by the piece just use plenty of support.
You may also want do a web search on “paper fiberboard”. I believe that there are similar products on the market by other manufacturers.
I realize that this may be a little late, but I was just browsing some older threads. I must disagree: gypsum board and Homasote do not have the same properties. Homasote is a wood cellulose product; gypsum board is a gypsum plaster product. Most of their properties are quite different. Gypsum board is heavier, more dimensionally stable (compared to unpainted Homasote), does not take fasteners well (should use toggle or molly bolts or expansion shields, but it can take small pins and nails if they are not too stressed), is very susceptible to moisture (unless specially-treated for resistance, but even then not waterproof), and if the paper covering is damaged, the plaster core is easily crumbled). It is non-combustible, but that is essentially irrelevant for model rr purposes.
Gypsum board is essentially drywall. Nobody uses drywall for a layout base. I use homosote and don’t have to seal mine. I simply paint the top an earth brown latex and let it be. I live in Iowa with a wide variety of humidity changes and have not seen a degradation at all in 15 years. Homabed is great too. Its just roadbed strips as compared to a whole homasote board. Homasote is nice too because it allows you to move your track around if your’e not satisfied rather easily. If you were to glue your track down using latex caulk over pink foam board it would be a hassle to move.
Heres a quick pick of homasote base on my layout.Its great for train yards.Dont forget to put down at least 1/2inch plywood underneath!
I had the same problem here in the big T. O. None of the Home Depot stores I tried had it. One day I went into a RONA LANSING store nearby for no particular reason but to check it out and lo and behold I found that they carried it. This was about 1&1/2 years ago and it cost about $35.00 for a 4’X8’ sheet. I don’t know if all RONA LANSING stores carry it, but it is worth a try. You can cut it as you see fit. Best of luck.
I agree with Driline. I believe that “Drywall” is a brand name for gypsum board. You definitely do not want to use Drywall on your train layout. I built my last layout using the cookie-cutter method on L-girder construction. This method allows for easy changes in track elevation using risers. I used Homasote wall board glued to 1/2" thick fir underlayment plywood with yellow carpenter’s glue. I don’t know if this type of plywood is still available, but its advantage was that it had 5 plys and there no gaps in the plys. A very high quality, solid product. You may have to buy furniture-grade plywood to get similar quality today. You definitely want to use at least 3/8" thick plywood under your Homasote if you chose to go this route. Homasote will not support itself. I will tend to sag. Also don’t use Celotex wall board. This is similar to Homasote, but is much softer and will not hold track nails as well as Homasote.
In my last layout with Homasote glued to plywood, I never sealed the Homasote or plywood before or after gluing them together. The layout was located in my basement in Maryland. The basement was heated and air conditioned so this may have reduced the changes in humidity over the course of the year. I never experienced a problem with expansion and contraction of the Homasote or plywood due to changes in the humidity in my basement. In trying to find a supplier in your area, I would strongly recommend using their 800 phone number and calling the manufacturer directly. Don’t rely on getting a response to an E-mail message. I did this when I was trying to find a local source for the extruded foam insulation board and the guy I talked to at the manufacturer turned out to be a fellow model railroader, so he didn’t think I was crazy.
Homasote can be used in its sheet form for rail yards and other areas on your layout that do not require ballast embankments. O
As far as sources of Homasote, in my area near Martinsburg, WV, Home Depot does carry it. I don’t think I’ve seen it at Lowe’s in our area, but some of the small independent lumber and building supply dealers handle it here. After you contact the manufacturer and get a source in your area, don’t count on the people in the big box home improvement stores having a clue what Homasote is. When I asked at my local Home Depot, the floor personnel claimed they had never heard of it. I then took a little walk through their store in the wall board area and guess what I found up on one of the higher shelves, you guessed it, a whole pallet of Homasote. I guess they don’t sell much of it to the building trades. My understanding is that it’s mostly used as a sound insulating panel in construction applications. This should be a real plus to deaden the dreaded track noise found in model railroading.
With regard to sealing Homasote, I vaguely remember reading or hearing some time ago that during the manufacturing process, they coat the Homasote sheets with some type of sealant to make the sheets somewaht moisture resistant. If you talk to someone at the manufacturer, you might ask them about this. If they do put a sealer on it during manufacture, this might explain why those of us who have not sealed our Homasote have not had a problem with it, at least in heated-air conditioned space.
Guys, I have been using Drywall for years, but not for MRR layouts. It is for walls and ceilings in construction of new homes, additions, or remodeling. It is also called plasterboard, or sheetrock, and comes in 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8". Definetly NOT for layouts!!! It will snap in half without too much downward pressure, it is nothing more than plaster with a cardboard-like material for a cover, overwhich plaster is applied. As for Homasote, I was able to purchase two sheets at my local HD. It has warped just sitting in the garage. So if/when I use this, I will have to make sure it is solidly based to at least 1/2" plywood ( I prefer 3/4" plywood ). Personally, I prefer 2" foam ( easily found at HD’s in northern areas ) glues down over plywood. You can easily cut-in rivers, ponds/lakes, gullies, etc into the foam. As for moving tracks that are glued down, yes, it is harder to remove than pulling up spikes in homasote, but it can be done easily with the proper technique. But the answer here is P6. Proper Planning Prevents P… Poor Performance! Spend the time to do a well planned layout and avoid the headachs later.
Have been using Homosote for the past forty years both for home building and for layouts. Great for both. Home Depot carries it in most locations and will order it for you. You might want to try some of your local lumber stores. Have purchased it in Toronto and Midland ,Ontario, Niagara Falls, NY in the past.
Have used several construction methods, the ones that have worked the best are;
A. For a 4’ x 8’ layout wether flat or cookie cutter I perfer to put down 3/8" plywood first and then glue the homosote to the plywood with yellow carpenters glue. I use 1 x 4s for the frame and braces 16" on center. Then I use cork road bed glued to the Homosote.
B. For larger layouts I use two layers of 3/8" plywood glued together, cookie cutter style and then glue knerfd Homosote strips glued to it. then cork road bed on the mainline none on the sidings.
C. modules I build 30" x 4’ with bracing 16" on center. No plywood under layment. I paint all sides of the homosote with a latex flat paint, what ever is on sale or left over from my home projects. Have hauled the modules all over the north east with no problem, some of them are over twenty years old.
BuffaloBob: Do you use two layers of 3/8" plywood just for ease of handling during construction…as opposed to using 3/4" single sheet of plywood? BTW where is Princess Summerfallwinterspring?LOL Sorry Bob, just couldn’t resist that…most of the younger set won’t even know what this is about…
BuffaloBob…ahhhhhhhhh you DO remember!!! As for plywood, I figured that was what you were doing, and it makes good sense. 3/8" is so much easier to handle than 3/4". I must admit, I never thought of that idea, but I have marked it in my book for future need!!!
I have had great success with the precut Homabed grom co. in CA. A little higher priced than 4x8 sheets, but no cutting, comes with beveled roadbed, switch pads, and flat sheets for yards. I sealed with latex paint and it has worked out fine. Glued it to 3/4" plywood ribbon sub-roadbed. Hal
