Ok i have the bench work up in my garage layout & its all lightweight 1×4 construction
So im torn between topping it with plywood or put straight Styrofoam on it??my last layout had plywood with Styrofoam top ,i liked it was easy to work with .so pros & cons of Styrofoam top??
I prefer to use foam for the surface, as it gives you the opportunity to have below grade scenery easily. 2" foam is quite strong, especially on a good frame. If it were a small mobile layout, a piece of plywood under the foam might be all you need for a frame and to protect the foam.
My thoughts.
Have fun,
Richard
You liked the plywood and foam combo and found it easy to work with, why change?
I have a 5’ x 12’ HO LAYOUT and used the 2" x 2’ x 8’ pink foam board on top of my 1" x 4" grid. I made a full size pattern of my track plan using AutoCAD and placed it on top of the foam board. I cut the foam board to size and glued the pieces together using adhesive chalk so that it was one piece of 5’ x 12’ foam. I used the cookie cutter method and cut the foam board for my 2% grades. I used scrap pieces of foam board as spacers and risers for the graded sections. I painted the foam with light brown latex paint and used crumpled paper taped to create landscape shapes and covered this with plaster cloth. I like the results and the ease of working with the foam. The strength of the foam board is ok. However, I would not try to put my full weight on it. The main drawback was the mess it made when I used my saber saw to cut it. Some people complain about the sound of the trains running on it being to loud. I have not found this to be a problem.
Yes, if you have to saw the foam it is messy, cut and snap isn’t nearly as bad. Two things to help: 1. Have your shop vac handy. 2. Use an anti-static spray, helps a lot.
Good luck,
Richard
One thing to clarify: Styrofoam isn’t the same as extruded polystyrene foam. You want the latter-- it’s got a consistent texture and is easy to carve. Big box stores sell it in blue, pink and green varieties but it’s all the same thing. Stay away from the beaded popcorn-textured white stuff, it’s a mess.
P
Off a different opinion…1/2 ply, 1/2’’ Homasote…screw into it, nail ‘’ it, glue on to it, drill holes, mount switch machines without a hassle, spike track work without a problem,so forth and so on…foam’s for scenery…Just My opinion of course!!!
Be Happy in Your layout building!!
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Not neccisaily, my whole 15x30+ layout is styofoam, three years in, no problems and others have had theirs much longer. Only thing whist styofoam is you need to coat it for final scenery, plaster cloth works for that and can be had cheap on places like e-bay. I cut mine with a long blade inside or saw outside (sometimes I cheat and saw inside) to rough dsimentions and finish up with WS hot foam cutter.
I planned on extruded foam lol i just got to figure out if home depot will deliver or i got to rent thier
Truck
If you are not too far from your HD, some folks have purchased a couple sheets of plywood or a few 2"x4"'s, made a "sanwich with the wood for strength, strapped them on the top and made it home OK. Of course a bit depends on the shape of the top of your car. Could be cheaper than renting a truck.
Good luck,
Richard
I have HD stryofam on my 7x13’ layout. Below are pros and cons I found.
Pros (no specific order):
Relatively cheap
Easy to cut with a drywall saw or sharp knife for making scenery
Can easily write on it with a sharpie or similar to mark track, scenery, etc.
Easy to make smooth
Cons:
I built my layout with a simple box frame of 1x4 and 1x3 lumber, no plywood, and 2-inch pink foam. I’m very happy with it. It’s easy to work with.
You can NOT climb on top of it, unlike the old-style battleship construction of 2x4 framework and 3/4 in plywood.
It will not hold screws at all, and nails don’t work much better. Mostly, you must glue things to it. I don’t find that a problem.
It’s very light and easy to cut. If you take a utility knife and score both sides as deep as the knife will go, you can do a clear score-and-snap straight line with no mess at all. A hot wire cutter works well, but it only can cut a few inches in from the edge. A hot foam knife can cut anywhere. Both of these emit bad vapors and should only be used in a well-ventilated space.
The WS hot wire dose not heat foam to toxic levels, with a hot knife you need one that you can make the temp less than 467.
An electric carving knife is not as messy as a saw, but not as clean as score and snap.
South Penn
I live about 5 miles from HD so a sandwich is possible
Our local HD will deliver to your home for a reasonable price.
My son had plywood and 2"x4" delivered, and the driver phoned to say he would be late, because it was raining too hard to use his lift truck to unload. Then he phoned again to give an hours notice of when he would be there.
Dave