Just watched a you tube video where a fellow used sheet rock/ wallboard as his subroadbed.
Just wondering if that's a good idea?
johnnyrailsJust wondering if that's a good idea?
Welcome to the forum. If it is, it's not obvious to me why, unless it was free.
It's heavy. It's messy to cut and drill. It's not going to hold track nails or spikes. Edit I watched the video and in this day of caulk, track nails aren't essential and it does seem to handle his grades, which I would have thought to be problematic.
For those more open minded than myself
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
It's always nice to see different ways of doing things. Someone elses idea might come in handy some day.
A few years ago I watched a video on making sub roadbed from plastic water pipe. I decided to try it on a reversing loop I was adding to my layout. It worked okay, but I wouldn't do it again. For me it was a nice diversion and a learning experiance.
Yes, it's actually quite effective as roadbed. It can be softened and made to make vertical curves into and out of grades, but that takes a bit of skill/know-how. If it is caulked to the sub-roadbed, and tracks are laid directly onto the suitably cut strips of drywall, it can be gratifyingly quiet...a huge bonus to those of us who aren't keen to have noisy trains.
One very positive attribute is that it is very planar, assuming you don't mangle it or let the strips break into pieces and let chunks of the plaster fall away from the paper cover. So, if applied carefully, you won't have any track rolling, a distinct and pervasive problem with some people's trackwork.
Those are the pros. The cons are considerable, some of which have already been mentioned. It doesn't curve well in azimuth, or laterally. You have to break/cut it and fashion curves, but you'll be left with substantial triangular gaps. It is fragile, and won't take a lot of handling when cut an inch wide and several feet long.
Edit (added) - A potentially catastrophic con would be if gluing the ballast ended up making the drywall sag as the substrate got wet and collapsed. Don't know why I forgot that one.
I disagree about it not taking nails. The nails I use, track nails from Atlas or whomever, go in rather easily. What may not go particularly well is their long-term retention by the chalky substrate under the paper...that is to say, the paper will do the lion's share of any 'retention'. But getting those wee spikes through the paper is easy. Caulk would be better.
On some of those upper level areas where it's a very narrow box with supports along both the wall and outboard side, plus all the crossmembers, it should be fine. But the way it hangs out around that curve - I have a feeling it will sag over time. The narrow parts with horizontal drywall are no different than boxing in a support beam or other feature in a house and those sort of narrow ledges work very well and typically don't have problems. But drywall isn't meant to be used horizontally, like that big section he has on the lower level, or that curve along the uppwr level at the end of the penninsula, where the only real support are the crossmembers every 16 inches or so.
Caulk and glue are no problem, dunno about wetting down ballast though, unless he's using the mooisture resistent stuff you use in bathrooms and so forth. But it doesn't look like it. I wouldn;t want to nail track or roadbed down, not that it won;t hold the nails, but it doesn;t take much hammering to get cracks in the plaster core and the next thing you know the only support is the paper on the outside.
Hanging vertically for backdrops and such? No problem, that's how it's meant to be used. Little overboard to make the fascia from drywall but taped, sanded, and painted it would look like part of the room (obviously need doors for under layout access though). I predict short term positive results and long term disappointment with this - or a LOT of extra bracing added.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
It's going to be pretty heavy, so you need substantial benchwork to support it, and perhaps even helpers when you're building it. If you try to span too much distance between benchwork supports, it will eventually sag in the middle, and that may be a permanent droop, not fixable by simply adding more lumber beneath for support.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Seems like a very, very bad idea, particularly at some of the riser spans shown in the video. Gypsum board has virtualily no strength in tension and limited compressive strength. All that is keeping it from sagging is the paper outer layer. If you put any pressure on it when laying track it could easily crack.
Ray
I've worked with lots of drywall, and the wider sections would OK, with proper support underneath, but narrow strips like he's (video) using, would be better if it was on some type of a sub bed. Drywall laying flat has very limited strength, and you should have multiple supports under it, or sagging is inevitable.
Mike.
My You Tube
Quite apart from wondering about regular sheetrock and modern "wet" scenery methods, I am enough of a pessimist to wonder what it will be like when it comes time to tearing down the layout.
Dave Nelson
I see that I failed to read the OP correctly....and answered as if he had asked about roadbed. He said sub-roadbed. I don't agree with drywall's use as sub-roadbed. I have used it successfully on tangents as roadbed properly supported by suitable sub-roadbed.
Sorry.
It's a bit confusing, in his video, some places he has the track on plywood or OSB, and some places just the 1/2" drywall. It's not a good idea for either road bed or sub road bed. Looking at the size of his layout, I'd hate to put that much effert into a layout, and have problems done the road.
Just my opinion.
I agree, he is headed for big trouble......
Sheldon
He's not supporting it enough.
However, if used as a top layer over a half inch or even quarter inch plywood sub-sub roadbed, it might make a good sound deadener.
- Douglas
You know I may have stumbled upon this post a day late and a hour short as I was out of town. I don't often speculate but I will here. I think Johnnyrails was inquiring about a secondary sub roadbed in sheetrock supported by some other solid material and it has Merit. Sheetrock is very dense and kills vibration and also has sound deadening qualities comparable to homasote. I am in agreement of the other posters here to its pros and cons. Moisture is not sheetrocks friend. Sheetrock is like a sponge it wicks water and once it has it it doesn't like to let go of it. It bloats much like MDF or fiberboard once expanded does not return to original shape. I've replaced enough of that crap next to the floors in basements mold and mildew black. In light of that fact I would choose foam if it's a glue down. If you're hand laying track go with homasote. And even at that point I would put a sealer on it. Welcome to the forums all just opinions
Well, could be, Track fiddler, but watching his video, as I stated, he has some track on plywood, or OSB, and some just on drywall, nothing under it.
Mike. Nice. I appreciate your work.