I have always used homosote as the sound deadener on all of my previous layouts, but ther price has gotton outragous. I am wondering if foam sheet would work as well?
Lowe's has 3/4" thick 4X8 sheets for $12.98. I can cut it to the widith that I need
yes, foam does work as a sound deadener but ..
it should be used with slightly flexible adhesive, both top and bottom ..
note that elmers white glue is rigid ...
I think that a silicone adhesive should work.
Try the silicone on a test piece, to make sure they work together, I use latex caulk.
Mike.
My You Tube
The pilled styrofoam will probably be very quiet. Don't use it.
The extruded foam will be like a drum skin. It will be probably be noisy. Use it instead.
As a previous poster suggested, use a caulk that stays pliable to adhere the extruded insulation foamboard to its supporting structures. Then, when you go to lay tracks, have something else, a different density, as a roadbed to get the mains off the general surface level (you want your mains elevated above the surrounds like the prototype does). And, use a caulk, or something compatible with the foam, to adhere the roadbed to the foam.
Note that, if your ballast grains, when groomed to shape, fall against the foamboard, and you glue the ballast to hardness, the passing trains' vibrations and noise will be transmitted to the surface of the foamboard which, as I stated, is like a taut drumskin. So, my suggestion is to make the roadbed material (drywall strips are excellent for deadening noise, plywood, or other foam/homabed) wide enought that all of your ballast will fall on it and not transmit noise to the foam below.
If you want 0 noise use cement board. I cut mine with my circular saw.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I built my layout with two inch pink foam board from Menards.
I made three 6 ft wide by 8 ft long tables.
Legs bolt on.
Made a bed lattice type cross beams from 1 x 4 lumber.
My layout is 6 feet wide by 24 feet long.
It is in my basement, and if I would ever move, it will easiy come apart and can be carried by two guys up the stairwell in 3- 6 ft by 8ft sections as each table is fairly lightweight.After all under table wiring was in place, I hand stapled some fiberglass insulation rolls , just tacking them in place. between the lattice work.
I can easily undo them to make any changes under the tables.
I have no sound problems at all.
MY two outsie mains are Atlass #100 with large radius at each end.
My theme is the PRR in the mid 1940's to late 1950's.
And since Unce Sam just gave me $1200 , I can add a few more goodies!
My avatar is the New York Central 21st Century Limited running alongside the PRR Broadway limited coming out of Englewood Illinois.
I jave a large copy of the painting that will hang in my train room.
The painting is titled "Steel , Steam and Thunder"