hi
here is my question, i just finished with the benchwork project for my n scale layout, it is 36 x 72, my question is, i have 5/8plywood , 2 inch foam and 5/16" foamboards, should i use the 2" foam and the playwood or just the foam board and the 2 inch foam as the base, using the the foam and plywqood would give me more support but using the foam and foambards wiuld be esier to run the wires, , did i anaswer my own question?
thanks for your imput, Lowe's has 4x8 sheets of the 2" thick blue foam for $30 per sheet, from what I understand they do not cut the foam,either you have to cut it yourself or if you have a truck so you can just place it in the bed of the truck your ok. I am toying with the idea of placing my plywood down then the foam on top, I am going to use the kato unitrack. I hope that I don't have to move it tho I bolted the legs to the L girders....
njtaxland wrote:I know, I am a pain but here is another question, like I said before that I put a 5/8" plywood down , now here is my question, is it better to just use the plywood or is it ok to put foamboard down on top of it? or would it be better to put a sheet of homasite down on the plywood?
What is your criteria for "better"?
Homasote is typically used in lieu of cork roadbed for its sound deadening and spike and nail holding qualities. Often both the Homasote and plywood will be cut away from areas where there is no track - this is called "cookie cutter" or "ribbon" roadbed. By cutting away the flat surface, you enable the scenery to go below track level instead of only above it. A foam layer on top of the plywood is another method to achieve the same end. You carve away portions of the foam to provide below track level scenic features.
Cork or other roadbed is typically used to simulate the raised roadbed of prototype mainline track. It usually is made of a material that reduces the sound compared to mounting your track on bare plywood.
What is best for you depends on the type of scenery you envision and which materials you are more comfortable with. Do you prefer to carve foam layers, or would you rather build a supporting structure for plaster? Do you need/prefer specific properties of a material - foam makes lightweight scenery compared to traditional plaster and screen wire. But the weight savings made by using foam are often nullified by heavy plywood table tops or coating the foam with regular plaster.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
I think you are getting the subroadbed and the roadbed crossed up a bit, as well as the purposes of the various materials. Fred has gone a longs ways in explaining, I'll throw in a couple more cents!
Homasote was/is mainly used because it hold spikes well. Good for handlaid track, and cases where you are using track nails. You may not really not need it at all.
Foam sheets give you a surface you can carve. You can also use it on the flat, but it you already have 5/8 plywwod down there isn't much need, unless you want to use the foam to form terrain.
Cork gives you a roadbed-like profile, and some sound deadening. You can put cork over either plywood or foam. In yard, you might not, as the track to track profile is generally flat. You can use caulk to hold down the cork, and to hold down the track.
As Fred said, the question isn't really what's better, it is what gets you the surface and terrain you want.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
Thanks for all the replys to my question, to update you all, I have put the foam over the plywood using a caulking addhesive that I picked up at Lowe's where I work, I will be using Kato Unitrack on my layout. My laylout is 36" x 72" so the weight problem is not a huge one if I have to move it. I bolted the l girders to the legs so I can just remove the top easier.