pandj
Full Member
Posts: 3
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Post by pandj on Feb 7, 2015 22:16:16 GMT 1
Hi, this is the first of many questions.
I have a load of roofing timber and plaster board left over from renovation work, the timber will be great for making the layout framework but the question is will plaster board be OK as a base, it is the green bathroom type so will (hopefully) cope with any humidity, I would cover it with cork.
Thanks
Pete.
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Post by reichsbahn24 on Feb 7, 2015 22:48:39 GMT 1
Hi Pete I cannot see any problem with using the Hydro plaster board other than having plenty of support underneath the board and you use the black plaster board screws. I have just been looking at a video on Youtube about base board construct and I have tried to upload the video if it hasn't worked it is headed "Model Railway Baseboard Construction" it was put on by Whiterose model works. They say that they prefer MDF but I think that as long as the base is stable it should be OK.
Hope this works(Just had to have my 15 yr old daughter show me how to do)
Cheers Dieter
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pandj
Full Member
Posts: 3
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Post by pandj on Feb 7, 2015 22:57:05 GMT 1
Thanks Dieter, and daughter
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Post by loosehead on Feb 9, 2015 12:06:05 GMT 1
There's always a first for anything, but I would have thought plasterboard has all the qualities you don't want in a track sub-base - heavy, weak, sound-amplifying, dimensionally unstable, difficult to fix to (if not impossible - is it really viable to attach servos/TOUs/rodding/wiring etc using the very limited range of plasterboard screws available?). I understand the desire to make best use of material that is readily available, but it seems to me to be building-in a range of unnecessary problems which don't arise using traditional ply or, if you want a light-weight set-up, extruded foam. And once built, it's extremely difficult to change the sub-base without also going back to zero with all the track!
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Post by chabanais on Feb 10, 2015 10:45:33 GMT 1
Hi Pete, Plasterboard is rather heavy, and I have a recent experience of using surplus plasterboard from repairing the ceiling in my layout room. The door to the room is constructed from a single skin of tongue and groove flooring planks, so I screwed panels of plasterboard to the inside surface of the door for insulation, the board has expanded by around 5mm, (quick than the door) due to winter humidity, so have had to remove it and pare it down. Shame to waste the material though, I can see where you are coming from. In my phase one version of my layout, for cheapness I used very light, about 25mm square, support frame, with 10mm chipboard covering, and one roll of 2mm thich x50mm wide decorators polystyrene from the brico depot. worked well, but a bit messy with poly-snow all over the place. You should be able to see what I mean in this old picture. Click image to enlarge All the best John
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Post by chabanais on Feb 11, 2015 13:41:40 GMT 1
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Post by longchap on Feb 11, 2015 17:26:18 GMT 1
My preference has always been for modular baseboards of 12mm plywood on a braced wrought softwood frame with 3mm cork track bed (Bricoman). The baseboards are strong, long lived and will not move under normal environmental conditions, the ply easily takes all kinds of fixings and fittings, including turntables and is easy to fettle, while the cork (cut with a chamfered edge to facilitate more realistic ballasting) provides quiet running. I don't use many track pins and pull those used for temporary fixing before applying weathering. If you don't use granular ballast, then consider the smallest practical pins (possibly N gauge). MDF is a good board alternative, very dense and stable, but heavy (it's sawdust will turn any hard floor finish into an ice rink. Beware!) and the old favourite, Sundeala board (soft fibre board), is not particularly robust.
I appreciate that there are many alternatives out there (including open baseboards if you're into a lot of undulating scenic work), but one gets used to what works best for your type of modelling. Unfortunately, plasterboard only gives problems, both at construction stage and in the future.
Cheers,
Bill
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