If you guys have looked at the new Model Railroader layout planning book 2010, there are two guys that use ceiling tiles instead of homasote or wood for their layout base top. Typical wood frame construction, but the top is ceiling tile. One guy uses ceiling tiles for the top and to build up rolling hills then used sculptamold to contour the scenery. Both of them lay track directly to the ceiling tiles and go from there. Have any of you guys done this? As a guy that's getting ready to start the bemchwork for my N scale layout, this interests me somewhat. Cheaper/lighter than wood. Definately cheaper/lighter that homasote. Easy to shape for scenery. Easy to tack down track (although both these guys glued their track to the tiles). Easy to cut and shape. My first worry is sagging and durability. Any thoughts or other concerns?
Ceiling tiles are a material similar to Homasote, but not as strong, agree though, be careful with the water.
I use ceiling tiles as a layout base. I have them glued to a plywood base to prevent warping. Have not had any problem with them and water yet. Of course I normally don't have large quantities of water in the train building. I would assume that plaster covered layouts would also turn into a big mess if a large amount of water made contact. Most of my tiles have come from where I work, these have been replaced because they are water stained from leaks. Non of them fell apart before being replace. They hold a lot of water (here at work) for a long time before they start to warp. I do not have my track ballasted yet and the cork and foam road bed along with the track is held in place with track nails. The biggest problem I have found so far is once you pull out a nail it will not hold if put back into the same hole again. All of my track is laid this way, some of it has been this way for 6 years and most has been this way 4 or more years. Covering the tiles with paint helps in keeping the tiles from sucking up any spills instantly. They also can be used to make rock walls. Gary
Fifteen years ago (can NOT believe it's been that long), I had an massive unfinished basement all to myself, in which I began building my HO railroad empire. I used the traditional wood-frame benchwork and plywood/homasote roadbed. I used ceiling tiles for some of the landscaping; if you score/break them (like drywall), the newly exposed edge makes a VERY convincing crumbly, layered rock face.
<bump> I read an article in MR Planning 2010 about using 2X4 ceiling tiles for roadbed which is glued to an extruded foam subbase (Jim Fix's layout). He draws the track centerlines and cuts the tile down with a Surform or similar. He mists the tiles with wet water to keep down dust. Then he lays the track right on the tile "roadbed". I like the idea b/c you don't have to mess with gluing down cork or WS foam and the tiles are supposedly very quiet. I'm concerned about the longterm dimensional stability and track buckling although they'd be in a controlled environment. But I'm more concerned that US Gypsum lists the dust as an inhalation hazard. So - any more experiences with these tiles? Any more thoughts? Thanks.
Some hints re: ceiling tile...........(I've used it in conjunction with "pink" foam on three layouts & have had great luck). I use a plywood base, glue down whatever thickness foam I think I'll need & follow with a layer of ceiling tile (if you are using track nails, the ceiling tile holds them well & foam won't) 1) the more expensive tile works better than the cheaper, it's studier. 2) ceiling tile takes scenery texture well. Normal scenery application techniques are OK.....I just use 90% alcohol instead of water & don't get carried away, & have had no problems. You could use just tile over plywood.......(I use the foam so I have scenic "depth" if I want it). I would NOT recommend tile alone, it's not sturdy enough. Tile & foam glued together might be.
I dont recall much about it ,maybe google can help but there was a copy of MMR were some one did a wright up on using ceiling tiles them to make mountains etc.
Just a rule of thumb... I'd be cautious of obtaining tiles from used sources unless you have some idea of when the material might thave been manufactured or installed. Asbestos use in ceiling tiles was discontinued in the mid 80's, so if you're harvesting tiles from a source that you know was installed or manufactured after that you're probably fine. But I wouldn't want to harvest material that may have been used/installed too close to that cut-off as NOS material may have been used that contained asbestos. As for material discovered in a storage bay or someone's barn, I wouldn't even consider it.
I would definitely agree. I needed to replace ceiling tiles in my future train room due to water damage. They were installed in 1960. I did not touch this project without an asbestos test, which was quite reasonably priced and included lab work. Fortunately, the tiles were celulose and contained no asbestos.
