Noise Reduction Foam Question

Roger,

As Paul suggested above, QuietBrace is a good alternative to Homasote. I had always used Homasote, but could not find it in my area (Menard's had not opened yet) so I started using QB from Home Depot. I, as many others in this forum who have used it, really like QB. It actually is a sound insulation product (whereas the pink and blue insulation panels are not, as mentioned above), it holds screws and nails well, and it is less than half the cost of Homasote.

The only drawback, depending on who you ask, is the QB black coating. Some paint over it, and I did the same but soon realized that it was not necessary since most of the surface ends up being covered anyway with grass, stones, ballast, buildings, roads, etc.

I cut the QB the same way I used to cut the Homasote - with a knife. I Also used a knife-edge blade on my jig saw for cutting curves and angle cuts, as to simulate roadbed.

If you follow the link to My Layout Under Construction thread, below, you can see several pictures of the QB on the second page of the thread.

Good luck!

Alex

I guess I should explain that I am not trying to argue against quiet brace as a good sound deadening material at all. In fact, I would have to say that from all that I have read, it is quit possibly one of the best, if not the best, materials there is for this purpose.

I just like the idea of the 1" foam insulation as a cleaner alternative that I don't have to paint, and it comes in 2ft wide sections that I can, easily, bring home in my car. It would still give a good substraight for the track screws to bite into, and this is why I keep trying to come up with a good way to use it, like with with the upside down carpeting, and now with it sandwiched between layers of closed cell underlayment.

I just checked at Home Depot, and 3ea 2ft x 8ft pcs of the 1"foam insulation and a 100sq.ft roll of the underlayment will run me just under $50. I think I am going to try it and see how it does, and if I do, I will post back the results here in this thread.

Roger

Quiet Brace is not available everywhere.  It is only made at one factory and shipped regionally.

I will check at my local Home Depot, when get over there.

My current layout is 4 X 10 ft of 1/2 inch plywood covered with H D  Indoor/Outdoor carpet with NO rubber backing.

To me it is quiet.

Larry3railtrains yea try it with fastrack it woud be a completely different story

Do the edges line up perfectly on QuietBrace? 

My only complaint about Homasote is the edges of one sheet don't line up that well with others in some places.  We are using shims here and there to try and get them the right height.

yes they do it's like lining up 2 sheets of ply nice and tight edges. I stink with a jig saw and even worse with a knife. ( have scar on my hand proving that one 12 stiches from utility knife) so my cut edges are not as tight as I would like them but the non cut edges are tight. if you look between the two observation cars you can see a seam. another Plus that I see for quiet brace is the color it is about perfect for roads. paint your lines and maybe weather a little and wola road.

There is no Quiet Brace in my area. They have Homosote, but at $29.00 a sheet, and I need 2 sheets, I can try my proposed method of two layers of 2mm thick closed cell foam underlayment with 1” thick  foam board in between.

Again, this will give plenty of depth for the 1” long utility screws to bite into, and will leave the bottom layer of closed cell foam underlayment completely isolated between the bench top and the 1” foam board.

I will be doing this in the next couple of weeks, and will post back the results. That is unless another method pops up between now and then.

Thanks again,

Roger

Well, I now have the 2mm closed cell underlayment and 3 each 2ft x 4ft x 1" sheets of the pink foam board insulation. Now all I need to do is find the time to dismantle the layout and get this all installed, with the vinyl grass sheet material, and give it the old ear test.

It will more than likely be a few weeks before this happens, as it is now spring, and that means a lot of outdoor work to get done on the weekends. I will probably piecemeal the job on some evenings, and whenever I can get a half hour or more to put into it.

This beginner layout is my first table layout ever, so I am really excited to get this done so I can start doing a bit of landscaping, and really playing with it, and learning about wiring, control systems, etc.....

I experimented using 3/8" Tight-Lock Foam Rubber Tiles similiar to the foam tiles that you would find in a kids playroom or home gym. I put them over my 1/2 inch plywood. I placed them up side down as the bottom has some grip to it and the track stays in place without any ties or screws.  I too use fast track and it made a world of a difference in regards to track noise. I found them on sale at home depot in a 4 pack for under $7.

Very interesting idea, but I have one question.

You mentioned the grip of the tiles on the track which must mean that you have your track on the raw tiles.

What color are these tiles, and will they remain your visual base that you see on your layout?

The rubber foam tile that i purchased was black/charcoal gray. I am going to ballast around the track and add scenery. I will use the natural color of the mat for my city  streets. Still a work in progress. I will leave the mat under the track unchanged for the benefit of that grip.

Can you post some pictures?

Quiet Brace is now available at Lowes stores.

I find Fastrack to be loud in its own way, but the artificial turf to be very quiet on layouts I've seen.

What happened? Normally all carpet layouts are the best for quietness.

Its the rug rats that make all the noise 

Rubber foam like this, really sounds like a winner.

I've found 1/2 single foam nice for putting my weight on with a 4"x4" "knee and elbow board", but not soft enough to produce the sound deadening I would like. Every faster on the track makes things louder. Id want to think about oversized holes, undersized screws, or O-rings under the screw heads or "something before nothing" to insulated the few, deep, wood set track screws from vibration next time.

Just curious, is this material paintable"

i used raw carpet padding on the lower level of my two deck display where the track would be out of site it worked perfectly with no issues it kept the track still and noiseless