SoundChoice / Homasote

Laidoffsick -

I have not used SoundChoice, but have used another product carried by many (most?) Home Depots: QuietBrace. Several forum members have used it and like it. You may want to do a search on it as well.

Alex

I used soundstop by celetex that I got at Lowe's, works great and was $9 for  4x 8 sheet, 1/2" thick.

Well neither one of my Home Depots or Lowes have Quiet Brace or Celetex. Not sure if this SoundChoice stuff is their equivlant or something entirely different.

Alex, can you break off the corner of the QuietBrace with your bare hands fairly easy?

I know that stuff is black, not that it matters. I have to paint everything to seal it up before doing any scenery anyway.

I have a source for Homasote, it's special order of course but didnt wanna spend $25 a sheet. I also dont wanna regret going the cheap route either. I was hoping someone had some experience with SoundChoice to share.

Laidoff....I am familiar with SoundChoice and it is different than QuietBrace.  QuietBrace is much more dense and you couldn't (or at least most folks I know) break off a corner or depress it between finger, etc...  From what I can tell by the comments folks have made on this forum, it must depend on the part of the country as to whether the local HD or Lowes carries QuietBrace.  I have been using this for about 20 years and prefer it to Homasote because it does have the side benefit of helping with track noise...

Alan

Alan does the QB accept paint ok? Do you paint it before applyng ballast/scenery like homasote?

IME,

Two main aspects of sound are creation and attenuation.

If you choose hollow rail there will be attenuation effort lost just to dial the noise back to a solid rail sound level.

Three rail switches are loud due to design (wheel, flange, frog) requirements.

Same goes with hollow roadbed and large sheets of plywood decking.

Thick, quality, well supported full sheets of plywood decking are quieter than thin poorly supported full sheets of plywood decking.

Generally speaking cookie cutter/ribbon subroadbed properly installed can be quieter than full sheets.  Full sheets can provide a drum effect.

Movement and vibration create sound.  You need to eliminate one or reduce both of these for sound reduction. 

Consider clamping any benchwork lumber joints together before any screw is driven.

If sound is a big primary concern use two rail trains.  That side of the hobby just flat out starts off quiet.  tt

www.curvedbenchwork.net

Laidoffsick -

Regarding paint. Alan has painted all or just about all of his, and I painted some and left some as it was - black. It is not difficult to paint.

If the black works for you, it is OK to use it that way (enough protection as it is) but it can be dirty as it can rub off on your clothes if you drag an edge against your pant, for example.

Alan will chime in, I'm sure.

Alex

Well sound is an issue but not the main issue. I work for BNSF, trains ARE LOUD! lol

Mostly the ease of mounting track and scenery to Homasote is so much better than directly to the plywood. We're using Gargraves track and Ross switches so deadening the sound some is a concern, mostly for the mainlines.

Seems for us anyway, QB is a dead issue as no one carries it locally.

My layout, 12 X 24, strong benchwork of 1 X 3 poplar glued together at right angle to form "L" beams/girders, about 38" off the floor. Next, 4 X 8 OSB screwed to benchwork, off-setting the joints. Then 4 X 8 QUIETPACE from Lowe's screws placed a couple of feet apart. After testing Fastrack & Realtrax I chose to utilize tubular as by far the quietest rail choice. Fastening the track: #4 X 1" panhead black screws with a rubber washer on each with the washer just touching each tie. I do not have a riser rail bed, track just laid and screwed directly into the 1/2" "homasote" and the underlying OSB. At slow and moderate speeds it is very quiet (MTH scale Hudson, SD70, GG-1, etc.). Now if I could just figure out how to protect my DCS from my old ZWs!

Well I found Celotex at Lowes right down the street, for $12 a sheet. It looks and feels identical to the SoundChoice I found at Home Depot.  I think I'm going to get a sheet of each and try them out, at least on the low level loop. Most of that loop is hidden anyway, so we can experiment with it.

Laidoff...just saw your question that my friend Alex answered.  Yes...I painted all of mine because the black sealant (or whatever you call it) is almost a tar-like substance AND it will get on your clothes.  I have found that it doesn't wash out so I painted everything in an earthtone.  Too bad you can't find Quiet Brace but regardless, whatever product you do find (Celotex), make sure to use screws that do not go down into the plywood or OSB base material.  Doing so will transfer vibrations that can increase the noise level.  By the way, great that you work for BNSF...one of my favorites!!

Alan

On my switching layout I screwed the Homasote to the plywood, then used 16 gauge brads to secure the Gargraves to the homasote. I don't use screws in the track as I don't like the screw heads showing everywhere, even after painting them black.

Years ago I started using a material called black board when the cost of homosote got so high. Back then the color was a textured brown on both sides. Then after a while one side was black and after another period of time both sides were black. I have not had a need for any additional material in a while so I do not know what is available currently.

Actually when the ballast is bonded with a latex adhesive most of the screws/nails can be removed as the track will be bonded to the board surface. However, if Elmers or that type of glue is used most of the noise will be transferred to the board.

I agree Mickey; I attached my "homasote" product with a "foam caulk" and it works great in reducing sound. As a result of using tubular rail (sound passes through to the soft board below), foam caulk, and #4 black panhead screws with rubber washers (widely scattered), the sound/noise production of the rails is very much reduced. Result: only the intended sounds of the trains are noticeable! I'm pleased. 

                          Wally

Celotex/Sound Choice Results:

So we bought 3 sheets of Celotex at $12 each from Lowes to do the lowest level the layout. Its basically the same stuff as "Sound Choice" that Home Depot has, same color, same density, same weight. Far less dense an Homasote.

It cuts very easily, and was much less of a mess than I originally thought it was going to be. It was glued and screwed to the 3/4" plywood sub roadbed, and then the screws were removed once the glue had set up.

The only draw back was the curves. I tried ripping the road bed in half, and then cutting kerfs 3/4 of the way through, aprox every inch or so in order to bend the straight pieces into the curves. The same exact process that California Roadbed uses with their Homasote. Because the Celotex has much less density than Homasote, it just breaks apart when trying to hold it's own weight or bending for the curves, even at an 089 curve. So we took the 4x8 sheets, cut them into 2x4 sheets, and then laid them over the 3/4" sub roadbed, traced the lines, and cut them out with the jig saw. A little more waste, but we got the lower level covered with the 3 sheets. Now it will be painted with an earth colored flaT latex paint.

Next 2 levels will be done with Homasote!

Laidoffsick,

and now you know why they say buy cheap and that's what you get. am sure the other choices work at quieting rail noise but at a cost when you want to bend it for curves.

I myself had plywood and cork road bed for years never could have a conversation with anyone in train room standing next to or far from me in other area of train room.

then on forum a thread on homasote appeared I found it locally and now can talk to whomever where ever they are in train room.

my wife sits at her computer 12 feet away and can not only hear her favorite steam engines sounds but the clickity clack of the rolling stock going over the rail joints me if I can afford 300.00 engines I feel they deserve the cost of homasote best money I ever spent for me am happy to give the higher cost to a proven product and help keep a fellow citizen working and a local lumber yard in business we need these types of businesses that actually carry and know what there talking about.

as they say were all individuals so use what works for you that's what makes each layout unique!

what I really found was all the BB stores carry not homasote and hadn't a clue what I was asking for yet I went to the one and only real lumber yard and they not only knew what I wanted but asked how many sheets did I need! I now only go to BB store to get screws or some little items.

I had to chuckle on the one sound board that's black and comes off onto you until painted.

$oo 

My modules are built on 3/4 mdf sections and they sit on a table that also has a 3/4 top. The only sound I get is the click-clack from the small gaps in the realtrax.

I first found Homasote in, as described above, a "real" lumber yard, in a large city,

but recently, when wandering through a chain of big box home stores in the north central midwest, Menard's, found it there but not at nearby HD or Lowe's stores.  However, I am gonna take a look at these other products described above, too...

Because "quietbrace" is made for the building trades and is used in wall construction, it is coated to protect it from moisture.  This coating can be left unpainted for our purposes but I chose to paint it since crawling around on it during layout construction will dirty up your clothing.  Regardless of the material you use, the more dense it is the more likely it will transmit sound waves.  These sound waves can be "controlled" to a certain extent depending on how one decides to attach your track to the material chosen.  I have experienced both homosote and quietbrace and found that the quietbrace to work as well as anything I have tried.  Many years ago, Mickey (above) put me on to using it.  At up to one third the price of homosote, I decided to go with the quietbrace.  This left me extra money to buy some of those $300.00 locomotives!!....

Alan

As I stated before, we woulda tried the QB, but unfortunatley no one carries it locally to where we live in Southern California. The Celotex worked for the lower level, but the rest of the track work will be laid on Homasote. We can special order it from a lumber yard about 25 miles from us. At least we can rip the Homasote and kerf cut it to bend the curves without it breaking apart. 

Laidoffsick.....

You have to use what you can get.  I think from what I can see from this discussion,  the material you used on the lower level is not the same quality as Quietbrace.  I cut kerfs into the quietbrace without the problems you have had with the celotex material.  I think this is because of the coating which holds and seals it together.  Anyway, like you said, if you can't get it locally, then looks like you made the right choice for your upper level...

Alan