Masonite

Masonite is thinner, lighter, easier to flex and much, much cleaner. The seams you can patch them up the same as drywall.

An alternative to Masonite

I used the back side of linoleum runner for my back drop. The center of this photo has a coved corner. DJ.

Masonite Seams

Sheet rock has taping indents on the long sides, hardboard does not. I found that I had to extend the joint compound taper quite a distance on the hardboard to camouflage the hump of the tape. Even so, it was still much easier to work with than sheet rock for me. The best orientation of the panels would have required the indent be on the short sides so in the end taping hardboard turned out no different than if I had used sheet rock.

Bus Ads?

If you have the right connections, you may be able to get the ads used on the sides of busses, after the campaign is over. These are big sheets of flexible styrene I think). The back is white, and paintable. I'm about to install two signs worth (ie. about 22' linear); I'll post some pix of how it works out.

Masonite 100 times easier.

Cracked joints

My concern is that masonite joints will crack. I have a lot of experience with sheetrock and I'm thinking that thats the way to go. However if someone can talk me out of it I'm all ears.

Rob Teed

Joints

Masonite joints shouldn't crack if the material is installed correctly.  I built my peninsula backdrop from Masonite, installed with construction adhesive.  The joints don't move or crack.  The rest of the layout is built around the existing room walls, and is drywall.  I caulked the joints where the two materials met at a right angle rather than attempting to tape them, as tape isn't at all necessary provided you have a narrow gap.  I have another two locations where Masonite and drywall meet at 45 degrees, and I did tape those.  Again no movement or other issues.

No Cracks

No cracking yet. Been in place since Oct 2011. Used for both valance and backdrops. Of late have been screwing shelf brackets to the hardboard covered walls. The brackets really stress the hardboard when the screws draw tight. Near the brackets I can see (just barely) rings show up where the drywall screws are mudded over so there is some serious compression going on. Still no joint cracking.

My lighting valance is a good test. There is far less support than a wall and I have bumped them more than once. There is a little flex to them when bumped. None of the joints have cracked. I used regular dry paper tape and general purpose lightweight joint compound. Although I did abrade the entire face of the hardboard with 320 grit on a DA sander just to take off the shine of the tempered side before I began any mud work.

A useful note: Screws don't set as easy in hardboard as they do in sheet rock. After I snapped off a few heads I switched to piloting with a countersink pointy bit. Set the collar for flush. Bit in one drill, phillips bit in the other. Worked great. Used lots of screws because hard board not as rigid as sheet rock.

My basement is temperature controlled but humidity varies widely. Based on my experience so far you have nothing to worry about.

+ 1 for drywall

For a permanent layout I wouldn't use anything but sheetrock (aka plasterboard down here in Oz). Tried masonite, for back drops and valance, taped the joins and it still cracked. When I extended my train room I used sheetrock for the backdrops and no joins have cracked. I'm now undecided whether to rip out the masonite at the cost of destroying some scenery because the cracks look awful.

I don't install sheetrock for a living but did have  some experience installing it prior to my layout and I find it very easy to work with.I used 10mm sheet for straight backdrops and 6mm "bending" plasterboard for the coved corners with some 3mm ply behind to give it some strength and it  also packs it out to be almost flush with the thicker sheets.

Jas from JL&T has also used sheetrock and I think he's pretty happy with his results too.

Cheers,

Steve

What about styrene?

That's what I use for my backdrop. I bought a few 4X8 (foot) sheets of .060 styrene at a plastics supplier in Philly a few years ago. I cut them to the right height and splice them end-to-end. Squadron White putty eliminates the cracks at the splices. The styrene bends easily for corners, and after a light sanding seems to hold latex paint well. It can be a bit unwieldy to work with, since it isn't as stiff as masonite or drywall, but for my money it's superior to either of those.

styrene

I used styrene-lighter and less messy than both masonite and sheetrock.  It bent to less than a 6 inch radius and took latex paint well.  One of the few pieces of the layout I kept when I moved--it's rolled up in the garage in about 12" diameter rolls.

Terry

re: What about styrene?

I tried styrene backdrops on the previous BC&SJ layout. The results were mixed. On the positive side:

• 4x8 sheets of .060" styrene were very cost effect from a plastics wholesaler. Wholesalers will probably sell to you if you act professional - "Hello, I'd like to will-call 3 sheets of .060" white styrene" instead of asking for lots and lots of advice.
• It curves (and coves corners) beautifully.
• I had little trouble getting it to take paint.
• Squadron white (or green) worked well for hiding joints.

One the negative side:

• Styrene expands and contracts differently than wood, drywall, and Masonite.
• Styrene doesn't bond well to any other material except styrene. I tried gluing my styrene backdrops to 2x4 studs with Latex Liquid Nails. Within 6 months ALL the joints broke loose. I experimented with other construction adhesives, both water soluable and solvent based. NONE of them produced a joint that would stand up to a good yank. Epoxy also failed. Remember the different expansion and contraction rates? I'm figuring that the differential expansion/contraction put enough stress on the joints to pop them loose.
• I tried laminating styrene sheet over the textured drywall walls in the garage housing my previous layout. It was a lot easier to install than sanding off the texture (and a LOT less messy). But within 6 months, the styrene sheet broke away from the walls in places and developed annoying ripples.

In the end I mounted the styrene to the studs and over the drywall mechanically (#4 flat head wood screws) instead of gluing it in place. That solution lasted for a couple of years until I moved and tore out the layout.

FWIW

Charlie

bendable wallboard

I'm sure you're aware that you can buy 3/8" bendable wallboard.   This is my preferred wall material where I have corners to curve around.   I too like the fact that hiding joints is much easier and joint compound is made specifically for wallboard.

Even wetting the wallboard slightly (mist) will allow sharper corner bends.   Why experiment with other materials when wallboards was made specifically for this purpose.   Now for fascia or valance, I use masonite or styrene.

Dave Mason

On30IMA.com

Re: What about styrene?

Styrene is flammable and produces toxic smoke when burned.  Also, it would be a building code violation, if attached to building structure.  For those reasons Styrene is not a suitable material for a backdrop wall.

Masonite

While the masonite manufactured today is supposedly of a different quality of the product manufactured in 80's and 90's it still has drawbacks.  First, it is combustible.  Second, it retains heat.  Third it does crack.    Personally I like to finish my rooms with sheet rock and I can create any texture I want and I can of course paint the sheet rock.  This is my preference. 

In my humble opinion you make your choices primarily based on the environment of the area, safety and third ascetics. Virtually any surface you use has limitations and there are reasonable trade offs. 

sanding joint compound mess

An alternative to wet sanding is using a barely damp sponge to "sand" with.  The compound will lightly re-wet on the the top surface and smooth over nicely.  As in anything else worthwhile, it takes practice to do it well.

Bart Van Allen

use splice boards on joints

When I install my sheets over the nailers/studs, I do not end the sheets so the joints end or meet at a stud. I have them end in between the studs and use 3/4" plywood spilces. I make the splices about 4" wide, and glue and screw the masonite about every 4". This way the sheets will "float" at the joints and will not receive the stresses when they expand or contract with temperature or humidity changes. If the joint falls in a tighter radius area, I plain the splice plate to a simular radius so the sheets can maintain the curve. It doesn't need to be exact, the tape,NOT MESH, and compound blend it in nicely.  Good Luck!

Don Mitchell

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Masonite takes both spackle and paint well.  You can see it here on this fasica:

It's real easy to work; it's almost like wood, but it's like particle board; give it some time, you may find it has a number of uses!

Drywall

I think I'm going to use Drywall for my backdrops and my peninsula skirting. I talked to my drywall supplier and found 1/4" flexible 4'x12' sheets. I will be able to wrap the entire radius without having a joint in the area of said radius. Probably double up on the drywall to achieve 1/2" thickness. The deciding factor was the 12' length.

Rob Teed

Come on now

"Styrene is flammable and produces toxic smoke when burned. Also, it would be a building code violation, if attached to building structure. For those reasons Styrene is not a suitable material for a backdrop wall."

Really?  Almost everything on your layout will burn and all smoke is toxic. As per code,what part of the UBC (Uniformed Building Code) or the UFC (Uniformed Fire Code) are you referring to?

Why would all of the other plastics be OK for use on a layout?  What about the styrene on the layout but not used as a backdrop? 

Really a little common sense goes a long way

Steve

Masonite Thickness

I'm off to Home Depot to get masonite for my backdrop mounting.   Is 1/4" thickness the preferred size?   I have 1 gentle curve to work thru,  but nothing real sharp.

Also some of the masonite seen on this site looks different from what is available to me.  Its light brown whereas

the type I am used to seeing is dark brown and glossy.  Would this be an issue with photo paper backdrop mounting?

James

Re: James

In my area HD only stocks 1/8" and 3/16".  Only the local lumber yards stock 1/4", and they want a premium for it (like over double what HD charges for 3/16").  I find 3/16" to work well for backdrops, fascia and spline roadbed.  The 1/8" material seems more prone to warping and other movement after installation.

That's another local supply issue.  I prefer the lighter brown tempered with one smooth side.  It subjectively is easier to curve and less likely to chip at the edges than the dark glossy brown stuff.  I haven't noticed any difference in how paint or glue sticks to either, so whichever you end up with should work OK for attaching photo backdrops.

Get Tempered Hardboard

I used 1/8" (whatever mm equivalent). It bends easier and is plenty strong enough if mounted properly.

The color difference you see is tempered (dark brown) versus not tempered (light brown). Sheets are commonly supplied one side tempered. You want tempered for photo paper mounting because the tempered side is super smooth whereas the non-tempered side is slightly rough and has a bit of a pattern embossed into it.

Everything you need to know about hardboard: http://www.panel.com/uploads/whatisitcda0.pdf

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Frame up a proper skeleton behind the wall, and it doesn't warp...

The main stuff here is 1/8", it's very durable. We use it for a the fascia.  Far better than hardboard, number one there's no splinters involved here.

The smooth slide will take white glue with ease.  It will also paint very easily as well with latex pain; throw a coat of primer on first and that's literally no issue when you get that final coat on.