Ceiling tiles

Ceiling tiles are usually very soft.  Most times I have heard or read about them they have not been recommended for roadbed use.

Cieling Tiles

I would not consider using ceiling tile as a roadbed or for anything else other than making cliffs for the layout.  The tried and true method is to use blue or pink insulation foam and then conventional roadbed on top of that although I have placed track right on top of the foam and it worked well.

You Mention about the roadbed possibly getting wet but that would be difficult as by the time you are finished with painting and ballasting your layout should be very waterproof.

cheers

Jim Six Used Ceiling Tiles

Jim Six had an article in an issue of MRP in which he described his techniques for using ceiling tiles. As I recall, he sprayed them with water in order to mitigate the dust.

Subsequent to that article being published, posters in various forums have discussed using ceiling tiles. Someone pointed out that at least one brand was composed of materials that were at a minimum known lung irritants, at worst, carginogenic.

Jim Six is a nuclear engineer. Presumably, he chose the brand carefully and knew how to fully control for health hazards.

I have a suspended ceiling in my basement. I would not describe its ceiling tiles as soft. Fragile, yes; soft, no.

I have used ceiling tiles for

I have used ceiling tiles for my railroad. They are even cheaper if you can find an office or building that is remodeling! In fact, I have use it as the main support, not just the sub road bed. I supported it with 1X4's laid on their side at 12" ctrs for my entire yard area.  It is now about 8 years old with no problems whatsoever. They are quite durable. I have proper air conditioning, humidity control etc. My only lesson learned was to seal them before use with a coat of paint. What I found is that they absorb tons of water when ballasting.  BUT, even with this, they never, ever warped or caused a problem. Even when I replaced a lot of track, (Atlas switches to Fast tracks) they were very durable when I scrapped the old ballast off. I would not hesitate to use it again. As for dust, yes they are, but so is homasote and plywood!  But you can cut it with a utility knife. I would try a section and decide for yourself.

Steve  

Armstrong tiles

I have also used ceiling tiles.  The ones I have are Armstrong "Second Look" that are between 10-20 years old, that came out of a remodel in an office building.  I use them upside-down on plywood for flat areas in my yard.

I find that they cut well, are not particularly friable (not crumbly), not dusty, but should be sealed so they don't soak up all your scenic materials.  I typically use latex paint.

Armstrong indicates that they are "wet-formed mineral fiber", which is probably why they are stable and cut well.           I have examined other tiles that are very flaky, much more like celotex or homosote.

I've read that the dust can

I've read that the dust can be quite toxic.  Aside from hearsay, anybody know the real deal?

The Armstrong tiles are rated as a dust inhibitor and barrier

On two of my railroads I used Armstrong 2' X 4' drop ceiling tiles. This was 18-22 years ago and at the time a single 4' X 8 foot sheet of Homasote was $12.95 and the Armstrong tiles were around $1.75 per 2' X 4 ' tile at the big box hardware store.

A lumber and hardware store at the time went bankrupt (1980) and they had an auction sale. I saw they had these tiles in 6 large stacks of boxes 10 boxes high with each box contained 10 of the 2' X 4' panels. I placed a bid of $.50 a box for all 60 boxes which came to a total of $30.00 for 600 tiles. I won the bid as no body else placed a bid on them.

I used these tiles for everything from road bed to scenery support. I also cut a number of them in to 12 inch squares to build models and to layout Trestles and bents for the trestles as they hold pins very well. When I left California and moved to Virginia I gave the last 12 full boxes to my best friend because I just ran out of room in the tractor trailer truck I moved all my family belongings in to Virginia.  Now I wish I had left a few other things behind and brought those tiles with me.

DUST

Dust was never a problem with the Armstrong Tiles and on the cartons they stated that one of their main functions was they helped to keep dust in the home or rooms these tiles were used at a minimum. They also had a statement that they were approved in the State of California as a Hospital Operating room interior Ceiling and wall insulator that was absent of asbestos and other air born contaminants.

I used 5 boxes of these tiles on the inside of my 20 foot X 24 foot garage ceiling and another 10 to 15 boxes to cover the walls in the garage which was where I built my railroads. These tiles helped to reduce the dust in the garage by 95% as well as helped to keep the cool air from my air conditioner in the garage so I had a nice place to work when it was 110 degrees outside.

The tiles cut easily with a box knife and made less of a mess than Homasote when I cut them with my table saw.

Somebody in an earlier post stated they would use latex paint to seal the tiles so they won't absorb water and moisture from glues and scenery materials. Yes I highly advise when using Homasote or these ceiling tiles make sure you seal the surface and edges with latex or oil base paint. Also yellow carpenters glue diluted 50% with water so it will spread and soak into the tiles quicker will make everything water proof and will not cause the tiles to swell while the glue dries.

I suspect that the "dust is toxic" idea came from the "good old

days" when we used asbestos in everything including ceiling tiles!  I would not use 40 year old ceiling tiles for anything, but anything made since the 1980's should be safe.

Ummmm, after thinking about

< nevermind>

Ceiling tile

You can add me to the list of satisfied users of ceiling tile for subroadbed. I used it heavily in the past and just used a bunch of it to rework a yard. I use the backside of Armstrong 2 X 4 tiles like some of the others who posted their experiences with it, and I agree about the lack of dust and I can add that although some may doubt, it has good longevity. I like the fact that I can easily plant things like super trees in it and it lends itself nice to other kinds of scenicing. 

Before I began my yard work, I had a nice windfall at Lowe's They were selling a box of slightly damaged tiles for only 5 bucks. I didn't care whether the ends were nicked at bit making some of them useless for actual ceilings and was able to use all that I needed for my special use. 

Another user

Aside form one older section, my entire layout is done with ceiling tiles.  For the yards and towns, I used solid tiles.  For the main line, I cut strips and then notched them on the table saw.  The strips work, but are quite fragile.  The broad sheets work wonderfully.  One nice thing is that it's easy to add things like ash pits, simply by carving the tile away.  I use a surform rasp to shape the surface, giving a good natural land surface.