Garden Railway Forum

Hi all,

A plummer recently showed me some concrete board, it's like plaster board but it isn't affected by water and it's much stronger.
It looks like an ideal substance to make out door buildings from, it could be rendered with tile adhesive and scribed.

It appears to good to be true! Has anybody used it or aware of any potential issues before I use it!

Cheers!

Is it modern stuff or old?
There was a product called Asbestolux around many years ago which was made of, surprise, surprise Asbestos! That looked like a concrete sheet. (We had internal walls lined with the stuff when we moved in to our current house, don't ask how we got rid of it!!!)

There is a modern version called Superlux I think. That also looks like it could be a concrete sheet.

If this is the stuff I think it should be pretty good as it is impervious to most things, including fire!

When I did our bathroom a few years back I lined the shower cubicle under the tiles with some stuff called Aquapanel, which sounds like what you're talking about. It is cement sheeting reinforced with fibreglass I think. It is claimed to be completely unaffected by water and seems to still be available from Wickes.

I seem to remember that cutting the stuff soon made a saw blunt and ideally needs doing outside due to the dust, although they claim you can cut it with a Stanley knife. I imagine in principle it would make an ideal shell for a model building, though I'm not sure what would be the best technique for joining it together - maybe No More Nails or something like that.

I have actually wondered about using this stuff myself as a track base, though I haven't tried it. Should last for ever.

Brian

Aquapanel! That's the stuff, my brother in law called it concrete board and I couldn't remember it's official name!
I think you could join it with some sort of no more nails kind of adhesive, I was planning on using stikaflex it's like a glue and sealant in one.
I never thought about using it as a track bed, I like the idea that it could be rot free. That's why I was considering it buildings.
I want to make a disused Cornish engine house and have it overgrown by using it as a planter. I thought this could be an ideal way of making it.
I have some off cuts coming for me to play with so I will let you know how things go!

Snailrail:105594 wrote:When I did our bathroom a few years back I lined the shower cubicle under the tiles with some stuff called Aquapanel.
Brian

Hi, when I did my bathroom floor a few years ago I used 'Dukkaboard' over the chipboard floor which is described as a high density extruded polystyrene. This stuff absorbs the movement in the wooden floor and prevents cracking the grouting on the tiles and other things. It is also used for swimming pools. It is secured to the wooden floor and the tiles with normal tile cement though I expect external no nails would do a good job to.
It really does cut with a stanley knife and quite easily though you may need a few spare blades. With care I suggest it would be possible to do a neat window or door reveal at least neat enough for a top layer of modelling sheet such as used by Jackson's
I've looked at it for a garden railway building project as they do a 4mm thick version. Beccles Tile Centre do a coaster size sample so I might get one and just leave out this winter for the elements to deal with. Dukkaboard is readily available from tile suppliers.
Good luck

im a carpenter/builder and have used this stuff a lot there are 2 or 3 different sorts some are extremely difficult to cut its not the most forgiving stuff to work with .it could be used to make buildings from and you could render it quite easy .id say plywood would be the cheaper and easier to use option .all of my buildings are ply wood and are lasting outside fine .

Hi, I know ply is probably easier to work with but I have a potentially free source for this aqua panel so that makes it worth a try!

So, I took a small off cut and engraved it with a stone pattern, I'm quite pleased with it so far.......

Let me know what you think!

That looks good - neat so it's obviously a new wall. It'd need "doctoring" to make it look old and worn - maybe the bricks wouldn't be quite so regular.

That looks brilliant! It is clearly a stone, not brick, wall as the size of the blocks is much larger than scale bricks should be.
I guess that is one sheet thick?
What did you us to engrave the shapes?
I could easily be converted to this method!

Agreed, it does look good.

I'm quite pleased, I think the stones are far too regular, I scribed the horizontals first with a saw then did the verticals with a small milling bit in the dremmel.
I should have scribed each stone individually, I think it would have given a better look, however it was just a quick test.
That is a single thickness of board and it's very heavy stuff so it stays put nicely!
I've also considered giving it a scrub with a wire brush to give a little more texture.

I'm hoping to make a water tower using the same techniques this week so that should be a better test. I want it to have a door and window so it will need some thinking through!

I agree, that looks very effective. The wall looks like it is built from concrete blocks, unsurprisingly I suppose, given the material. I can certainly see this idea having a use for retaining walls, tunnel mouths, maybe even viaduct sides ?

Brian

There is an interior and an exterior version of Aquapanel, do you know which you are using?
http://www.knauf.co.uk/product-range-overview/aquapanel

Edited to add that I've just discovered that it is available in both 6mm and 12.5mm thick sheets.
Wickes do the interior 6mm version for £13-99 for a 1200 x 900 x 6mm sheet

6mm x 1m panels are available in B&Q too.

very good well done .looks great how long did it take you I hate using the stuff at work so I wouldn't use it myself .however I use wood all the time witch is a nice forgiving martial to use witch it probably why I don't like using that board stuff but each to there own and well done looks good

Hi, I assume that it is the interior type but not sure as I got it as off cut scraps.

Here is my latest test, its the start of a line side building. The extra length in the walls is because I intend to bury it up to that level.



The only downside I have found so far is that it blunts engraving bits quickly!

I'm hoping to have a go at a bridge side soon

I do like the look of this material and it has great potential for my projects.
Some boards have just appeared for me to try out and I am going to use it on my castle walls.
What do you use to cut the board to size before engraving?

Hi, I used a circular saw, but I think a jigsaw with a sharp blade would be just as good. My little building I have started was cut with a hand saw because my other tools were elsewhere, it was hardwork with a hand saw!