Originally Posted by old ironside:
good to know, in addition, if my screws do go through the board, I could glue foam board underneath and thus prevent children from hurting themselves when underneath
1/2" roadbed plus 1/2" foam equals 1", so you need at least a 1 1/4" screw with the 1/4" plywood and 1 3/8" should get you in without going through if you use 1/2" plywood. Personally I would go with the 1/2" plywood.The bigger issue though is going to be noise. I had my RealTrax on plywood temporarily and I was amazed at how loud it got when I moved it to my 1" foam bed, and that is without screws. I've since put a drop cloth under it for a temporary Christmas layout and the noise level dropped a lot. It appears that RealTrax is great on carpet, but foam acts as a resonator. My suggestion is to run noise tests before you glue/screw anything. My LHS has their layout on indoor/outdoor carpet and it is quiet. I'm rethinking my use of both RealTrax and foam. My layout is going to be in my open-plan living room, kitchen and family room, at least for a couple of years, so noise is important to me.
