Homasote

Homasote is a brand name associated with the product generically known as cellulose based fiber wall board, which is similar in composition to papier-mâché, made from recycled paper that is compressed under high temperature and pressure and held together with an adhesive. It is 1/2 inch thick and comes in sheets 4 by 8 feet. The Homasote Company operates a 750,000-square-foot (70,000 m²) factory in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey.

The Agasote Millboard Company was founded as a division of the Bermuda Trading Company in 1909 by Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge. Outerbridge brought the process to the United States from England.

The first commercial use of the panels were for lining and insides of railroad cars. In 1915, the company won a contract to use the panels as automobile tops. From 1915 to 1925 they supplied board for the tops of Ford Motor Company, Buick, Nash Motors, Studebaker, and Dodge. They also manufactured a larger panel, sold as "vehisote" for truck panels. The panels were used for the exterior of field hospitals and military housing in France during World War I. By 1925 car manufacturers switched to canvas tops and Agasote lost sales, so the company heavily promoted Homasote for its versatility and insulation properties. The company then changed its name to Homasote after its now largest product. The company makes a version called "440 SoundBarrier".

Homasote is frequently used by model railroading for the sub-roadbed or roadbed, because of its noise-deadening qualities, ease of forming into shapes used as roadbed for tracks, ease of driving nails to hold track sections to the bed, light weight and retention of form under plaster scenery. Cork, plywood, hardboard, drywall, and foam insulation are common alternatives to Homasote.

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