i have a question about my basement/cellar


J

JustMe

Member
i am in the process of doing my first layout which will be 2 4x8 sheets i was thinking of doing it in the basement or cellar of my farm house. what would be the drawbacks of this...
 
no cellars or basements in Houston (or they would be called indoor pools...), but issues I would be concerned with are moisture and temperature. The closer these spaces are to your regular living space, the better.

I do envy you having this amount of space.
 
An L Shaped layout can offer some great track plans, especially if you make it three levels. I have done two 4x8's in this manner, but I suppose you could make quite a few configurations to optimize what you want to do.
 
Regardles of the final layout shape, basements have advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage is that the temperature and humidity are much more constant than almost any other part of the house. Even if the basement is not climate controled, it's still going to have a smaller range of temperature and humidity than something like a garage. In a climate like Wisconsin, you'll have to prove winter heating but I imagine the basement stays reasonably cool in the summer. Mine does and I'm pretty sure it gets hotter longer here in Alabama than up there. :)

These advantages only hold true if your basement is completely dry and never takes on water. If the walls weep moisture or a heavy rain putws water on the floors, you are in for a never ending series of problems with things warping and mold growing on you scenery. If you already have water problems in the basement, I would fix them before I even considered building a layout there.

The other disadvantage with basements, assuming it's unfinished, is that it's dark and always feels kind of dank. The exposed floor joists on the ceiling rain down dust and dirt constantly on the layout. You have to add extra lighting to make the layout look good and many times add a bunch of electrical outlets as well. A drop ceiling with a combination of fluorescent and track lights is an ideal, if not cheap, solution. Painting the walls a bright neutral color also helps to dispel some of the gloom. If you have the budget, layiing down some robust indoor/outdoor carpet is a good idea too. It keeps down the echoes, is easier on the feet when you're working, and is much kinder to your equipment when it takes a dive off the layout than a concrete floor. :)
 
i really appreciate all the replies and i am taking all this into consideration. cause i plan on taking my time and making something nice adn obviously something i wouldnt wanna wreck. i guess i will have to do some improvements down there....
 
If you plan on being there for many years, you might consider putting up drywall and ceiling with recessed lighting.
 
You read my mind when you said that. i guess in the long run it will be easier to make it nice now... i am gonna see how much i can do before spending money persay. get it as clean as possible and what not first. i have some fourescent lightng fixtures so maybe i could use them as well. anyone else have any ideas let me know.
 
Can you post a picture of what the basement looks like now? That might gives something to chew on. :)
 
I'm building the B.A.D. Western in my basement and like the convenience of it. It does have some draw backs though.
 
JustMe I found some Styrofoam panels at Home Depot that are about 4ft long and 14 1/2in wide and put them up on the floor joist of my basement. I ran a screw in at each end up into the joist to hold it in place and my thought for doing it this way is it is easier to take a panel down. I also didn’t have to run all of the wires and runners for a suspended ceiling. I framed around all of my plumbing as well as the heat ducts and my lighting is the 4ft shop lights with natural sunlight tubes. I have since repainted the backdrop from what is in the pictures but I think it will give you and idea of what I did.

Here is the link to my Photobucket account. http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b350/bjdukert/CEILING/

Hope this helps you out some
Talk to you later
Duke
 
unfinished garage

Duke, the foam panels sound like the solution for my unfinished garage train room. The rafters are exposed and all of the heat just goes out the roof. The foam panels would be easy to install and add insulation. Thanks for a great idea!:)

Garage%20V.JPG
 
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Ken, Here's another view. If I pulled the table away from the wall, I wouldn't have room to walk around the long sides. The tables are 4x8 and the bridge is 2x5. This picture was taken before I added the bridge and other table. Now I wish I had a two car garage!

Garage%20III.JPG
 
Mikey The soldering gun I have has a knife blade that I used to cut the panels to size as well as the holes for the outlets for the lights. Also I did use 4X8 sheets of 1/2" foam around the heat duct. Glad I could be of some help and hope things work out for you.

Talk to you later
Duke
 
Mikey,

Looks like you're off to a great start. In the top pic it looks like the benchwork sets on the floor while in the last it looks like you added wheels. I have a 11' x 8' "L" shapped layout that normally sits against the wall but can be rolled out to work on the back side.
Doc
 
Table wheels

I had wheels on the 4x8 table when it was in my bedroom so I could roll it out from the wall to lay track as my arms are too short. Do you have any pictures of your layout, Doc?

Now I am planning on building the layout below and will probably add wheels to the legs. This is a 14' x 13' layout, but I think I can modify it enough to fit my 16x9 space in the garage. I will need at least 24" radius curves so I can run my 89' auto racks and Amtrak Superliners.

2006-06JackPlan.jpg


I have looked at literally hundreds of layouts, and this one will suit my needs the best. Someone said "Its YOUR railroad".
 
I like the three bridges in one scene you have there...
Maybe slightly unprototypical, assuming this is not supposed to be a gigantic railroad, am I correct there?
But it still looks pretty cool.
 
What means thjis word "unprototypical"? :D

Actually it makes perfect sense to put all three of the bridges there as that is where the water will be.
 
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