My FOURTH attempt. Attic... or basement?


N

nekom

Member
Some of you may have seen me post here before, some time ago. Well a lot has happened in my personal life (divorce and all that fun stuff) but later this year I'm FINALLY ready to start over.

This time, I've learned from past mistakes and I'm ready to do this right. Which means:
1. This time, DCC all the way. I'll save up and eat the cost, I see it as worth it. Anyone disagree?
2. Benchwork will be strong. My 3rd attempt had benchwork that I could (and did) stand on. Thick plywood, horizontal braces on the legs, yeah that's the one thing my last shot had going on. I'll either be keeping it or reusing the lumber and rebuilding.
3. 40" diameter turns all around. Another thing I had going in my 3rd attempt that I think I had right. I even had the cnc burning table opreator at work cut me out a little quarter inch steel template to fit the track to the outside of.

Question now though. Attic or basement?

Attic pros: lots of room. Full footprint of the house excluding a chimney that comes through the middle. Furthermore no disruption of my fiance or any other household stuffs. The storage capacity of the attic fits under the benchwork.

Attic cons: No insulation. It is 110 degrees up there in the summer, and it is 40 degrees up there in the winter. Spring and fall it's tolerable. In the summer I can put a fan in each of the two windows (one out, one in) and that helps but it's still uncomfortable.

Basement pros: Nice temperature year round.

Basement cons: Not as big. About 1/4 of the basement is crawlspace. Furthermore, we've got the big freezer, the furnace, and all laundry operations going on down there.

For perspective, this is HO scale. What would you do? Stay with the attic and try to solve the issues there, or move it all downstairs and deal with different issues? I've got PLENTY of time to decide, since investing in a good DCC system is going to take some time for me, so any input is appreciated.
 
Unless you can insulate and climate control the attic, I would go with the basement. Those temperature extremes will play havoc with your trackwork, and the summer humidity will cause your benchwork to have problems. Not to mention your electronics. You would definitely want to have a big ol' dehumidifier up there!
The basement may not be as big, but it's temperature controlled. That would be my choice.
 
In my opinion, I would go for the bigger room with the attic. And get a swamp cooler for the summer, and a heater for the winter. Problem solved.
 
Whatever you chose, I suggest that it would be climate controlled all year round to prevent damage
 
How do you get into the attic? Going up and down on some retractable stairs or a ladder would get old quickly.
 
My vote would be for the basement unless you can solve the problems of the attic 100%. Good call on going DCC. Now you can unleash the power of sound!
 
nekom said:
For perspective, this is HO scale. What would you do? Stay with the attic and try to solve the issues there, or move it all downstairs and deal with different issues? I've got PLENTY of time to decide, since investing in a good DCC system is going to take some time for me, so any input is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Go for the basement.
That's what I'm doing. :)
 
Those temperatures won't make working up there very pleasant. A former owner of our house converted the attic to a bedroom/bath/office. It has a through the wall heat pump like those you find in a lot of motels. If it were an attic like that, it could work as long as you add some kind of HVAC system. Otherwise, I'd go to the basement. Even our basement needed added circulation to keep it pleasant to work in so much.
 
as others said - basement. extra room is nice but with the condition as you described, attic is not even an option. for elaborate layouts (and yours sounds as such) DCC is the only way to go IMHO.
 
nekom said:
About 1/4 of the basement is crawlspace.
Click to expand...

Our basement (old house) has a lot of crawlspace that has a concrete floor. As I expand my layout, I may incorporate the inner perimeter of this crawspace. I can only easily reach about two feet into this area but that gives me over 50 feet of run that could be very interesting.
 
I appreciate all of the responses. I hadn't really thought of the effect on the equipment, I guess those temperature extremes and changes could have the potential to cause damage. The attic is otherwise the perfect place, it's got a door and stairs going up to it. The environment is MUCH better in the basement except for humidity. When it rains, we don't get any standing water or anything but the floor gets damp in the one corner. A dehumidifier could take care of that.

Looks like noone is arguing AGAINST DCC so I figure I'm making the right call on that. I don't know exactly how many locomotives I will have total or exactly how big of a yard I'll have but I suspect wiring it to make it usable without DCC is just simply too unwieldy. It's a shame my local hobby shop doesn't carry DCC equipment, because I do like to support local business.

I briefly thought about running a layout along the walls of the main floor in the house, but it'd have to be 8 feet high to clear the doors.
 
When it rains, we don't get any standing water or anything but the floor gets damp in the one corner. A dehumidifier could take care of that.
Click to expand...

If you go basement, you'll need to seal the walls to keep moisture out. If you have vent windows, you'll need to make sure they are perfectly sealed.

If you are willing to invest and do it the right way, I'd go attic, simply because you have more space to work with. To make it work, you'll have to do some MAJOR insulation installation, a dedicated air conditioning/heating system, and you'll have to make sure that in the places you wall up have adequate ventilation (so you don't have moisture buildup and mold, as well as keeping your sheetrock/drywall from warping from the heat). Finish the attic out better than what you'd have for a living space.

I'd personally rather fix heat issues than moisture issues, as well as the other activities you have in the basement.
 
Nekom. If you have the means and time, you could properly finish the attic and it would make for a great running space. If you can't do that you'll need to go with the basement because your work will get destroyed by the heat.
 
I'll vote for basement due to the environmental concerns unless you want to invest some $$$ in AC or heatpump or whatever for the attic.

But here's the catch: check the radon level in the basement. If it's high, spending time down there could be a health hazard without some kind of mitigation. Not sure what it might cost to vent the basement for radon. OTOH, if you don't "believe" radon is a health hazard, meh, you're on your own...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top