Securing buildings to scenery

[ianacole]

Greetings all ... dumb question time.

I've decided on using the Woodland Scenics foam track bed, and have acquired sheets to cut out for buildings that need to be at the same level as the track (e.g. my sanding tower). I understand that the track should/can be glued directly to the foam and then further secured with ballast, but how about the building itself? Should I:

• Glue building to the foam and then cover the exposed foam with ground cover (I'll be using a dirt mixture in this case),
• Cover the foam with the ground cover then secure the building,
• Cover the foam area for the building with plaster cloth first, secure the building, and finally add the ground cover,
• Or, cover the foam area for the building with plaster cloth first, put down the ground cover, then secure the building

It may seem elementary, but I've watched a number of videos and this wasn't quite addressed.

Thanks!

Ian

 

[Motley]

Hey Ian,

You don't have to glue the buildings in place, in fact it's better if you secure them with drywall screws on the corners and cover up the screws with ground cover. That way you can easily remove or rearrange the buildings.

That's what I did at least. Just glue the foam sheets down, and then secure the buildings, and then ground cover.

 

[railBuilderDhd]

If you are placing the buildings on a foam base you can use pins glued to the inside bottom of the building pushed into the foam base to hold the building on place. This would work well since it would also make removal of the building easy.
Dave

 

[kenw]

My buildings aren't secured at all. the lack of ground cover provides slight recess for the exact outline of the building, and it just sets in place. For me, not securing just means that nothing breaks if it gets a whack accidentally. Granted most of my buildings are very small and the land is quite flat.

 

[ianacole]

Interesting. The building I am currently working on doesn't have a base, so I cannot secure it with screws. But gluing pins inside sounds like a really good option. Thanks!

 

[John P]

I'd also say don't secure the buildings at all. You'll appreciate that when you need to get access to the far side of the structures, or when you accidentally bump one. If the design of the building suits it, I'd cut out an area the shape of the foundation all the way down to the sub-roadbed (plywood or whatever) and carefully bring the foam and ground cover up to the wall, but don't seal it in place. That way it's got a fixed position, but you can easily lift it out or allow it to fall over if an elbow gets swung in that direction.

Note that buildings are typically embedded in the ground, not resting on it. How many scenic horrors do we see where a building is put on top of the grass and left there?

 

[Rico]

I don't attatch all my buildings to the layout anymore.
When I did I just screwed up (I said screwed up, nyuk nyuk!) from underneath and marked what the screw was holding in place. If the building had no base I simply glued styrene strips across the bottom where the screw was located.