Future Layout from the ground up

[Mudkip Orange]

w00t!

[Bernard]

Gordon - It's great hearing from you! No apologies needed it's a hobby and we put in the time when we can sometimes other things like work (don't they understand the importance of trains!) gets in the way. I look forward to the new pics. Any new decoder installs?

Bernard

 

 

 

Hi all,

 

      First my apologies for just disappearing, got a little side tracked.

 

Capt - the bike is a 99 R1 that I've had from new. It used to have high KMs for its age, now it has low KMs for its age. The old girl has been neglected of late. Ridden it 3 times in 5 years, just doesn't do it for me any more. Should convert it to trains.

 

Bernard - A lot of work alright but I can finally see a faint glimmer in the tunnel. Yeah the ground here is clay and we have been on water restrictions for so long that it is like concrete.

 

Pics to come once I re-size them.

[scott]

Pics to come once I re-size them.

 

Looking forward to it!

[mrpig]

Yes there are some more decoder installs to write up.

 

Concrete day finally arrived. We had been in a drought forever and it starts to rain for a few days when we book the concrete.

 

There was meant to be 2 guys turn up to do the barrowing but they were a no show, so another mate came to save the day and the truck driver helped out as well.

[mrpig]

Close but just not quite enough. Standard trucks here limited to 5 metres of concrete unless you get a semi.

Had to wait for an extra 0.6 of a metre.

 

4 passes of the trowel machine and half a bottle of Johnny later, and it was so smooth that it was slippery when I etched it for painting.

[Bernard]

Gordon - This was worth the wait! It looks like a nice smooth and level floor. My father-in-law had the same process done in his storage building and had no problems with the floor. Is the shed still going to be entirely for your layout? Is there any more work that needs to be done with the shed before you start your layout?

[CaptOblivious]

That is a lot of concrete!

[mrpig]

Still a long way to go before any benchwork. Almost all layout, there will be a workbench in the corner next to the doors with overhead storage yard.

 

Photo 1 – Floor has been sealed with 2 pack epoxy, colour is French grey. Not having any cross ventilation made for a very smelly operation.

Photo 2 – Materials for the wall frames.

Photo 3 – A frame begins. Bottom channel in place.

Photo 4 – These are the 2 temporary braces to ensure all the studs are flush.

Photo 5 – First stud screwed to one of the main uprights.

Photo 6 – Wider view of first stud in this frame. The frame in the background is the one around the doors and was the first one.

[Bernard]

Gordon - The finished job on the floor came out great. It even reflects the light and looks smooth and even.

[mrpig]

Bernard – yeah I’m quite happy with how the floor turned out. I would highly recommend using 2 pack sealer. A couple of lessons learned though.

 

1 – I would leave it to dry (cure?) longer between coats, instructions said overnight and the second coat seems to have sort of reacted leaving some very light orange peel in places.

 

2 – Don’t skimp on the rollers. I bought a cheap twin pack figuring  on not bothering to do any cleanup. Just throw them out once the sealer had cured. The cheapy rollers started malting leaving fibres in a few spots in the sealer. Not badly noticeable, and I’ll probably put down some carpet or soft matting in the aisles anyway to make it easier on the feet.

[mrpig]

Photo 1 – All the studs are in place now on this frame.

 

Photo 2 – Noggins have been installed 1200mm off the floor.

 

Photo 3 – Frame laid down to screw the back side of studs and noggins.

 

Photo 4 – Just another completed frame. 10 in total. Got one done every second day doing just a couple hours a day after work. Slowest part was cutting the noggins as each one had to be notched for the studs. Definitely a lot more work than working in timber, but there has been some termite activity in my area and I don’t fancy the layout falling off the walls some time later.

 

Photo 5 – This was the most tedious and painful part of building the stud frames. I ran wire along the back of each frame to end up with 2 vertical and 2 horizontal wires in each open space. This is to stop the insulation falling out the back. All had to be done on the floor on my knees, couldn’t put the frames on horses as then you wouldn’t be able to get in between each stud as the wire went in. Each frame only took about 1.5hrs, but that was more than enough time spent crouched over on the floor.

 

Photo 6 – It is a bit hard to see the 4 wires in each panel, just couldn’t get the right angle with the camera.

[cteno4]

mrpig,

 

great work on this, i expect this is the dream of most of us on the list to erect our own train room/fort like this! great story to watch and drool over!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Bernard]

Gordon - Very solid frame work. It might seem tedious but in the long run you are going to be glad you did it. You mentioned termites, what material will you be using to make your bench work with?