Well, I put a bid on a house in Reno, Nevada and the old layout is going to be torn down for the move. No basements in Reno 
. The new house has a choice between a third car garage space of about 10X20 feet and a fairly big spare bedroom upstairs of about 12X16 feet. The problem with the bedroom is that there is a wide door, a big closet door and a bathroom door. This leaves about one 12 foot wall and one 16 foot wall for the railroad. My wife would prefer that I not take up the whole room. I like modeling specific scenes so I am thinking about a Nevada themed railroad perhaps modeling Beatty or Goldfield NV in HO as it has not been done very much. A dogbone with a hidden yard might work. I am concerned about building a garage layout due to dirt and weather (too cold and too hot). Thoughts? Any links to spare bedroom or garage layouts with track plan ideas? Thanks in advance. - Nevin
You’ve just told us all the pros and cons of each one. We can just tell you our preferences. Maybe you coud draw up plans for each and choose.
MId-Sized and Manageable Track Plans by Iain Rice is a book full of room sized layouts.
I have that book, with the exception of the excellent V&T design it tends towards eastern prototype designs. He is a very good designer of moderate and small model railroads. - Nevin
I have a garage layout and the temperature and humidity create all kinds of extra work. I would build the layout in the climate controlled room. There are many challenges there but in the long run the layout will be more reliable and you will get more enjoyment without the extra maintainance.
If you don’t enjoy planning try a published plan and modify it. This would be the quickest way to get started. Also, stick to a plan as if you keep second guessing you will spend all your time modifying and changing the layout instead of operating and detailing.
I am getting ready to start my layout and my only option is a 20x10 garage. As I live in central Florida, heat and humidity will be a problem. I am insulating the roof, walls amd overhead door and have run a duct from my HVAC to the garage. In addition I will paint all my benchwork with enamel paint. If I had my choice, I would opt for the bedroom. The dirt factor is still an unknown in the garage.
florida
i would go with the bedroom for several reasons#1 because of the humidty it will worp wood and fog up clear plastic things… #2dirt everything will get dirty…#3how long do u want your trains to last? they will last longer inside i beleave. so i would go for the bedroom. and as for your layout i think that is a good idea.
I would favor the bedroom. Unless you plan to insulate and climate control the garage, I think you find the bedroom a better bet even with limitations. Here’s a nice one http://oandw.home.comcast.net/ to look at.
Enjoy
Paul
I would definitely recommend a room in the house rather than the garage. I live in Southern California and the temperature variations in the garage were still too much. I wiped out a dozen Atlas code 83 turnouts from temperature variations. Also, I could never keep the layout clean in the garage. Maybe you could keep one of those super clean eat off the floor kind of garages but I could never do it.
OR
I then moved and bought a house that had an fully enclosed drywalled and carpeted office built into 1/3 of the garage with its own door. It is insulated and completely separated from the rest of the garage and it works great. It even had a closet to put my helix in.
Nevin, few of us ever get all that we want. You are fortunate in that you have two choices for space. I would second the other suggestion to:
- Start with a plan of what it is you want - your “druthers” - continue to research.
- Make a second list - your “givens”. In this case, the size and configurations of the two spaces is one of your givens. Others might be time and money.
- Weigh the pro’s and con’s of your druthers against your givens and make a decision.
Almost any space can be adapted for a very satisfing layout - it’s all about resources and compromise.
Good luck,
I have built layouts in basements and garages and in extremes of heat, cold and humidity. My present layout is in a garage in Arizona. I have made two concessions to the climate: the garage doors are insulated and I installed an air conditioner. Even so, when I am not working on or running trains, it can get close to 100 degrees out there. However, after three years I have noticed no ill effects on track, trains, landscape or anything else.
As for dirt, we put an epoxy coating on the floor and sweep it regularly (like every week), with an occasional washing. Even in the dusty desert, I haven’t seen any unusual problems.
John Timm
I had the option of a garage or bedroom layout and I chose the bedroom. It is a lot cleaner, warmer, cooler, more accessable, and I’ve not regretted my choice for a second. The concession I had to make was a smaller layout, but in retrospect there are advantages to smaller layouts, as mine is 6’6"x9’6". It is great to be able to just pop in to the train room to run trains for a few minutes or when something is being worked on on the bench, it’s very handy. I think that things that are handy get used more. Having the layout in the house is REALLY nice now since it is 18 degrees outside! Here is a pic
Jim
Installing a separate air conditioner in an insulated garage is the right way to set up the space. Tying into the ductwork of an existing HVAC system creates two problems. One: most systems are sized for an existing floor space and cycle for long periods of time in order to remove the humidity. Adding another room may overtax the system to the point where it cannot achieve the set temperature even with continuous running. Two: A single supply duct from your HVAC will not work well unless there is a means to return that air to the rest of the system. This has to be accomplished by either a return air duct if the garage is physically separate from the house or some kind opening in the wall that separates the garage from the rest of the house. Without a return system, all of the supplied air will have to leak out around your doors or windows in the garage. This adds to the HVAC load since the vented air has to made up with air bought into the house from someplace else. This make-up air is at the outside temperature, not your house temperature.
I would also check the building codes because adding a duct through a fire-rated wall may create some problems. I don’t know for sure.
The fire-rating wall requirement exists when there is a possible fire-source from flammable liquid. Garages require a fire-rated wall when used to store an automobile or any fuel-powered device suchs as a lawn tractor or a kerosene/propane heater. Once a garage has been converted to a living space such as a garage or office space, the fire-rating should no longer be required. I had to use fire-check drywall in my garage because I planned to heat it with a propane torpedo heater. Had I planned on relying on electric heat, the fire-check dry-wall should not have been required. The propane heater was very effective when I first started working on the garage. However, once the garage was sealed and the insulation and drywall installed, I would be sweating and the temperature over 80 degrees after only five minutes of operation. An electric space heater is all I need now that the propane heater has broken down.
Leon makes some good points about installing a/c in a garage. I had a professional installation that took all factors into account. the capacity of the unit was a concern and I am very close to the max. A cold air return was installed. What I like about it is the train room will always be close to the house temperature.And the humidity, which was the major concern, will be controlled. As it is still “winter” in Florida the test will come in a few months when the temperature and humidity both rise. This means the unit will run more, but that is to be expected. An air flow control will allow me to adjust the temp.
Nevin, since you say you’ve got a 3-car garage, how about putting a wall up between the layout area and the car area? As mentioned, you have to deal with the building codes, but my guess is the strictest thing will be the door that has to go there, and you may get away without any special rules if you’re happy to leave the layout room officially “garage” class.
My layout is in a garage and I can honestly say it is the site of last resort, for all the obvious reasons i.e. dust humidity comfort in winter. If you can go with the suggestion to wall off part of the garage I would go with that. I have seen it done and it works well. If you go with the bedroom all the doors are a pain particularly if you have to maintain access through them. However you could consider rehanging the main and bathroom doors so they swing the other way. Also the closet and maybe the bathroom doors could be replaced by sliding doors.
If the wife prefers that you NOT use up the whole room, I would do one of two things:
- Leave a space between one wall and the layout, or
- Get another wife [:D]