Could you elaborate on the actual construction of your building? The methods of finishing/ insulating the interior walls and ceiling will depend on this.
Is the siding vertical steel? What is the roofing material?
Is the wood frame on a concrete slab? Are walls standard 2x4 frame and 16" o.c. as well as roof type (assume a gable w/ min pitch)? There are or should be cross ties at least at every 48". Can additional ones be added for ceiling joists and at what spacing?
What will be the ceiling height (top of wall plate)? Once the interior is finished will you need “attic” ventilation, possibly a thermastatically controlled exhaust fan to remove excess heat from above the insulated ceiling.What type of door/s and windows are existing?
What is the electrical service to the building now? You say that there are 3 circuits. You will need at least a min of 2) 20Amp and 1) 15 Amp circuits. This would be a 20 for heat/ AC, a 20 for the layout and the 15 for lighting.
I agree with the recommendation of a through wall system, like the Panasonic. These are much more efficient than window units.
Humidity control is to be the greatest factor due to your location. Proper insuating and
If you have a metal roof, try and put some insulation on it first. Plus the sound of rain falling on an uninsulated metal roof will drive you out of your train room.(trust me) An exhaust fan at the roof peak does wonders to keep the heat down in summer.
Four Metal walls? A Peaked Metal Roof? No Insulation? What about sun exposure?
My 2 car garage is nested in the corner of the house. The front has a metal 2 door overhead garage door facing Northeast so it doesn’t have to much sun exposure but it will be insulated with stick on batts from HD. The Westernish wall which gets a a good dose of Fierce Arizona sun in the afternoon is block construction. It will be furred out with 2 x 4 studding with Fibreglas insulation batts and drywalled, textured and painted. There is a sheetrock ceiling with “popcorn texturing” and there is blown in insulation up there but I will be adding more. I have a battery of 4 HD exhaust fans mounted on the gable vent with increasing thermostat settings so that they come on one after the other as the temperature rises. They are able to maintain outside ambient temperature in the crawl space over the entire 2250 sq. ft. house even when it gets to 115 degrees in July.
We started the work today to install three windows on the westernish wall for the three Fedders 8000 btu window a/c units with remote controls. Heat and humidity aren’t the only enemies of a model railroad. DUST is the major culprit. For that reason I am also having an expoxy floor put down as well.
In your case, if your building isn’t insulated, you really need to do it. I also recommend that you install a drop ceiling which will protect you from the noon day sun heat input, with insulation on top and a couple of turbines to keep it from being an oven up there.
Sorry guys if I confused you…there is paneling on the inside and thin ceiling tile on the inside, as far as insulation inbetween the outside, not for sure, but it cant be much anyway…but yes, I am sure it is going to get hot and cold, I have that covered, I was just concerned with North Carolina humidity, what it might do to my track and scenery? Thanks everyone…Carl
You know alot of people travel our great system of highways and tracks. Several stay in a motel that has the air and heat in one unit ,usually under a window. A freind of mine redone a motel a few years back and saved theunits. He was kind enouph to let me have one and it is still working in the shop.It does take some time to work when shut off for some days but does work for me . It is athought you might consider going to a what we call recycle place an d check the prices. Usually cheap because people use window airs here.
I have a 16x20 building in the backyard that my railroad has lived in for nearly 10 years. Since I wanted “creature comfort” I made sure the interior was insulated (simple rolls of fiberglass insulation between the studs if the walls are “open”). I covered the interior walls in standard drywall/sheetrock. I can’t stress insulation and room preparation enough.
Since I wanted the backdrop to be uninterrupted, I put my window AC UNDER the benchwork. You might consider putting your backdrop across the windows and putting the AC unit in a special cut out under your benchwork as well.
I bought a used 220 window unit for AC back then to save money…used was obviously cheaper than new…220 cooled better than 110 units and were more energy efficient back then.
In the last 10 years, that window unit has given its all. The last time I used it, it was blowing warm air instead of cool…so, I am looking at a 8000-10,000 BTU window 110 air conditioner from the local “big box” home improvement store. They run less money than I gave for the used 220 unit 10 years ago ($200-ish)…and they are rated at decent energy efficiency…I would also share that a small 12 inch oscilating fan really was a big improvement in moving the cool air…well worth the cost.
My heaters are two 10 ft electric baseboard heaters…the kind that heats a fluid (not water) and has a small fan to move the air across the heated elements. To be candid, I can not turn both on at the same time…Just using one makes the room feel like an oven…they are very fast working and efficient.
Regarding the question about combination heat and air units…check online at Sears, Lowe’s and Home Depot for approximate pricing. But I think there were some lower cost units that were under $1000.
I leave the building “au natural” when not in use. It only takes 15-20 minu
I’m in sunny, humid Florida on the coast with a layout in the upstairs of a detached garage. I went with a 10,000 BTU window unit (cooling only) and a space heater for the winter…also have a ceiling fan for circulation. This is in a wood framed space that is well insulated and sheetrocked with incandescent lighting. I have roughly 420sf of space, but more importantly is the cubic footage for the AC (I have up to 9ft ceilings). I made sure to calculate the cubic footage and match that with the CFM that the AC can handle (this will address humidity also). For a highly efficient unit (over 9.5EER) that is Energy Saver compliant in 10,000 btus, you can buy new at Lowes or Home Depot for around $200 now. Good luck.
I have a 12’ x 24’ Tuff Shed all finished inside with sheet rock, insulation, carpet, etc. I use a electrical baseboard heater (220) on the back wall and I have a small window air conditioner I got at Lowes for $180 or so. It does the trick real well. I live in New Mexico so there is very little humidity, but it does get very hot and the winters can get pretty cold as well due to our high altitude at 5,000+ Ft.
I have an 8 by 24 layout in the rear of my garage, up at the cottage, in northern Michigan. The garage is insulated, and paneled. I have both a gas heater, and a wood stove, that heat it nicely when I am there, but when I am not there, it is unheated. The temps range from zero in the winter, to maybe a hundred, on a hot summer day. I had laid some beautiful trackwork, with a lot of soldered joints, during some cool weather in the fall. The following summer, when the weather warmed up, I had a lot of buckled track. It doesn’t take a lot of expansion to buckle the track, with tight joints. I relaid the track, leaving very small gaps at the joints, and running electrical jumpers across the joints, and have had no more problems. The gaps are noticeably larger in the winter, and much smaller in the summer. But they don’t cause any derailments, and actually provide a little clickety clack sound, which is kind of prototypical. In an unheated building, you must allow for expansion and contraction.
When my wife and I put the 28x30 foot addition on the rear of the house, I told the builder that I was going to build a train layout. He suggested that we put a A/C- Heating unit that are used in the hotels. ( I have 2 in my garage) Now that I have a layout in that room, I have no trouble with any joints,or warping of track. The thermostat is either sat on heating or cooling COMFORT zone and it works fine. If I were you and I was looking for a heating-a/c unit, that would be the way to go! Hope this helps. Alan