As some of you know I’m smack in the middle of building my layout room. Progress have been better then expected and I’m making good time. Now my question is this. What do you guys use a floor material? Vinyl, paint or carpet? Carpet floors are not that common around here and most people seems to think it’s a BAD idea to put in to the train room. What do you guys think? The cost is not much so I can do it. I’m kind of tempted since I will be barefoot all the time in the train room(we take of our shoes in Sweden when we are indoors). But what about dust? Do the carpet create dust? Is it easy to get sawdust out from it? What kind of carpet? I have no idea since I’ve never lived in an house with carpeted floors, we have regular carpets in our house but no carpeted floors and so I’m clueless.
I’ve decided to go with carpet after agonizing for a long time. Reason? My floor is concrete and my feet and ankles hurt a lot after standing on concrete floors. In my case, the floor was not so level in several spots, so a hard surface would have showed these areas badly.
I used a wall-to-wall carpet meant for offices so that things would still roll well on it. I don’t believe that modern carpet generates dust, so that shouldn’t be an issue unless you never vaccuum! [:)] I have had no problem getting sawdust up, but you do have to cover it while doing scenery.
Here are a couple of shots of my carpet under the benchwork:
I would use vynal. It is easier to keep clean while working on the layout. (Can you wear slippers in the house? (Like bedroom slippers)). Once the layout is done, you can lay down a carpet or rug. That is what I am going to do once my layout gets past the heavy construction stage.
Right now, my layout room floor is sealed concrete, dotted here and there with old throw rugs (exiled from the living spaces by my wife.) If I was in your situation I would install a commercial grade low-pile carpet (single, neutral color) over a thick carpet pad.
The low pile and single color should make the inevitable hunt for dropped parts easier. Both your feet and any dropped rolling stock will appreciate the thick carpet pad. A quality vacuum cleaner with a carpetbeater attachment will keep the dust problem to a minimum without making cleaning into a major operation.
Obviously you want to avoid carpet if you have had issues with dampness in the train room. Otherwise I don’t see a problem as long as you avoid shag. You want something with a very short nap, because you know you are going to spend X% of your time down there on your hands and knees looking for that wayward coupler spring or the wheel set that popped loose from the truck. You would also want something with a nice thick backing, for comfort.
Vinyl and painted concrete are hard on the feet, and especially hard on the knees if you have to crawl under the benchwork to install or fix something subterranian. One option that we have in the USA that may or may not be available in your country is rubberized mat material. It’s sold for use in garages, workshops, and fitness centers. I have it under my benchwork and I just love it. It’s very easy on the knees.
The floors are made of wood and I do not expect any problems with moisture. I live in a dry area and the house is up on pillars allowing the wind to get underneath it. I’m going to check out what carpets cost. I’ve seen them from as low as 10$ per square meter but I will try to find one that is nice to stand on for a few hours.
I could wear slippers, I do that in my own house some times but I prefer having nothing on my feet at all.
I painted the concrete with a light gray concrete paint. Its easy to vacuum and wet mop with a household cleaner and I’m not worried about getting anything on it. This summer I will paint it again and it will be as good as new. If we decided to move it could become and office for someone, so I don’t want to be locked into carpet or vinyl.
If I decide to get out of model railroading, I will ceramic tile around the perimeter walls so it will butt up to the baseboard trim and carpet the center of the room.
I was in the same situation you’re in a month and a half ago.
I went with a berber from Home depot. Installed it and the padding myself. You just have to make sure you protect it when gluing and painting. Also vaccuum frequently to control dust getting into the pile.
I went with carpet and love it. I loose parts on a concrete floor as well, but the carpet looks good, is nice on my feet, is easy on dropped things and vacs up nicely. It also looks better between cleanings.
I have carpet on the floor in my train room because I am building my layout inside my house. I have had to take extreme precautions to keep the carpet clean while building. Most of the time while working on the layout I have had the carpet covered with plastic to protect it from plaster, paint, glue and all of the other wonderful things that would love to ruin the carpet. If I was starting from scratch on the room, I would probably install hardwood floors.
Carpet in a dry area can generate static. (a possible problem)
It IS great for sound deadening!
Like Don said, I’d be more worried about getting paint and plaster on it than sawdust.
When I finished my train room in the basement of our new house I cleaned the new concrete floor thoroughly with detergent, primed it with Behr brand (Home Depot) concrete primer and put two coats of Behr Concrete Stain down on top of the primer. So far it’s held up well. I’m going to leave the floor as painted concrete until I finish the messy parts of the layout construction and then put down either carpet runners or 2’ square interlocking foam tiles in the aisles. Since there will be a skirt around the edges of the layout to hid the parts under the bench work, I see no need for any floor covering under the layout. The bench work is built high (56" off the floor) and I’ll use a reclining desk chair on casters to move around under the bench work when wiring, etc.
My layout is located in the basement. I had the painting contractor paint the walls and floor with a good quality concret paint. The painted surface seems to keep the dust down. My wife does not permit wearing shoes in the house (carpet and hardwood floors), and it is too hard on the feet to stand on the concreet floor. I keep a pair of athletic shoes with velcro straps for me to wear in the basement. They are easy to slip off and on. I have had water in the basement twice due to unseasonal heavy rain, so I am glad the floor is only painted. The water problem is being fixed by some additional landscaping to keep water away from the house foundation.
When the layout gets to the point of operating sessions, I will purchase two 15’ runners to put down on the floor to get my guests from the front door to the basemnt and not worry about dirt or damage to the house floors.
The previous layout was in a basement with a painted concrete floor. I thought that was the best for locating fallen parts, but a concrete floor also collects dust that can be stirred up.
The new house came with carpet other than in the kitchen and bath areas. I put a heavy vynal “office chair carpet protector” in front of the workbench and thus still have a smooth surface for finding most of the small items that come loose during construction. The carpet is pleasant for other work on the layout. I use a drop cloth in the work area when doing things that have a high liklihood of creating a mess for the carpet - like plastering, painting the fascia, or installing ballast. The new arrangement seems to work fine.
Interestingly, I’ve gone the other direction – I started with a fully carpeted room, but opted out of carpet. I covered the carpet with two layers of Masonite, and the operating area has an additional layer of the aforementioned rubber tiles.
Since someone will ask… I eliminated the carpet for a few reasons: by leaving it in place but covering it, it will still be in good condition if we choose to sell the house. Also, I’m a klutz: I know I’ll be dropping stuff left and right, and the only way I’ll find anything is by hearing it hit the ground. (Yes, even a coupler spring is audible if you’re listening for it…) And, finally, the Masonite is really easy to clean up: glue, paint, whatever, just wipes off. So my limited train time can be focused on glue and paint, and not plastic or canvas sheeting…
I have considered just painting the wood floor. It is made out of 22mm(almost an inch) thick particleboard(I think you guys call it that). It would be very easy to clean and dust free. I’m gonna think about this. A carpet would look nice and feel warm and soft during the long winters.
