I am currently planning to renovate a large room into a layout room
and was wondering about what kind of floor covering would be best.
I don’t really want to use carpet as I feel it will trap dust which I
don’t want in the room. I have been looking at tile and wood laminate
flooring but I’m not sure if something out there is better than these
materials.
I am open to suggestions and ideas and would also like to hear the
experiences of others in regard to their layout flooring.
I agree with Bob on the foam mats. I bought mine at Home depot on sale and have been pleased with them. My layout room floor is painted concrete and adding the foam mats made a world of difference in comfort. If you don’t like multicolors the mats also come in an “industrial” dark grey.
My last layout was on a 5’ x 10’ sheet of plywood. We would have it in the carpeted dinning room or move it to the family room that has porcelin tile. The difference in the noise level was very noticable. My current permanent layout is on nice carpet and it is quiet in the room. I don’t cut wood or do other dusty things in there, I do it in the workshop or outside. Carving foam is messy but the vacuum makes short work of that. I use lots of drop sheets when painting and the carpet is still like new. Carpet is very easy on the feet when standing for long periods of time.[:)]
My basement is carpeted with some sort of very tight short nylon loop which was installed at least 25 years ago (it came with the house when we bought it.) I’ve never actually seen anything quite like it- almost like indoor/outdoor but much higher quality. The stuff is almost stain-proof and wear-proof, and it is very easy to vacuum up dust and debris. Easy on the feet (and knees) and I am sure it helps reduce sound level.
If I were to do it over again I would look for something similar.
The basic floor of my layout space is sealed concrete. At present the aisleways are covered with a motley collection of tight-weave throw rugs (exiled from the house by my wife.) If they get stained, no problem. When dust buildup occurs, I take them outdoors and apply a battered old tennis racket until the clouds dissipate.
Noise isn’t a problem to me, since I don’t have any sound equipped rolling stock. The rugs ease things for my legs and cover all the places where I’m likely to walk or stand. I don’t see any advantage to carpeting the under-layout floor space, which is primarily occupied by plastic totes and wheeled portable storage/worktops.
I’ll cast my vote for carpeting. My train room is carpeted but I have very little dust/dirt problems. It keeps the room (and feet) warmer, is gentle on the feet while standing, absorbs some of the sounds and is a blessing when you have to crawl around under the layout. The downside is small parts–drop 'em and loose 'em.
I too perfer good grade of indoor/ outdoor carpet for all reasons mentioned, however, not all spaces would accept or should have carpet. For dry, well finished basements and spare living space carpet would benefit. These would also work to have “snap” lock laminate flooring. Since most of the room will be covered in layout and not see heavy traffic, a cheaper version can be used. The open areas can be covered w/ the carpet as mentioned for protection as well as comfort. Other concrete basements/ slabs were any moisture either through floor or walls and poor air circulation as under layout would be problematic for any carpet. These conditions could harbor minor mold/ mildew even w/ dehumidifier, even if sealed. In this case sealed or concrete paint would be the better choice. Open traffic areas as well as isles can have rubber backed area rugs or runners.
I have oak hardwood, but if I were laying a floor specifically for a train roon I’d probably go with cork. It’s soft to walk on like carpet but repels water and is easy to clean up like tile.
I agree with Bob on the foam mats. I bought mine at Home depot on sale and have been pleased with them. My layout room floor is painted concrete and adding the foam mats made a world of difference in comfort. If you don’t like multicolors the mats also come in an “industrial” dark grey.
Joe
Curious if Bob and Joe covered the entire layout room floor with the “kindergarten mats,” even under the railroad, or just eh aisleways. These mats sound great, I’m on my way to Home Depot to check them out after I send this post.
My mats cover just the standing/walking surfaces for my layout and workshop. The layout, workbenches and power tools all rest directlyon the concrete floor.
I have skirting along the edge of the layout (made out of Landscaping cloth) and this hides all of the paper boxes of additioanl Model Railroad Kits etc.
I also have areas that are just walk thru aisles and there is commercial rug rements laying there.
I only have the foam mats in the aisles that will have a lot of Operators doing a lot of standing (yards - Industrial switching areas)!
I’m looking for a heavy weight rubber mat like a restaurant kitchen mat that’ll lie flat on short fibered carpeting in the aisle. Everything I’ve looked at was very expensive. The jig saw mat pieces won’t work in my application.
I’d need about 13-15 ft. of matting. Anyone know of any bargains out there?
We use horse stall mats in our dog runs. You can get them in various thicknesses at Co-ops and farm supply places. They also come up for sale used, on Kijiji and Buy and Sell. They do make standing on concrete easier. Also thay are heavy enough that they don’t turn up at the edges.
I repurposed my neighbors old bedroom carpet (same as my entire house; builder economy) and since my layout is on a wood subfloor, i cut and fit the carpet to cover as much of the floor area as possible, even under the layout. We cleaned the carpet first and it has been great and much quieter; except for all the missing coupler springs. I also don’t worry about spots and stains as it is a ‘train room’ isn’t it?
Thanx guys, a lot of good ideas to consider. I like the idea of rubber mats but I was wondering about the stability of the layout being on a rubber mat. Would it flex enought to affect joints, etc? I plan to cover the entire floor with whatever material I choose so if I did get rubber mats the layout would rest on them.
