Mounting buildings for placement outside

Garden Railroading
1

I am mounting my buildings to a plastic or plexi-glass base and want to cover them with a layer of decomposed granite (DG) so they blend in with the surrounding area. (My entire RR is constructed on a base of DG). Question is, what adhesive should I use when gluing the DG to the plastic/plexi base?

If you use other methods for mounting buildings or placing them outside I’d appreciate hearing about those as well.

Thanks

2

Ben,
You really have got a tough combination to try and glue there. I can’t give you a specific product that will do the job, but I can say from my experience trying to get glues to stick to plastic, that I would be giving the surface of the plastic a good sand with coarse sandpaper to rough it up. Glues don’t stick well to a smooth surface, but once it’s got some texture to it, you’ve got more hope of getting them to hold on.

Glen.

3

Hi conductorben
The only thoughts I have is rough the base up and use Bondcrete this is a PVA like substance for sealing concrete that is water soluble so dilute it 50/50 with water and a drip of dishwashing liquid much like the pva mix used indoors.
Or just set it in place and and cover the base with the desired matierial
regards John

4

Hi conductorben,
I set my buildings on a concrete sidewalk block. That allows for drainage around the base of the building when it rains. If you still wi***o use plexiglass then try a product called “No more nails”. You will find it at hardware stores. Not sure if it available where you are. The nice part about using cement slabs is any aggregate you pour over it will for the most part just stay put without any glue. Have fun! Later eh…Brian.

5

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I’ll give the concrete block a try and see if that works.

Regards,
Ben

6

Sorry I have not chimed in on this, I completely over looked it. I plan to mount my structures on a large piece of shelving, thus it can be saved from the vandals of my neighborhood.

I have a picture of what I intend at my website on the subject…

http://normamicaela.tripod.com/normadepot.html

7

I have wondered about this question as well. Someone told me to use marine grade plywood. Not Pressure treated but Marine grade. I wonder if anyone has tried this method?

8

I build a subframe out of trellis timber ( Treated timber), with some cross frames underneath. Attach to the building and then half fill a plastic bag of sand, pebbles whatever and put inside the building.
Then put where you want and the treated timber keeps the sides above the dirt, bark, shingle ,whatever and the weight keeps it firmly in place.
This way I can shift it if I want and take it inside to do running repairs etc.
Tony