Need Help On Building Train Building

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Alright I’m about to buy a house and possibly going to have a baby which means the extra room in the new house will now become a baby room and longer my office. Anyways I’m exploring the option of having a second building added outside the house on the edge of the driveaway not connected to the garage. This option is one I’m thinking of doing although my dad suggested possibly having a layout that can be lowered in the garage for when I want to use it and go back up towards the ceiling when I don’t need it. Only questions I have are how to do it. I know nothing about contracting so have to think of the best finanical option for me.

Anyone here have any thoughts? Building a building the size of a 1 car garage or so sounds expensive since it will require electricity. The garage option seems better but I’m not sure. Thanks in advance.

The good news is now i’ll be able to go back to my old HO scale and use existing trains I have which helps. In my current place I would have had to go to N scale just to make a layout in the office.

2

The first thing to do is to visit the building inspectors in your jurisdiction, to find out about what permits you will need and what building code requirements you will have to meet to erect a separate building. Things like setback, foundation requirements and such may allow you to design a larger building, or may make the entire idea impossible.

In designing a building, you will find that the first square foot COSTS! Each additional square foot is less expensive than the last. Try to design in 4-foot increments (saves cutting plywood panels and so forth.) Also, since this is a design that will be purpose-built for a model railroad, it can assume a long, narrow footprint, say 8’ by (longer than a standard garage, possibly lots longer.)

If you have a garage with a roll-back door (curved tracks all the way back to the door opener, which operates in a straight line,) you don’t really have the option of building a lift-up layout that would use most of the floor space. Even if that isn’t the case, a garage that’s still used for housing vehicles can’t be made fully weathertight. If you exile the car(s) to the driveway, local codes may still make it impossible to fully seal the space. (My gas water heater is in my garage. Therefore, I MUST have two sizeable air vents, open to the outside - which effectively kills any chance for effective indoor climate control.) By way of contrast, a purpose-built model railroad structure can be sealed up and insulated like a frozen storage locker.

Another option to consider is a pre-designed ‘build from a kit’ yard storage building - the kind sold by your local big box home improvement center. You WILL want to add insulation, and probably a better floor system. One advantage is that, for a not-too-unreasonable fee, the store that sells the kit can also provide a qualified, experienced crew to erect it. Once again, your building inspectors can tell you if t

3

If you are just now having a baby then my guess is that you are young and this is not a retirement home. If it is not, statistics show that you will move every seven years. The only way I could justify spending money on a disconnected train room is if the the value of the home was significantly increased by the value of the addition. Otherwise that $40,000 addition would make for one expensive layout.

4

I had a “suspended” layout for a while. My garage was big enough (could have actually been a 4 car) that the door mounts were not an issue. What was an issues were, that it had all the problems related to temperature change, dust and dirt, mice and other forms of rodentia. It was difficult to raise and lower (even with a pully system, redesigned three times) and invariably something got broken. My opinion is this type of arrangement is only practical for the “train board” type of layout, such that you lower the trainboard down, then have the scenery “modules” somewere else that just sit on the top of the board.

And insulation and climate control - otherwise it will have all the same problems of a garage layout.

I’ve struggled with the same issue. Everytime I got a bigger house with enough room for a layout my wife decides its time to fill it with another child. I had a “house” lined up that was so big it couldn’t possibly be filled with children but that deal fell through. Now its been 23 years - still no layout.

5

The thoughts above are right on. A seperate building is expensive and may be a problem with building code not to mention increased property taxes once built.

It seems that a room above the garage is in style these days, a garage loft they call them now. It would probably add to the look of the house, be a bonus room that would increase saleability of the house later, and although adding to the house cost would probably be cheaper than a complete outbuilding.

There are more advantages but I will leave those to your imagination.

Tom

6

All the previous posts are correct. I just want to add, don’t even think about building without a permit.

In some areas, you might be able to “sneak” the building up without anyone reporting you, but when it’s time to sell your house, your choices are all bad: tear the building down; lie on the disclosure form and risk a ruinous lawsuit later, if the buyer can’t get insurance; or disclose that you have a “non-conforming” building or addition, which will scare off many buyers.

Worse, if you ever have a fire, you insurance company may deny coverage entirely!

You might be ok with one of those “storage” buildings, but as soon as you add electricity, much less heat or A/C, you cross the line.

7

If your zoning laws will allow it, you might consider an used comper/modile home. Maybe one that is intended as or has been converted to an “construction office”.

If it is small enough, you could just take it with you when you move. Just hook on to it with the trailer hinch or call the trailer movers.

Have fun

8

Ever consider buying that house with an additional bedroom? The cost and agrivation of an addition or out building would probably be about the same as the extra cost of the house.

If you sell the house you would get a better retern anyway.

9

You could also do what I’m going to do. I’m building a purpose built trailer, up to office trailer codes and specs, for housing a portable setup. It will essentially be a permanent installation inside, everything bolted, screwed, glued, reinforced, etc to withstand the trailer being moved frequently, but the trailer itself simply parked on a level spot and leveled with “scissor jacks”. This avoids the building permit requirement, setbacks, foundations, etc., simply park it on a couple pressure treated 2x8’s, use a couple scrap 2x6’s for supporting the jacks, and run a 12 guage extension cord out to power the whole thing. The biggest issue (and a relatively small one, at that) would be to simply register and tag it properly. You’ll probably have to install proper lighting (as I plan to, as often as I plan to move it). The local authorities can’t really say much about a trailer as long as it’s not used for living space or as a “semi-permanent” installation (as campers, mobile homes, and offices are considered). It would fall under the same rules as those cargo trailers used by contractors and weekend racers, since, essentially, under the law, that’s what you would have.

Above all else, CHECK LOCAL LAWS first, since I’m using my local laws as my example, but I would think the laws relating to these would be similar nearly everywhere.

Brad

10

A friend at work managed to acquire an old camper trailer for the princely sum of one dollar. Depending on the size of your layout, you may find that an old camper is cheaper than a new building. Also, it will be more portable. Of course, you still need to check local laws. Some towns restrict the number of “unregistered vehicles” allowed, basically to keep people from filling the neighborhood with junk cars.

We have a storage shed out back for garden tools, lawnmowers, etc. It isn’t wired or insulated, but it also isn’t fastened down. That makes it “portable” and not subject to certain building codes, taxes and so on.

11

Here are a couple of shed/garage/outbuilding links:

http://www.tuffshed.com/

http://www.heartlandind.com/

I had a 10x14 tackroom style shed built by the Heartland folks about 10 years ago. I believe at the time it cost about $2600. It went up absurdly fast…2 guys built it in about 3 hours and was relatively well built. Of course that included no electic, insulation, heating, etc.

12

I strongly urge you to check with your local building permits dept. regarding building code requirements and local ordinances related to set-backs, etc. Don’t try to build without a building permit for all the reasons mentioned in some of the above posts. As part of the cost of the building permit you get a number of inspections to be sure the construction meets all building and safety codes. As someone pointed out above, by not having the structure done under a building permit and thus in compliance with local building codes it could come back to haunt you if you ever had a structural problem with the building or a safety issue such as a fire caused by faulty wiring, etc. Also if you live in a development with a home owners association, check to be sure if what you’re planning to build meets the restrictive covenants of the association. If it doesn’t, you could be forced to tear it down.

Since you may not be living in this house for the rest of your life, I’d suggest either adding a second floor to your garage to create a bonus room which someone above has suggested or putting an addition onto your house. Either way, you’ll be able to heat and air condition the space and either one may add to the resale value of your house when it comes time to move. I would definitely not use a trailer since there may be local codes against having one on your property, and the home owners associattion may not allow it, not to mention your neighbors not liking it.

If you decide to build a structure, be sure to get plenty of recommendations from friends, neighbors, construction suppliers, local architects, etc. before you make a final decision on who will do the building. I my area of West Virginia, anyone who knows which end of a hammer to use can and does call himself a “builder”. Unfortunately, some of my neighbors have some real horror stories to tell about their experience having their homes built by

13

Thanks for all the tips. I’ll take pictures of this house tomorrow during the home inspection and post them for everyone to see and the land too. Maybe after seeing it some of you can help me a bit. I’d love a second story on the garage or even an additional room off the back of the house but though that might cost more than the second building all together. I’m trying to basically do this as cheap as possible. I figured the buildings like mentione above would be the cheapest but no electricity was my concern. we live in arkansas so it gets down in the 20’s in winter but it’s never horrible. not sure how much of a concern climate change would be in those buildings for a layout. i could always run an extension cord to the room when needed to run the layout from the house.

14

You may find adding a second floor to an existing garage is very expensive.

Building a two-story garage is of course much more expensive than building a one-story, but converting a one-story garage into a two-story is a whole different game.

I investigated this a few years ago, and nearly had a coronary when I got the estimates.

First, there’s the question of whether the existing foundations will support a second story. They can be shored-up, but it ain’t cheap.

Second, will the existing walls hold a second story? Probably, if the garage was built anywhere near recently, but maybe not.

Third, will the existing ceiling joists hold an actual floor? Again, if the garage is fairly recent, probably, but some older ones were built with 2x6 joists, or 2x8s on 24-inch centers.

Fourth, if the existing garage is a two-car model, you’ll need either a center post and a new beam, or engineered joists ($$$) to hold up the second floor.

Fifth, you’ll have to tear off and throw away the existing roof, including either rafters or trusses, decking, and shingles. Then build the second story walls and a whole new roof. $$$$$

Last, be sure to make it big enough to hold the Brinks’ truck you need to hijack to pay for all that!

The office-type trailer sounds better and better.

15

…there MAY be codes against it… …association MAY not allow it… our dear fellow would have to do his research on this, of course. What if there are no rules against it?

It all depends on exactly WHAT kind of trailer it is (or looks like). If we’re talking mobile home, then yes, many times these can’t even be moved after a certain age. Lots of complications with older house trailers. Office trailers aren’t much different, basically same construction, titled differently, different appearance. They look like what they are. Camper style trailers are more permissible in most places, but if you get one that’s in rough shape, the neighbors may complain that it’s an eyesore. My thought was more along the lines of a cargo/utility trailer, the type sometimes seen for concessions, contractor usage, racecar hauling, etc. I don’t consider these to be an eyesore (unless in REALLY bad shape), and I’m not aware of any covenants or homeowner’s ass’ns rules against them (at least in my region). Most of my neighbors would not object to such a trailer in my side or back yard. My covenants DO address campers (and motorhomes/RV’s), basically says they have to be in the back yard, out of sight. If/when I build a trailer, I WILL have it registered as a cargo trailer, for the specific purpose of skirting this issue.

Brad

16

Hi jjryan

I cannot comment on this much wrong continent.

No one seems to have mentioned make sure what you do compliments existing structures and does not become a well engineered and code compliant eye sore

Neither your neighbors, domestic authority or later possible purchaser will thank you for it.

I would try and find a house that will fill all the family requirements additions and extra out buildings are not a cheap option even just giving a house a change of decoration and style is not cheap.

regards John

17

I agree with John Busby about trying to find a house with enough space to accomodate your family’s needs and the space required for your future layout. Failing this, I think I’d look into using a frame style garage-type structure or out building on a concrete slab that would be in harmony with the house and existing structures for resale purposes. I think you can get prefab or panelized structures of this design that you could erect yourself or have a crew do it for you for a reasonable cost. Once the shell was up, you could insulate it yourself and use electric space heaters and window AC units to maintain year-around comforter. The cost of doing this should be reasonable since you only would have the heat and AC on when you were in the building and the insulation would help maintain temperature when they were off. Only problem might be expansion and contraction of the benchwork because of temp and humidity changes. This is a problem that anyone faces with a layout in a space that does not have constant environmental control, eg., in a garage or attic.

Bob