Recently my wife and I decided that we were going to rearrange some of the rooms in the house one of them becoming my new layout room. I thought I was going to have to build (at the very least partial) walls around the area that I was allocated for my layout, but getting the room fixed that problem. The room is 10’x17’ and at one end of it is a 10’x7’6" storage room. Yesterday my wife suggested building the benchwork so that we can use it for storage with a curtain hiding the storage area. I already had this idea as it is one of the things that is quite often done with many layouts that I have read about in all the same places that I am sure many of you have also read.
Today I was taking the dog outside and thinking about my future layout (as I often do when I have spare time). I thought that if we both like the idea of using the space under the layout as storage then why do we really need a storage room. It was time to put in the request with the zoning department and find out how much it would cost for the purchase of the additional land for the planned Railroad that will be a sure boost to the local economy. Believe it or not it didn’t cost near as much as I thought it was going to[:D]. Although I am sure there will be some hefty taxes on the new land as the zoning will need to be changed to allow for the expansion for the RR.
If there is any down side of this turn of events is that I will now have to start over with the planning to accomidate the new area.
How many others on the forum have been this fortunate. I know there have been several that have won zoning rights since I first started visiting this forum.
This is EXACTLY what I am doing. There is just too much stuff in the basement to POSSIBLY make it all ‘go away’ so it will have to be stored under the layout. The concession I got was that it will all be placed into those big plastic Rubbermaid tubs with labels. Stacked 2 high under the benchwork, with labels, everything will fit plus it will be easy to pull out whatever’s needed. Based on the past 3 years, the only thing that will ever be ‘needed’ are the various holiday decorations, but I’m smart enough to keep my mouth shut about that [:D]
I took my former storage area by eminent domain. The wife came home and it was gone, the walls, the 2x4, all were removed. She was fine, as long as the amount of storage doesn’t change.
So I now have a 12x10 around the room layout. Just need to get some new sheet rock to finish up.
that’s a good idea for the extra space…just remember that if you ever sell the house it will be better if the old space is put back the way it came…(unless a fellow model railroader is buying the place from you with the same ideas) [:D]…chuck
That’s why my layout is free-standing, not bolted to the walls. ANd the backdrop is attached to the benchwork, not the walls.
That and the fact tat if I waited to fini***he walls completely, I’d STILL be waiting.
I think that the back drop will be attached to my benchwork as well for the same reason as you rrinker.
I would like to take the walls out, but I have been thinking about that same thing (resale of the house). Hopefully it won’t affect the layout too much.
Although, if you have a nice backdrop on the actual room walls, it’s not THAT big a deal to throw up a coat of primer to hide it from potential buyers…
The secret is to make your shelf-layout modules dismountable from the shelf–when I move from my current home, all I need is a few feet of shelving to throw onto the mounts and I’ve got perfectly legitimate shelves at 4 feet and 5’5" off the ground–just right for the storage needs of the home handyman! Or placement for a shelf layout with lighting valence…and all I need to do is set up some new shelves at my abode-to-be (with its obviously vastly expanded layout room) and drop my layout on top of them–and then start TRACKLAYING!!