Empty garage!

[Anonymous]

I will soon have an empty garage, about 20 by 20 feet, with no need to put a car inside at night! It's not heated, but what a dream come true! I like simply watching trains roll on a long double track main. Anyone have any suggestions for a good track plan? I have about 240 feet of Atlas code 100 flex track to work with.

[cheese3]

unfortunatly i have no ideas. i wish i had a spce that big. i have a 10 ft. by 10' room but i am thankful. maybe you could lean twords a railroad like John Allens

[Leon Silverman]

Check out the February (2005) MR magazine. It has a 20 x 24 room size layout which can easily be adapted to your space by leaving out the branxhline section on the bottom of the diagram.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Cheese3. I am no John Allen, so whatever I do will be much simpler!

[Anonymous]

Thanks to you, too, Leon. I'll check it out. [:)]

[jhoff310]

I would highly reccommedn putting some kind of heat in there before you get started and put alot of time and or money into building a layout. not knowing where you are from The temperature changes can wreak havoc on tracks. I am speaking from experience.
Jeff

[Anonymous]

I agree
Insulate the door Lowes actually sells very nice kit for metal garage doors just a little cutting and it gives the door a nice finish. Changed the temp in my garage by at least 10-15 degrees. Blow insulation above the garage in the attic space
I also tied into my existing A/C and heat it was cheap to do couple of vents and some insulated ducting.
It makes it really comfortable out there now.

[TurboOne]

geoeisele there are also some good books on medium to king size layouts available. And of course the old standby 101 layouts. I have the same size garage, but will be building a 14 x 8 with a 4 x 6 opening in the center. got it from the folks here online.

Good luck, let us know what you come out with.

Tim

[jkeaton]

I'm envious. But, unless your climate is very temperate (not much difference between winter nights and summer days), consider at least insulation and draft sealing and some winter heat (enough to keep the space dry and above freezing in winter). Our garage is not heated, but it is insulated and sealed, and the snow that falls off the car melts on the floor overnight even on -15C/+5F nights.

Just as important, though consider at least some ventilation in summer (so that a closed garage doesn't cook your layout at 100F/40C or more all summer long). If you live in a southern climate and you can tap into the house AC, so much the better, but at least have openable windows (and roof vents if you can) to keep the summer heat in check. Dampness and a huge temperature range will slowly destroy your benchwork and track, not to mention your scenery.

Jim

[Anonymous]

No Ideas, but LET LOOSE AND BUILD!!!!!!!!

[2021]

I am just starting something similar (put a 20x20 garage in front of my existing garage so the old garage becomes an enclosed trainr room 21x20). For heat you can buy a cheap ventless heater (less than $200) that works well but has a bit of an odor. I think the most important advice I got from this group was "it's not the temperature as much as it will be the humidity inthe summer". Be sure to install a dehumidifier - from what I understand the room can handle temperature variations but you will want heat to be comfortable. As a precaussion, I run my heater about a hour each day to keep the remp above freezing.
Good luck, Ron K.

[Leon Silverman]

Insulation makes a big difference:
I have a13.5 by 22 foot garage that is be converted into a trainroom. It is now fully insulatated. I have a 35,000 BTU torpedo propane heater that I turn on whenever I got into the room. It usually only has to run for about ten minutes to get the temperature above 60 degrees in South Jersey. The lowest starting temperature I have seen so far is about 40 degrees.

[Anonymous]

Wow! Hard to believe an unheated garage could stay that warm in Canada. That's encouraging, but I had not thought about all these heat problems. This is going to be harder than I ever thought. GE

QUOTE: Originally posted by jkeaton

I'm envious. But, unless your climate is very temperate (not much difference between winter nights and summer days), consider at least insulation and draft sealing and some winter heat (enough to keep the space dry and above freezing in winter). Our garage is not heated, but it is insulated and sealed, and the snow that falls off the car melts on the floor overnight even on -15C/+5F nights.

Just as important, though consider at least some ventilation in summer (so that a closed garage doesn't cook your layout at 100F/40C or more all summer long). If you live in a southern climate and you can tap into the house AC, so much the better, but at least have openable windows (and roof vents if you can) to keep the summer heat in check. Dampness and a huge temperature range will slowly destroy your benchwork and track, not to mention your scenery.

Jim

[davekelly]

Congrats!!! Finding real estate for a layout is definately a major coup!!! Still trying to figure out how to convert my garage into a layout room, but unfortunately my other pursuits (woodworking tools, motorcycles) are there. The third bedroom looks doable - not as big as a garage - but hey, it's better than nothing!

BTW: Ditto on the climate control. Even if the benchwork/track etc can take the swings in temp and humidity, I'm guessing you won't be very motivated to work ont he layout if it's 10 below zero or 101 with 100 percent humidity! lol

Have fun!!

[Anonymous]

You're right about themotivation in freezing weather, Dave. [:)]I'm probably going to chuck the whole garage idea, thanks to all you fantastic forum experts. I really appreciate the insulation and heating advice, but I'm low budget. My 9 by 19 basement will work, even though the furnace takes up about a quarter of it. It's pretty consistently cool all year, with central air system making summers pretty nice down there. I think a smaller HO will work fine in that space, around the walls. Lots of fantastic layouts are built in areas smaller than that. Thanks again to all who've written.

QUOTE: Originally posted by davekelly

Congrats!!! Finding real estate for a layout is definately a major coup!!! Still trying to figure out how to convert my garage into a layout room, but unfortunately my other pursuits (woodworking tools, motorcycles) are there. The third bedroom looks doable - not as big as a garage - but hey, it's better than nothing!

BTW: Ditto on the climate control. Even if the benchwork/track etc can take the swings in temp and humidity, I'm guessing you won't be very motivated to work ont he layout if it's 10 below zero or 101 with 100 percent humidity! lol

Have fun!!

[sailor38]

Well, I sure hate to see you give up on the idea, but I surely do understand where practicality must overcome enthusiasm. The good news is that about 75% of us would HATE you for having that much space anyway.
Have fun in your basement and good luck with your layout. Take your time with it and you can have a real dandy!

Chuck

[trollw]

It will entail a little more work, but you can put a masonry blade in a skill saw and cut a rectangular hole in one of the outside walls of the garage (assuming it is brick or stone exterior - won't even have to be a masonry blade if it is wood or wood/vinyl). A quick lining of the opening with 1x6's and you have an easy place to mount a window-style A/C unit that will only set you back about $200.00 (new - used COULD be cheaper but will potentially require maintenance sooner). Then, along with your heater, you can keep it a nice even temperature all year round.