From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
tomikawaTT wrote:If you use high-efficiency bulbs (aka twistybulbs) there will be very little heat to disperse, so white foam (for reflectivity) would be a reasonable valence material. (It's what I expect to use, except that the fanfold underlayment I already have has shiny aluminum foil on one side for even greater reflectivity.)
Jake1210 wrote: I dont get why people are putting foam over the benchwork. On the seivers website, descriptions & accessories imply that it should be used like this. (Not sievers, but still open grid benchwork.) Is there something I'm not getting?
I dont get why people are putting foam over the benchwork. On the seivers website, descriptions & accessories imply that it should be used like this. (Not sievers, but still open grid benchwork.) Is there something I'm not getting?
The foamboard is my scenery base. Ohio is relatively flat, but in one part of the layout, I'm going to be cutting in a street underpass, which is why there are two 2-inch layers of foamboard to ensure the tracks are high enough above street level for the underpass. The scrap foamboard will be used to build up scenery where needed for hills, overpasses, etc. I went with Sievers benchwork because it was pre-cut, pre-drilled, and included all the parts I needed, making it so I didn't have to go out and buy new power tools and raw lumber and then try measuring, marking, cutting, and drilling the pieces and trying to make sure all the parts matched up. With Sievers, everything was done already, and all I had to do was assemble. Besides, I don't think my neighbors in the other townhouses (4 units per building) would like hearing a saw running in my basement in the evenings. As far as the edges of the foamboard showing, I'm planning on putting a fascia on the layout that will cover that.
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
NevinW wrote:Chatanuga: What type and brand of adhesive did you use to glue the foam to the Siever's benchwork? I wamt to glue it down but be able to pull it off and preserve the benchwork. - Nevin
chatanuga.
It sounds like you should have no problems, but you should still check the clearance to combustibles on the rating plate. There is usually no problem when the Furnace is operating as designed. The problems arise when something goes wrong such as a cracked heat exchanger, (a rarity, but it happens more often than people think). As I said, in 41 years as a Serviceman and Service Supervisor in the field working on all kinds of gas equipment, I saw these problems arise on numerous occasions and a few times with disastrous results.
As for the ceiling, some cheap plastic sheeting stapled to the joists would suffice.
Please do not take any offence at my concern re. your gas equipment, it is just that even after being retired for over 10 years, I still have potential hazards jump out at me and I feel that it is my responsibility to make people aware of them.
All the best on your Model Railroad Empire.
Blue Flamer.
Blue Flamer wrote:I have a couple of concerns in regards to your basement location though. The block walls appear to have a lot of dampness indications in several places and underneath the window. If this is correct, you may have problems with high humidity in the future. A good idea to help alleviate this would be to make sure that the ground around the outside of your house slopes well away from the house so that any rain or snow does not accumulate against the house and wick through those VERY POROUS cement blocks. Another thing would have been to coat all the walls with a cement sealer. Some that I have seen in the past just paint on like a thick paint.
The walls are dry. They were like that when I moved into my townhouse back in 2002.
Blue Flamer wrote:Also, with that unfinished ceiling above your Layout, you are going to have a lot of dust & dirt coming down from the floor above. These two things I would have completed before building the benchwork.
I can't do anything with the ceiling other than the shop lights I put up since I'm renting. Haven't had any real issue with dust. I did put down a roll of cheap carpet on the concrete floor to make it a bit better down there.
Blue Flamer wrote:One other thing that may or may not be a problem, (I just could not tell from the pictures). It appears that the furnace is in very close proximity to the woodwork. This could be a safety code violation depending on your local Energy Branch code requirements. Also, is there proper access to service the furnace and change parts WHEN needed. I say WHEN by way of 41 years experience as a Serviceman & Service Supervisor. Sooner or later, that furnace will stop working.
Before and during the construction of the layout, I constantly checked the furnace to see how warm it would get during the winter when it was running, and the sides of the furnace never got hot or even remotely warm, even when the temps outside were about 0 and the furnace was running a lot. As far as servicing the furnace goes, my layout is sectional and the front of the furnace where the panel comes off to get inside is on the other side of the furnace away from the layout.
I believe it was foamboard caulking adhesive from Lowe's.
chatanuga wrote:I have a bunch of photos on my website at http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html of my layout's construction, which I've used Sievers benchwork for.
I have a bunch of photos on my website at http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html of my layout's construction, which I've used Sievers benchwork for.
I just took a look at your Web Site and I am amazed by your work. It looks great.
I have a couple of concerns in regards to your basement location though. The block walls appear to have a lot of dampness indications in several places and underneath the window. If this is correct, you may have problems with high humidity in the future. A good idea to help alleviate this would be to make sure that the ground around the outside of your house slopes well away from the house so that any rain or snow does not accumulate against the house and wick through those VERY POROUS cement blocks. Another thing would have been to coat all the walls with a cement sealer. Some that I have seen in the past just paint on like a thick paint.
Also, with that unfinished ceiling above your Layout, you are going to have a lot of dust & dirt coming down from the floor above. These two things I would have completed before building the benchwork.
One other thing that may or may not be a problem, (I just could not tell from the pictures). It appears that the furnace is in very close proximity to the woodwork. This could be a safety code violation depending on your local Energy Branch code requirements. Also, is there proper access to service the furnace and change parts WHEN needed. I say WHEN by way of 41 years experience as a Serviceman & Service Supervisor. Sooner or later, that furnace will stop working. Just ask the customer that had no heat at 3AM one winter morning. 0 Degrees F. outside and 45 Degrees F. inside the house. The customer was REALLY TICKED when I told him that I couldn't even check his furnace to diagnose the problem because, HE HAD BUILT A CONCRETE BLOCK WALL 3" AWAY FROM THE FRONT OF THE FURNACE.
NevinW wrote:Two steel studs about 2.25 feet long vertically attached to the back of each module frame. It would be used to attach the 2'x4' masonite backdrop (or other material, thoughts?) to the steel studs woth screws. Small steel shelf supports will be attached to the steel studs and masonite. A lightweight material (foam, masonite?) will be used as a shelf on the shelf support to hold the lighting (tube lights) A valence will be attached to the shelf to prevent glare and concentrate light on the models. I am thinking that the height above the layout would be 2 feet. Thoughts and opinions? - Nevin
By George, 'e's got it!
Since steel stud can be had in 10 foot length, you can get four supports out of a single stud.
The "standard" screw for steel stud assembly has a button head. If you predrill both the masonite and the stud (3/32") and countersink the Masonite, you can use short #6 flat head screws to secure backdrop material to the vertical studs. (I use the same technique to secure masonite fascias to my steel stud benchwork.)
For a "roof" I intend to laminate thin plywood to a layer of foam (mine has a layer of foil which will help to get the light where I want it.) The plywood will provide something to hold the screws, and is somewhat lighter than equivalent Masonite.
Since your layout is high to begin with, you might consider a lower "roof" level. (If you went with the 60" height you discussed earlier, 2 feet would put you above the height of a standard door. With 54" height, two more feet would put you right at it.)
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Loathar, you beat me to it! Steel studs are the lightest-weight really stiff choice.
If you use high-efficiency bulbs (aka twistybulbs) there will be very little heat to disperse, so white foam (for reflectivity) would be a reasonable valence material. (It's what I expect to use, except that the fanfold underlayment I already have has shiny aluminum foil on one side for even greater reflectivity.)
I have been building my railroad with plywood subgrade under foam roadbed, with flex track and hand-laid specialwork on top. The subgrade is screwed "up" from below (Westcott L-girder fashion) and the other layers are attached with latex caulk. So far, I am very satisfied with my results.
I dont know about valences. But would think your lights will need some place safe to dump heat. I prefer track lighting from the ceiling.