Benchwork for new layout

[Anonymous]

This is my first post to this forum. I am in the planning stage of a new HO layout (my first, I have built a small Nscale module) to occupy a room approx 12' X 16'. I would like to have some suggestions on benchwork. My first idea is to run benchwork around the walls on 2 x 2's screwed to the studs. It would run for 8 feet along the 16' walls and approx 12' across the end of the room and across the middle, at this section the bench work would be 18" deep, completing a squared circle around the room and leaving me an equal space at the other end of the room for work bench and storage. I was planning to use particle board cut in half for the benchwork surface covered with extruded foam. How thick should the foam be? 1" or 2" and why? How can I support the particle brd particularly across the center of the room? My plan was to make some L shaped legs from scrap lumber and strand board that I have lying around. Thanks for any suggestions

[Anonymous]

For runs that long, you should really consider a L-girder or open grid system. It's worth investing in "How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork" when you're building a large (or any, really) layout.

[nslakediv]

for the foam , make sure it is either blue or pink, do not use the white (beaded) foam as it is hard to get smooth when working it. thickness would depend on what type of scenery contour you want. particle board is very hard (predrill all holes) if you use a 2" foam board i would put 1/4" luan(underlayment) for the base. just a tip.

[ndbprr]

I question securing 2x2's to the wall for a different reason. How long do you intend to live there. You will have a lot of hole patching to do for the new owner. With that size it should wedge itself into the room fairly well so it should be solid. Also don;t know if you meant particle board or oriented strand board. True particle board is useless. IT tears up saw blades and has no structural strength. nearly every railroad built from it has sagged regardless of distance between supports. OSB is a different story however.

[orsonroy]

A foam-based layout no more than 18" wide can easily be supported by shelf brackets. Building them out of 2x2s will work, but why not price out metal L brackets? I've used them for my 12x25 three-level layout, and they're inexpensive and fast to install. For the peninsula, you don't need anything more complex than a simple 2x2 box frame support system. If you're not planning any major elevation changes, building with L-girders is a complete waste of time, material and money. In fact, I'd actually suggest building a simple 2x2 studwall for the peninsula, which would support both the shelf bracket support system and a backdrop/view break running down the center.

As for foam and plywood, I'd go with 2" foam and 1/4" plywood (either pine or Lauan). The 1/4" ply will give you all the support and anchoring area you'll ever need, and the 2" foam (instead of 1") will give you plenty of material for carving scenic contours. and the 2" foam gives you the right amount of clearance for N scale, if you decide to plan in any track flying over other track on a higher elevation.

I've been building foam layouts for well over five years now, and am currently working on my own HO home layout, a few Ntrak modules, and a friend's N scale home layout. If you're interested in picks of my rather involved home layout, email me offlist, and I'll send you a few.

[Anonymous]

Question for Joe, Can foam be placed directly on L girders. I am thinking of 1 X 4 pine. How many girders for a 2 X 4' section of foam 2" thick?
Thanks
Jack

[cwclark]

I have some pics here of L girder benchwork..check it out..Chuck
http://community.webshots.com/user/bayouman1

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by uptowntrain

Question for Joe, Can foam be placed directly on L girders. I am thinking of 1 X 4 pine. How many girders for a 2 X 4' section of foam 2" thick?

No, you'd need to use at least a 1/4" piece of plywood as a base for the fom. As for the girders, there's usually two of them per stretch -- they're really just the support for the joists and risers that actually hold the sub-roadbed. Some folks have had success with just 2" foam and metal joists (see some previous messages), but personally I'd worry about long-term sagging if there weren't some kind of periodic supports under the foam & plywood combination.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by uptowntrain

Question for Joe, Can foam be placed directly on L girders. I am thinking of 1 X 4 pine. How many girders for a 2 X 4' section of foam 2" thick?
Thanks
Jack

You're going to find as many opinions on benchwork with foam as there are people using it. You simply need to know your requirements and your materials. You would be surprised how much weight a piece of foam will carry if supported at a reasonable interval, "reasonable" being determined by whether it needs to support simple scenery or the weight of you and a dancing partner.

Since I don't stand, sit or dance on it and don't need a skin of plywood for anchoring any hardware, in the past I've placed foam directly on the parallel girders.

I keep the unsupported span short, maybe 30 inches or so. I haven't seen any evidence of foam sagging where I've used it and if it should sag some years down the road, I suppose a 1x2 brace screwed to the L girders would correct it in no time.

For various reasons my new layout must be extremely light. I built the first section (30" x 7') out of a 1x2 perimeter frame with 1x2s 2' apart flat across the bottom. On top of this I laid 1" foam (yes, a single layer of 1") and built up from there with blocks of foam & with poured foam on bubblewrap & screen . If I press in the middle of the span it will deflect. A brick dropped from my 10' ceiling height would likely go clear through. It would likely also go through my glass tabletop in my kitchen so we simply do not drop bricks from that height. If portability was not an issue, I would simply build it the same way but with 1X4's and 2" foam.

I would also anchor the layout to the wall as you indicated earlier. Unless you built your house for resale over the next few months, use it for your comfort and enjoyment. If and when you sell your house, it will take longer to clean the oven than to patch a few holes in the wall. The added stability will more than be repaid, expecially if you build a lightweight layout.

Finaly, I don't paint the foam on all sides to seal it as was suggested in either this or another thread.The foam I'm using for the initial portions of my new N Scale layout has been kicking around unused for years. I got it 8 years ago and who knows how long it was stored before that. The last 3 years it sat on a couple of planks on the dirt under my cabin in the Northern Adirondacks, sometimes covered with drifting snow & subjected to temps of 40 below. It's working up quite nicely and I expect that it might last this new millenium before I have to worry about deterioration.

Wayne

[rexhea]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jsalemi

For runs that long, you should really consider a L-girder or open grid system. It's worth investing in "How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork" when you're building a large (or any, really) layout.

If you choose L-girder or open grid, this is a very good book. It really helped me out and made my layout easy to modify and expand where needed.

You may see a need to have a combination of two or more support systems as I have.

REX