Hello everyone,
I'm getting ready to have an open house layout tour and I wanted to know what some people use as skirting / draping around the bottom of the layout. I have a lot of rolling carts and boxes that I don't want or need people to look thru. Also have shelves for my engines that I don't want seen. Fabric is not cheap and I need a good 150' for material. I was thinking of using Pro Fabric which is what they use in gardens to help prevent weeds. It's a dark color and I can cut it into sections and the height I need. It's relatively inexpensive ($23 for 150 feet on Amazon). I can reuse the material for other events and I will secure it to the framework with velcro.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Trying to keep the cost down.
Thanks to all who reply!
Neal
Garden fabric might be cheap, but the weight, finish, and flexibility (thus impacting look) is probably going to lead to wish you'd gone a different way. It would be more akin to hanging tarps down there.
I'd probably just scrounge for the biggest cardboard sheets that I could find and stick them down there. No one is looking down there anyhow. You just need a bland surface that doesn't attract the eye.
I use sliding or lift-off Masonite panels to hide the stuff beneath the layout...
...but before that was installed, I used cardboard. You should be able to get large cardboard boxes from an appliance store (ask before you go dumpster diving). Use a utility knife to cut the box so that it can be opened flat, then measure and cut panels to suit your particular needs. There's usually a lot of printing on the outside of these boxes, so make sure to turn that to face the stuff under the layout...
Wayne
I can't seem to access any pictures right now, but I used the drape inclosures from previous yard gazebos. Not sure what type of fabric they are, but you can cut them to length and they don't fray or unravel.
Mike.
My You Tube
I have used similar fabric from Lowes to hang on a fence for a dog pen I had. It was to provide some shade as well las act as a wind break. Worked great. Tough stuff. The fabric was not the ground landscaping material you mentioned but very similar. I think that is a great idea for a temporary cover. However, it is a mesh and you can see through it if there is any light behind it.
I think the large cardboard approach his also a good idea. I used large cardboard a long time ago to cover my floor in my layout room so I could draw up and test my layout plan. I got the big sheets of cardboard from an appliance store. Their appliances came in a cardboard box. A big refrigirator box is great for this.
Paul D
N scale Washita and Santa Fe RailroadSouthern Oklahoma circa late 70's
Thanks to all who replied. I ordered the Scotts Pro Fabric 36" x 150' for less than $25 so this will be able to do my entire layout. Will post pics when I install it, which should be in the next couple weeks!
Don’t laugh but I use black trash bags. I cut them on the seems and open them up so they are larger. You could just buy a box or two and not detatch them and use the whole roll. Afterwards you can stil use them for trash bags. Or you can go to the home improvment store and find plastic sheeting in 50 foot long strips. They usually have it in clear or black. Another possibility is to go to a fabric store and see what they have available on the clearance shelf. I also use old sheets.
No skirting on my layout my wife bought file cabinets that slide under the layout. The one next to my computer/workbench is for storage of train-related supplies and whatever doesn't fit is in the garage. This my layout area half a bedroom looks a bit like an office but it always looks neat when not working.
Joe Staten Island West