I have a 24' x 24' garage. I am considering building a train room 12' x 8' in back of one side. It will be totally enclosed as I will also use the garage for my woodworking tools and generate a lot of dust. I am thinking of cantilevering the last two feet protruding forward to allow the front end of one car plenty of room to fit in that side of the garage. Has anyone tried this and can suggest problems or issues to consider? I will have a 24" shelf layout around the perimeter of the room allowing 48" in the center for plenty of room to more around.
Building train rooms in garages is very popular here in Florida where we have neither basements nor attics.
.
Anything is possible. Here are my big Watch-Outs for where I have seen failures.
1) Insulate everything as much as possible.
2) Be sure not to block access to any part of the garage door mechanicals.
3) Carpet the floor.
4) The wall must be anchored securely to the floor and celing.
5) Do not use your new wall to support the layout weight.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I add to the above:
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
I guess it all depends what climate your in.
As Kevin said, insulation is good, if your in a cold climate, you can heat the room, if your in a hot climate, you can cool it.
Yes, the new walls you build to close off this room need to be securely anchored, as Kevin said. I don't get the don't support your layout on the new wall, I don't see why not, unless your going to take it all down in future, than it wouldn't matter, and if a car ran in to the wall, it would all get damaged anyway.
I guess the big thing for me is the climate/location your in, and heating/cooling the area so you can work in there, and there are not huge temperature swings, witch could affect the operation of the layout, and the materials it's build out of.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the cantilever, if you could show a sketch, that might help.
I'm sure you will deal with lighting, electrical, etc., as you design your space.
Mike.
My You Tube
I built my layout without legs in the front of the layout. I used 18"x16" heavy duty brackets secured to the studs in the wall. Where I needed a bracket and no stud (Florida builds are not like New Jersey builds) I used 100lb. toggle bolts, all from Home Depot. In addition, I added a 2"x2" leg that is attached to the front of the frame and goes to the floor against the wall.
My layout has 1/2" plywood on top and it does not move! Hope this helps.
Neal
Neal, looks nice, but is this in your garage?
Tony Koester famously used part of his garage by building a cantilevered wall to just clear the hood of the car. Diagrams of it have appeared ina couple of articles on his layout. Not as easy to build as a plain wall of course, but if you are using say 2' wide benchwork - it actually gains you 2' in the train room.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
mbinsewi Neal, looks nice, but is this in your garage? Mike.
Mike,
Not in a garage; however if you have a wall with secure studs (wood or metal), then building the layout as I did will not be an issue. This room is/was a third room in our place in Florida. It's too hot to build in the garage and since we do the snowbird routine, the car needs to be in the garage and on the battery tender when we're back home.
Here's one additional factor that has not yet been mentioned and could be significant depending on your region - humidity. This is especially the case where you are liable to be bringing a wet car into the garage or one with slush packed in the wheel wells. I am amazed at the condition of some old paint cans and the like that have been forgotten for three or four years in back of some of my storage shelves. If such is at all even a possibility, I'd suggest finding a spot for a dehumidifier, even if it were used only on a seasonal basis. Moist air gets everywhere. For that reason, I'd also consider weatherizing seals on the door and sealing material of some sort under the bottom plates of the walls that you install on the garage floor.
Then again, I reside in Oregon where we rust more often than tan.
John
mbinsewiYes, the new walls you build to close off this room need to be securely anchored, as Kevin said. I don't get the don't support your layout on the new wall,
This might be a hot humid Florida thing, but layouts where the weight is supported by the new interior garage wall always start to sag as the studs slowly bend. I think this is rtelated to the heat and humity on the other side of the wall.
A couple of extra legs, and you will never have this problem.
I don't know where in Florida you may be located, but many of the homes are built with metal studs due to something called..HURRICANES! Seriously, if you're dividing the garage and you're running studs to the joists in the ceiling of the garage, you should have no problem, even with wood. Now if moisture or humidity is an issue, and you are using wood, let the wood acclimate to the garage for a week then paint it to seal it and attach them to the joists, assuming you're running the wall from floor to ceiling. If you're in Florida, suggest you use metal studs.
Thanks for the replies and ideas. I have been away from the internet for a couple days. I will definitely incorporate many of these ideas in my new train room. If anyone has a link to Tony Koestner's cantilievered train room I would appreciate seeing his construction technique. Thanks again all.
I'd like to know more about that too. I'm wondering which layout, the Allegheny Midland, or the Nickel Plate?
There are tons of pics out there when you Google him, but nothing on garage and cantilever that I can see.
I think I found it:
http://mrr.trains.com/-/media/Files/PDF/Layout%20visits/2014/12/TheThirdSubdivisionofNickelPlatesStLouisLine.pdf
See if that works. Scroll down to page 7.
That was generally my idea although the diagram does not give any detail as to how he framed it. My thought is to run double 2.x 4 studs at each corner all the way to the floor for more support. Hopefully, studs on 24" centers on the 12' wall with a plate tied into the ceiling joists will provide enough support for the cantilivered wall. I will preassemble with 3 1/2" deck screws before raising the cantilivered portion as one unit.
That sounds like a good plan. You could probably span the 12' thats going across the garage, and across the hood of the car, with double 2x6's, on edge, nailed together to make a "beam" that will rest on the double 2x4 legs your planning, and the wall framing would sit on the 2x6's.
It's not a bearing wall, other than holding itself up, and with it being fastened to the ceiling joist, and sitting on those 2x4 post, I would think it should work great.
I don't know about building codes in your area, but here in WI, the garage side of the cantilever, or bump-out, or what ever you want to call it, would have to be finished with 5/8" drywall for fire protection.
Post a plan, when you get one drawn, that shows a cross section of your idea.