Attic Layout Temp questions

[Anonymous]

Well its been a long time since i have been on the forum. I just got finished building my new home!!! And the whole attic is reserved for ME!!!!!! now i have a few questions. I read some previous posts about tempatures affecting track and what not...and im really not too concerned about that as i think i have a pretty good idea where to solder and where to gap to keep things from getting too weird. My concern is about my equipment. i dont want freight cars or locomotives getting damaged by the heat! Now construction will probably not begin on the actual layout till next summer as i didnt contract with the home builder to fini***he attic as i wanted to do that myself to my specs...but i will be installing a tempature controlled attic fan...insulation...and there is one window up there. I guess im just afraid it will get too hot or too cold and cause damage to the plastic. Any stories...or tips...or information on what your attic layout is like would be greatly appriciated...so as i can make decisions about what i need to do to avoid potential problems. Thanks...

John

[jawnt]

Johnny,
There will probably be disagreement[:D], but living in the middle of Texas and having had everything stored in an attic that in the summer reaches 140 deg + for 10 years, there IS NO damage to any of the equipment.
I've been cleaning engines and re-lubing and they run fine. There is no damage to plastic structures or cars.
Not knowing where you are, I have no grasp for your winters. Here outside temp occasionally down into the teens.
All that being said, look to your winter heating and summer cooling. The equipment will be fine, you will have to alow for expansion/contraction of track work. And how hot or cold are you willing to work.
Just keep in mind that sun on a roof can raise attic temps drastically. Good Luck!

John T.

[Anonymous]

John

Thanks from one John to another!!! I live in western Pa...about 20 min north of Pittsburgh It doesnt get quite as hot as Texas...but it gets a lot colder LOL. I guess you could just say im anal retentive and kinda scared LOL. I just want to make sure that all my bases are covered if you know what i mean. I was reading on owens cornings website about their attic insulation products...so im thinking if i insulate properly...install the attic fan to suck the air out of the attic space above where the attic ceiling will be..some ceiling fans...maybe a window AC unit for the summer...and some portable heaters (the ones that look like the old time hot water heaters in old homes) that i should be ok...and have a nice little world up there for my nice little world LOL. I guess as i said before...im kinda scared...im viewing this new home as a fresh start and i want to do as much ( i know i wont get everything) right from the get go as i can. But i do appriciate your feedback...and i mean hey...if it can survive in texas it can survive anywhere right?

John

[jawnt]

John,

With proper insulation, a window AC unit and whatever you need for heat, you should be in business.

The biggest problem for me, of course is heat and you have more cold to worry about.

I have a sheet-metal store room 10x18 that is un-insulated that I occasionally have to cool for the house cats (long story), a Walmart $79.95 window AC unit keeps it at 80 - 85 when the outside is around a 100 ---- for whatever that's worth [C):-)]

John T.

[CP5415]

My layout is in the attic of my home. I live in Ontario.
It's been there for 5 years through staggering heat in the summer to cold temperatures in the winter.
I have windows on either end of the room so in the summer, I open both windows & have a fan going 24/7 blowing air through the room.
In the winter, the heat from the rest of the house goes up there when I'm up there so it heats up after a while.

I have yet to have a problem with my benchwork, roadbed or track.
No warpage or buckling. Then again, I over built my benchwork.
1x4's at 8" centers. Half inch plywood screwed onto this.
The foamboard I've used I glued it down using a foamboard adhesive & then screwed it down to hold it in place.
The locomotives don't seem to like the cold too much, but when they get a couple of laps in they seem to run better.
It'll be up there for another year then we might be moving to a new home. Time will tell.

I hope this helps.

Gordon

[rolleiman]

My layout is in the basement (Michigan) so I can't really speak for a layout in the attic. However, I've had many trains stored in the attic, with temps ranging from about 30 - 110 and everything seems fine. The attic has now been refinished, insulated, ceiling fan, etc and the temperature now ranges more like 50-80 without climate control (AC or Heat). With climate control, it's more of a 10 degree swing.. So, I'm saying go for it.. I think the worse that will happen is some plaster may crack but even that may be a stretch..

Show us some photos when you get things going..

Jeff
[swg]

[MisterBeasley]

How "atticky" is your attic? Does the train area include the roof peak, or do you have room for a flat ceiling? The flat ceiling will help a lot, because you can vent the area above it with gable-end vents and a fan. Our top-floor rooms are full-height, and above them is a triangular attic where I can barely stand in the center. While the top-floor is easy to temperature-control, the upper attic (which is very well insulated) is not suitable for living space, only storage. We have a roof pitch of 45 degrees, so the top floor has a slanting roof-line and knee-walls.

For the top floor, we installed through-the-wall air conditioning units. Here in Massachusetts, we find we need to run them about 3 weeks in the summer to keep the floor comfortable. These are bedrooms, so we typically don't care if it gets hot up there during the day, though.

Regardless of how things are set up, make sure that you have a door to isolate the upper floor from the rest of the house. If you don't, all the heat from downstairs will end up upstairs. In our house, that means the heating zone upstairs doesn't even run, but the one downstairs can't keep the house warm. Closing off the upstairs isolates the zones and lets everything run more efficiently.

[Leon Silverman]

Typical construction of attics includes gable vents which are openings just under the junction where two sidea of an angled roof come together where the roof meets an exterior wall(at the top of the triangle formed where the roof sides meet). They may not be visible, but the bottom edges of your angled roof is also vented, as is the top edge of your roof. These vents are necessary to prevent condensation, but you should be aware of this and realize that the attic is not really a sealed room. Either way, if you make a trainroom up there, the airflow within the rafters of the ceiling cannot be cut off. Also, if you put an air conditioner in that single window, you want to make sure it has an exhaust and ventilation capability in case you do somethine in that room that creates fumes.

[Anonymous]

Depending on what you are using to heat the house, is it possible to run heat to attic, because here in the north east thae attic will become to uncomfortable to be in, paints to dry, plaster to set,etc. I personally want to be comfortable at what I'm doing.

[claycts]

John, All comments are good but the biggest thing that suffers is NOT the trains it is YOU. To hot and you do not want to be up there, TO COLD and you need gloves. Set the room temp for you and the trains will love it. Remember that these trains started life in a wharehouse then into a semi for there to a store wharehouse, store shelf where it first feels a/c. Get the idea.
Plastic deforms at 180 deg F the temp of direct sun thru the backwindow in your car on a 100 deg sunshine day.
Worry about you and the trains are fine.

[bikerraypa]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Johnnydash9

John

Thanks from one John to another!!! I live in western Pa...about 20 min north of Pittsburgh It doesnt get quite as hot as Texas...but it gets a lot colder LOL. I guess you could just say im anal retentive and kinda scared LOL. I just want to make sure that all my bases are covered if you know what i mean. I was reading on owens cornings website about their attic insulation products...so im thinking if i insulate properly...install the attic fan to suck the air out of the attic space above where the attic ceiling will be..some ceiling fans...maybe a window AC unit for the summer...and some portable heaters (the ones that look like the old time hot water heaters in old homes) that i should be ok...and have a nice little world up there for my nice little world LOL. I guess as i said before...im kinda scared...im viewing this new home as a fresh start and i want to do as much ( i know i wont get everything) right from the get go as i can. But i do appriciate your feedback...and i mean hey...if it can survive in texas it can survive anywhere right?

John

Hey John:

I'm about an hour north of Pittsburgh (where are you?), and have my trains in the attic. No problems with function in any kind of weather, although in the heat of summer, even the AC doesn't keep the attic very cool. The trains don't mind, but MY mechanism can't take it sometimes. [:D]


Ray out

[sansouci]

Leon made a very good if unnoticed point: don't jam the insulation tight under the roof decking as there needs to be an airspace from the soffit vents to the ridgeline otherwise 3 bad things will happen: your roof shingles will fail prematurely from high temperatures, condensation will build up on the underside of the roof sheathing, and the dampness will rust your trains. Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate. What makes a good attic may not make a good train room.
Good luck,
Ken

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by sansouci

Leon made a very good if unnoticed point: don't jam the insulation tight under the roof decking as there needs to be an airspace from the soffit vents to the ridgeline otherwise 3 bad things will happen: your roof shingles will fail prematurely from high temperatures, condensation will build up on the underside of the roof sheathing, and the dampness will rust your trains. Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate. What makes a good attic may not make a good train room.
Good luck,
Ken

Ken speaks the truth.. The previous owner of my house packed the space in the rafters with fibreglas insulation and the result is crumbling shingles and rotted sheathing. You can buy baffles to prevent this. They leave about a 1" gap for air flow on the underside of the roof sheathing.. The Best way to finish an attic for use however is to install a ceiling and insulate It, leaving the rafter spaces bare. Be sure there are roof vents as well in the space.. Too many people go through believing that it is best to completely seal a house.. Not true. Wood, even dead wood (the lumber used on your house) Has to brethe.

Jeff