Welcome to the hobby! I have heard of HO scale garden layouts so anything is possible. There are too many unknowns to answer your question (how handy are you, how much money do you have, how big of a layout, how big of a space, details about your space, etc...). Being in an uncontrolled space, you will have to over come problems of humidity changes and temperature changes, not once or twice a year as seasons change, but on a daily basis (cold at night, warm during the day), not to mention wind, incests, UV rays fading paint/degrading plastic and other similar issues. I'd suggest you read some garden railroad forums since your space is basically a covered backyard.
Yes, steel will not fair well outdoors, corrosion may affect electrical connections...you will have to build everything stronger to keep it all working. It will be tough, but not at all impossible. Many people (mainly in europe) build very small layouts and are very happy with them. If you don't have space for a permanent layout, how about a modular layout? I am a big proponent of Free Mo; if you don't know about it, check out the website: http://www.free-mo.org/ also, search youtube for lots of videos showing what is possible. A big advantage for you, being a new modeler, is that you can build several modules that may or may not stand the test of time outdoors, then rebuild any modules (or build new modules to replace old ones) as needed. I guarantee your modeling will get better with each new rebuild and as your skills improve...and it will be much cheaper and less daunting than tearing out a large permanent layout. Start out with your EZ track to get trains running, then upgrade one module at a time. Even if you don't participate in Free Mo setups, having that option is nice (but I highly suggest it, you will probably meet a lot of people that can help you). One tip if you do want to run with others, build the module and lay all the track but don't install any scenery until after your first setup; this will be a 'test', to make sure the track and wiring is up to par with Free Mo standards. Free Mo doesn't allow EZ track per se, but if your modules are at the end of a FreeMo layout, it won't affect the operations of the 'real' FreeMo layout (this is what I did for my first setup). Search for local groups (ours has a yahoo group) and ask for advice. FreeMo, while it has high standards, doesn't mean it's exclusive to a select few, 'rules' can be broken in some instances and as long as trains can run smoothly over your modules, you should have no problem being accepted by the group (but I bet you will be gently urged to eventually improve anything that doesn't work). I would hope the local FreeMo group welcomes you into the hobby and will be patient as you learn and grow with this hobby. In the meantime, work on focusing your modeling 'givens and druthers' and research the prototype and era that you are most interested in.
If you are all about keeping your layout on the patio, it will be helpful to show your space (both photographs as well as drawings with accurate dimensions) and describe yourself and your skills so we can all get to 'know' you a bit better and know if our suggestions are possible, given your skills. For instance, if you have never use a power tool, we won't suggest you build an elaborate mushroom style layout.
Keep posting any questions and even try different forums to get as many angles as possible; I'm all about gathering as much info as possible, then extrapolating an answer based on all the sources, as no one person will probably have the exact answer for your specific situation.
http://delray1967.shutterfly.com/pictures/5
SEMI Free-Mo@groups.io
Some thoughts I have:
Start with a small layout to see how things go and get experience.
I would avoid wood as much as possible and seal any wood you do use for benchwork, structures, etc.
Have some kinda of cover for the layout when not in use to keep dirt/dust off it.
Don't use steel track - NS would be better.
Solder all your wiring connections.
Take inside your locomotives when not operating.
Good luck
Paul
jlzgator!
Welcome to the forum!!!
You have already identified one of the biggest weaknesses to building outside. Steel track, particularly with the humidity, will not work well, unless of course you want to spend all your time cleaning the rust off the track! I'm sure you don't.
You have also already received some very good advice in that you will have to learn how to make your track bullet proof in order to withstand the constantly changing conditions. I'm not an expert in that area but its pretty obvious that your track is going to experience way more stress than an indoor layout. It needs to be able to expand and contract without buckling. If you are happy with the appearance of EZ Track then all that might be needed is to upgrade to a NS version of the same sort of track system.
I will offer a few common sense suggestions:
Stay away from materials that will absorb moisture. Hard shell scenery using plaster may eventually be subject to mold. MDF will absorb moisture whereas exterior grade plywood will not be seriously affected.
Avoid natural materials like real plant tree trunks and lichen that will invite wee beasties to feed on them.
Come up with a system to protect the railroad from severe weather. Something that can be easily put up to stop blowing rain, construction dust etc. Your local marina can recommend someone who can make removable clear soft windows that can be zipped or velcroed into place beside the patio screens. If that is cost prohibitive then design your layout so that a tarp or plastic sheet can be laid over top without destroying the scenery. A few dowels tall enough to keep the plastic from contacting the scenery can be dropped into premade holes in the layout that can be hidden with manhole covers, plants etc. when not in use.
Make sure you have a GFI (Ground Fault Interupter) for the power feed. Saves getting electrocuted. Yes, you may want to light your layout, but not with your burning eyebrows!
I'll quit now! I'm running off at the mouth as is my habit!
Good luck!
Keep us posted.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
The location of this layout may lend itself to use the construction techniques of steel stud and foam. This would drastically reduce the problems associated w/ humidity. Forum member Tomikawa build exclusively w/ this method and touts it's benefits on many occasions. If this would be a perfered method of construction, I would seek his advice on particulars.
Others have covered all other potential issues rather well.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Humidity and temperature changes between day and night, and seasons, is the biggest problem you're going to face when buidling in a non-climate controlled environment.
As some have advised, I think the best surface would be foam instead of wood. A roofing company here in Arizona handles 4-inch thick styrofoam blocks that they cut to any size we ask. Steel studs to support the foam blocks would probably suffer from expansion and contraction less than wood, unless you can use pressure-treated lumber.
Another possibility to consider is to use treated, hollow-core doors. Home Depot sells primed hollow core doors that have no hinge or lockset cutouts, so they don't expand or shrink as much as raw wood. For part of our HO scale club layout, we used two layers of Sound Board, a product made from compressed sugar cane and other vegetable fibers, held in place with plain latex caulk, on top of hollow core doors and have had no problems with expansion or contraction. Our layout has been in place for almost 20 years in a building that has no climate control when no one is present.
Do you have room inside your house to setup a small section of a layout? Do you have space inside where you could store a number of modules?
The high humidity and temperature variations will be bad for everything. In your situation, I would consider a modular layout, with sections you could bring out and assemble when you want to run the whole layout, but which could be safely stored inside during bad weather. If you have a room where you could set up one section inside, that would give you an opportunity to work on the layout indoors, too. On a screen porch, I would also worry about theft. It's not only your track that would suffer in Houston's climate. Your electronics will have a shorter lifetime, and most scenery materials are not designed for high humidity, either.
Take a look at some of the threads by forum member McFunkyMonkey over in the Layouts and Layout Building section. He is an artistic master who works in FreeMo-N, a modular standard that lets him build small modules which may be set up in pretty much any combination, either in his garage or at larger meets where he gets together with friends to fill cavernous halls with one big modular layout.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Poor Dyslexic LION. Him thought you wanted to make a layout in a covered Potato.
Oh Well.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
If you are going to use hollow core doors, paint them thoroughly on all six surfaces with a paint that is specifically designed to withstand moisture, i.e. bathroom paint. Two coats, or maybe even three coats would be advisable.
When I worked at Home Depot in the door department we routinely got interior hollow core doors back that were damaged from even momentary contact with moisture. For example, a customer would put a door on a cart that had a few rain drops on the rails. The doors would swell immediately wherever the water touched them. By the time they got the doors into the store they were ruined.
I would go with foam and steel studs, or construction grade plywood.
Ive done what your thinking of.my DCC layout is on the back screened-in porch.I live in S. FL and started with a 4x8 layout with steel eztrack,rust everyday but i was able to run a train and get more hooked on the hobby.so i say go with whatever you have and make room indoors later.also bring in anything you value.
Oddball Ive done what your thinking of.my DCC layout is on the back screened-in porch.I live in S. FL and started with a 4x8 layout with steel eztrack,rust everyday but i was able to run a train and get more hooked on the hobby.so i say go with whatever you have and make room indoors later.also bring in anything you value.
Thanks all for your replies. Since I am so new, I am a little intimidated by using anything other than EZ track at this point, especially since I haven't done the research to figure out how to connect my controllers to another system. The free-mo standard is a little daunting as well.
I am encouraged by Oddball's reply since that sounds exactly like what I have. And being in south Florida (I'm originally from Miami), I know the humidity there is worse than what we have in Houston. Oddball, have you had any issues with mold on your scenery or buildings? Also, do you do anything to keep dust off like covering the layout when not in use?
jlzgator Oddball Ive done what your thinking of.my DCC layout is on the back screened-in porch.I live in S. FL and started with a 4x8 layout with steel eztrack,rust everyday but i was able to run a train and get more hooked on the hobby.so i say go with whatever you have and make room indoors later.also bring in anything you value. Thanks all for your replies. Since I am so new, I am a little intimidated by using anything other than EZ track at this point, especially since I haven't done the research to figure out how to connect my controllers to another system. The free-mo standard is a little daunting as well. I am encouraged by Oddball's reply since that sounds exactly like what I have. And being in south Florida (I'm originally from Miami), I know the humidity there is worse than what we have in Houston. Oddball, have you had any issues with mold on your scenery or buildings? Also, do you do anything to keep dust off like covering the layout when not in use?
You can use sectional nickel silver track. Other than the plastic roadbed , using regular sectional track really isn't any different than EZ Track. Another option is to use Kato Unitrack. It's basically EZ Track with Nickle silver rails.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
My layout is situated on our screened deck. It gets loads of dust and I have to clean the track much more frequently than I'd like. I don't have anything to cover it with. Not sure how I could do that without squashing trees and buildings.
Most but not all pieces of track have their own droppers attached to the bus wires underneath, and as you can guess those that don't have them will fail at the rail joiners. I'm kept busy attaching extra feed wires. In the semi outdoor location it really makes sense to do the job properly right from the start.
As someone else said, MDF suffers in the damp and it can go mouldy. Backdrops need to have their edges sealed.
My hollow core doors are holding up well, so far. I think it has been about three years now, maybe four.
I have some of those clear plastic drop-down screens to help keep the weather out. Mind you, they don't stay clear for long. They do a good job though.
The layout has had hailstones on it, blown in during storms through the gap between the fibreglass roofing and the wall of the house. Rain has also dripped in through flaws in the roofing. I get spiders, geckoes and hordes of ants. I've even had rodents eat some of the scenery. I never leave any locos out there, and my DCC unit has to be stowed away every time. Because of the damp it's pointless having card buildings or anything printed.
It's not easy being situated out there, but it's the only option I have.
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
No mold yet but starting to find cobwebs in afew spots.the ez track was a nightmare i ran a piece of 220 sandpaper over the rails everyday that i wanted to run a train.not the right way to do it but it worked.now that ive switched to code 70 n/s rail i use a walthers track car and a school eraser for spot cleaning.no cover but i do plan to use a tarp with removable frame to protect from blowing rain.I starting modeling less then a year ago so keep that in mind.
this is my curent layout i reused the wood from first 1, its based on http://hogrr.blogspot.com/
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For 2 years, I built and operated an N-Gauge 3 X 6 on one of our balconys. It was a learn as you go thing; it was partially rained on at times, dust was a constant contender but oddly enough, heat not so much of a factor as I thought it would be, i figure from being in the shade all of the time.
The track was N/S flex, soldered at every joint and expansion and contraction wasn't a real problem. It, like my other pike is dual powered, and neither DC nor DCC locos weren't effected by temps as long as they didn't remain outdoors. I never left locos or rolling stock on the layout after I was through with a session.
Bob Berger, C.O.O. N-ovation & Northwestern R.R. My patio layout....SEE IT HERE
There's no place like ~/ ;)