The flooring looks great Mark. I'm so glad to see that your wife is contributing so much, and having her friend pitch in too is fantastic!
You aren't exactly a spring chicken so I'm not surprised that your knees are sore and blistered. I'm glad that you have decided to give yourself some time off. The amount of work that you have put into the layout in just a few months is amazing. I think I have blisters on my brain from thinking about it!
Just remember to keep things fun. If you take a break you don't have to apologise to anyone!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Thank goodness for friends, especially those willing to lend a hand. I keep seeing progress, and doggedness, so that's good between the two of you, Mark.
You'll be back to cutting milled lumber in no time at all.
Thanks, Douglas!
18 June 2020
We've progressed to finished flooring! We picked up 50(!) boxes of vinyl plank flooring. Here the first two pieces have been "installed" on the subfloor:
We have a long way to go!
And here we've finished the first row, and are about to start on the second. This was June 12th.
Two days later and we've got about three feet installed along the wall, and the alcove is complete as well:
This was about five hours' work total. Then I discovered that my right knee had a huge blister on it from all the kneeling and moving around. Knee pads weren't quite cutting it. So I'm off flooring duty for a week or two.
But my wife and her friend Lina, visiting from Spokane, jumped right in! My wife was chomping at the bit to try her hand at this, so off they went (sorry for the slightly blurry picture):
These planks lock together on all four sides, so they're not easy to lay. It took a dozen or so planks for me to get the hang of it, and my wife is learning the same thing. Still, we're getting there!
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I like the finished look of the trim and painted flanges. I'm not a big fan of the way drop ceilings look, so leaving the joists bare was a time and money saver, IMO.
If your wife happened to have a few sisters or more friends, you might be able to paint the entire ceiling black and those joists would disappear, also being on the backside of the bright lights would help.
Or like your mudder guy, maybe think about hiring a painter to spray the ceiling black before the floor goes in.
- Douglas
Thanks, Rich and Dave!
11 June 2020
I got the first bits of ceiling trim up in the alcove:
It looks a lot better than the ragged edge of the sheetrock.
My wife's friend Lina is visiting from Spokane. Not being one to pass up an opportunity, I put her to right to work painting the ceiling joist flanges:
We're going to pick up the vinyl plank flooring in the next day or two and start laying it in the alcove, where essentially all the painting is finished. Layout time is getting closer!
richhotrainAwesome photos, Mark. Damm, that looks good.
I agree!
Awesome photos, Mark. Damm, that looks good.
Rich
Alton Junction
9 June 2020
The second and final wall coat was finished a few days ago. It didn't come out too bad:
I've started on the trim painting. There's enough done for me to see that it really subdues the lower flanges on the ceiling joists. They, and the wall supports, really receed into the background once painted.
Douglas - Thanks! I always feel like I'm progressing at a snail's pace, but I have to admit this past month saw a lot of progress.
Dave - Two coats certainly will do it! If (as I expect) there are still some areas that could use a third coat, the official story will be that those areas are weathered and sun-bleached. Remember, these are the Q's exterior colors.
I meant to get the primer tinted when I bought it, but I just plain forgot. I've done that before (tinted the primer, that is) and it works great! But at this point it is what it is.
Rich - You're right in that wall prep is extremely important. My prep failure was in priming the wall white while planning to put on a dark color. Funny thing, though - the liquid primer had a distinctly grey cast to it. It turned white after drying.
hon30critter richhotrain Something had to be wrong with the wall surface preparation to require 4 coats of paint. If properly primed and with quality paint, two coats should be sufficient. Rich, I'm a little bit perturbed that you would dismiss our painter's professionalism so quickly. His work ethic is incredible. He uses Benjamin Moore paints. He takes all of the wall plates and ceiling fixture plates down and then reinstalls them. He removes and rehangs all of the pictures and wall decorations. He fixes drywall problems at no extra cost. We have never found a single drop of stray paint. We have used his services many times and we will use him many more times again. FYI, he primed the bedroom twice. The previous colour was a hideous dark brown. Obviously we didn't have a clue about decorating when we did that, and there were problems with old wallpaper glue bleeding through the brown. It was his decision to do the four coats, and he did not charge for the additional paint required. The resulting colour is very rich. Cheers!! Dave
richhotrain Something had to be wrong with the wall surface preparation to require 4 coats of paint. If properly primed and with quality paint, two coats should be sufficient.
Rich, I'm a little bit perturbed that you would dismiss our painter's professionalism so quickly. His work ethic is incredible. He uses Benjamin Moore paints. He takes all of the wall plates and ceiling fixture plates down and then reinstalls them. He removes and rehangs all of the pictures and wall decorations. He fixes drywall problems at no extra cost. We have never found a single drop of stray paint. We have used his services many times and we will use him many more times again.
FYI, he primed the bedroom twice. The previous colour was a hideous dark brown. Obviously we didn't have a clue about decorating when we did that, and there were problems with old wallpaper glue bleeding through the brown. It was his decision to do the four coats, and he did not charge for the additional paint required. The resulting colour is very rich.
Cheers!!
richhotrainSomething had to be wrong with the wall surface preparation to require 4 coats of paint. If properly primed and with quality paint, two coats should be sufficient.
hon30critter I love the wall colour, but you may find that unfortunately two coats won't do it. We had our master bedroom painted a similar colour a few years ago and it took four coats to get the proper depth of colour. That was with a professional painter doing the work.
I love the wall colour, but you may find that unfortunately two coats won't do it. We had our master bedroom painted a similar colour a few years ago and it took four coats to get the proper depth of colour. That was with a professional painter doing the work.
Hi Mark,
That's a huge amount of progress in just one month!
I love the wall colour, but you may find that unfortunately two coats won't do it. We had our master bedroom painted a similar colour a few years ago and it took four coats to get the proper depth of colour. That was with a professional painter doing the work. Hopefully you won't suffer the same fate.
Mark, you do really good work, both with construction and making videos. I can't wait to see the layout get started.
And the amount of work you've done since settling in Wyoming is impressive.
3 June 2020
I just uploaded my latest update video:
Over the last few days we've primed the train room:
And applied the first finish coat of paint:
Dave - Thanks! I hope so.
Mike - Thanks! The along-the-walls backdrops will be separate, mounted on 1X2 stringers along the top and bottom of the backdrop. The top will be capped with a thin white finish molding piece (I think). If I do it right, it should look kinda nice.
Looks great Mark! I taped and finished our place up North, and when I started painting, I noticed a few areas that I needed to touch up.
Will the backdrops be a seperate thing, attached to the layout and walls? It will be a nice contrast to the room colors.
Mike.
My You Tube
PruittThe walls will be Indian Red and trimwork will be Bronze Green. These were the standard colors used on Burlington structures during my modeling era, 1930-1945.
That will look great!
Thanks, Crandell!
I hope I can start the layout before the end of July. Painting the walls should be finished within a week, and ceiling beams by the end of the week after. I need to paint and install trim boards around the top of the walls, but I'll do that piecemeal, starting above where the Casper part of the layout goes.
The biggest single part left is the finished flooring and baseboards.
Here are the colors I'll be painting the train room:
The walls will be Indian Red and trimwork will be Bronze Green. These were the standard colors used on Burlington structures during my modeling era, 1930-1945.
Nice!! After all of that, what seems like prep work (and a huge delay), you'll really get excited and feel your juices flowing as you paint and clean up. I don't know if you intend to start construction of the rails this summer, but you'll certainly be ready to git at it in the fall.
I'm happy for you, Mark. "Ater the battle, the reward."
30 May 2020
Work on the train room is progressing nicely now.
Most of the lighting is up:
And taping and mudding of the sheetrock began May 26th. It's about done now - just a bit of sanding and touch-up to be done tomorrow. I'm sure glad I was able to convince my wife to let me hire somebody!
How it looks as of this afternoon:
Monday I'll be able to start priming the walls. Getting exciting - Completion is in sight!
Pruitt This response gets you my "reply of the year" award, Rich! I couldn't stop laughing!
This response gets you my "reply of the year" award, Rich! I couldn't stop laughing!
Yeah, Dave's comment was hurtful and surely directed at me.
Actually, the truth hurts and Dave was spot on. My basement layout is in an unfinished basement, and 21 years after our home was built, tiny wood chips can still be occasionally found on my layout. The likely culprit is the harwood flooring on the first floor where the nails protrude through the plywood underlayment.
hon30critter richhotrain HEY!!! Ooops! Sorry!! I didn't mean to step on anyone's toes. All I was trying to say was that Mark had come so far that it might be disappointing to not go the rest of the way. Just to make you feel better Rich, I haven't figured out how to make my garage even close to looking respectable when I start taking pictures. I'm thinking of buying a bunch of flat blue bed sheets and just covering everything in sight. Dave
richhotrain HEY!!!
Ooops! Sorry!! I didn't mean to step on anyone's toes. All I was trying to say was that Mark had come so far that it might be disappointing to not go the rest of the way.
Just to make you feel better Rich, I haven't figured out how to make my garage even close to looking respectable when I start taking pictures. I'm thinking of buying a bunch of flat blue bed sheets and just covering everything in sight.
HEY!!!
richhotrainHEY!!!
hon30critter I was worried that if you had left the walls unfinished you would have become quite disappointed over time. Now it's going to look like a proper 'train room' instead of just another layout in a basement.
I was worried that if you had left the walls unfinished you would have become quite disappointed over time. Now it's going to look like a proper 'train room' instead of just another layout in a basement.
PruittAfter we talked further about taping and mudding, my wife relented and agreed to let me hire a guy to do that work. He should be starting in a few days. So we're back to the original plan - a nearly fully finished train room!
I'm glad that your wife has agreed to hire a professional drywall finisher. I was worried that if you had left the walls unfinished you would have become quite disappointed over time. Now it's going to look like a proper 'train room' instead of just another layout in a basement.
22 May 2020
And lighting work continues. I'm now just over half done with train room lights. The old lights have been disconnected.
One of the new LED panels had to be mounted to the underside of a heating duct. Here's that job in process:
The black strips on either side of the fixture are the visible parts of a carpet square I put up as an insulator between the duct and the light. Forced air heat doesn't get all that hot, but it made for cheap insurance.
Disconnecting the old lights in the train room meant I also had to modify the remaining existing lighting for the other side of the stairway. Where a single pole switch used to turn all the basement lights on from the bottom of the stairs, I now want to control them from three locations - bottom of the stairs, middle of the hallway on the side of the stairs opposite the train room (location of the new - someday to be built - library), and the wall the behind the stairs, which will be the entrance to the train room (and where the train room light switches are). It'll make sense someday, I promise (I hope!).
That meant pulling the switches out of the box at the bottom of the stairs, and replacing the single pole switch (to the left in the following photo) with a new 3-way. The other two switches are 3-ways for the lights at the top and bottom of the stairwell.
Boy, what a mess of wiring! But by proceeding methodically, checking off each connection on my wiring diagram as I made it in the box, I completed the task in a couple of hours with no major hiccups.
And also this past week, I trimmed out the windows and we finished installing the sheetrock on the stairway and furnace walls. Here's the stairway wall:
After we talked further about taping and mudding, my wife relented and agreed to let me hire a guy to do that work. He should be starting in a few days. So we're back to the original plan - a nearly fully finished train room!
And the beat goes on...
Lighting installation is going good. At the end of the week, I'm a bit less than halfway done, but the results even now are apparent. In the areas where the lights are up, the coverage is much brighter and more even than before.
Here's a comparison of lights off and lights on:
11 May 2020
I appreciate everyone's thoughts on making the mudding and taping less onerous. But, having had very sensitive lungs for my entire life already (asthma when I was 5, and my mother smoked like a Big Boy through all my years at home), I'm just not going to do that work myself. Even with a decent respirator (which I have), I don't want to expose myself to the dust over the weeks it would take me to do the work.
So that means train room prep is nearly complete! I have a few sheets of drywall to hang yet, and I need to trim out the windows and hang the lights. Beyond that the room is done. There will be no mudding and taping and sanding of joints and screws, and no paint either. With the walls only semi-finished, there will also be no finished flooring. I can walk on OSB just fine. That should all save another $1500 or so.
Here's the first light, hung today. The rest will be done in the next few weeks.