Sounds good to me Dave. Glad ya finally made it home.
TF
The layout and garage improvements are in a bit of a holding pattern right now. I'm waiting to get a quote for all the drywall and electrical work, and I'm waiting to make sure that our nephew is free of covid before I bring him back to help out.
In the mean time, I have found a local printer who can print the track plan 1:1 on 3' wide paper. They are surprisingly inexpensive. The only thing I have to do regarding that is to figure out how to convert the 3rd PlanIt drawings to a pdf. I have asked Eldorado Software (3rd PlanIt) for hints on how to do that, but if anyone here has the answer I would greatly appreciate your help.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
In the process of cleaning out the garage we had to move the layout around a bit. It was more difficult than I had hoped it would be. The 4" casters aren't quite up to the task. I figure that even with the floor refinished it will still be reasonably hard to move. I looked at installing larger casters but they are really expensive.
I came up with a solution which will be economical and easy to install, and which should improve the rolling charactaristics considerably. I decided to simply add a second set of 4" casters to the base frames. That will double the contact surface, or, to put it a different way, it will cut the weight on each caster by half therein reducing the rolling resistance of each caster. Whether it will make a change overall has yet to be determined.
I'll have to wait a bit to see if my theory works. My nephew, who will be helping me build the yard benchwork, has just been exposed to Covid so if he gets sick it will be the better part of a month before he can do the work.
Hi John,
I'm going to have the floor refinished with one of the modern epoxy replacements. Traditional epoxy tends to turn yellow over time. The newer stuff does not. I just have to choose a supplier and a colour.
I want to have everything else in the garage done before we tackle the floor. It will not be cheap. The closer I look at the floor, the worse I realize the condition is. It's going to require a fair bit of grinding to get down to a solid surface.
The steel plate that will be used to cover the extension cord that runs to the layout has arrived. It is much more substantial than I thought it would be so no worries about the cord getting damaged.
That's good news, Dave. Hope you can keep us all informed on the garage progress.
What did you finally decide on the floor?
York1 John
Water Level Route Glad to hear you are back home.
Glad to hear you are back home.
Likewise. Always good to have the crew back on board.
Just need two or three back.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Mike
I spent the day relaxing on the deck. There was a beautiful warm breeze from the south, and I just put my feet up and chilled.
Tomorrow, it's back to work on the garage!
I have let the contractor know that I am back at home. Hopefully he and his electrician can come by next week to get the details needed to finalize the quote.
Wife and I have been watching House lately - seemed there was an epidose doing the first season about a vitamin deficiency. In my wifes case, she had muscle weakness when she was living in England - north and not much natural sunlight. She was prescribed mega doses of Vit D. It helped. Since she imigrated to Virginia, we have lots of sun exposure and it hasn't been generally a problem since then.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Trouble these days are you have to be your own doctor to some extent. Wife had severe issues and doc's and all their tests did not fix, we did. Turns out she was extreamly allergic to vitimin D supliments and the new recomandation for such was what caused the proublem.
Hi David,
Thank you for your thoughts. I wish all the best for you and Dawn as well.
I have to say that, despite the long list of medical issues that I have experienced throughout my adult life, I still have a very positive and hopeful outlook. You seem to share that approach.
I say "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!!"
Thoughts & Prayers for a speedy recovery and t be home soon.
Still stuck in the hospital waiting for my sodium level to stabilize.
I'll take this further off topic, but I remember in high school, our locker room had a salt tablet dispenser on the wall. I think today that is considered dangerous. I haven't seen those since the 1960s.
It tasted great after a hot, sweaty session on the practice field.
Dave, hope your recovery continues and you can come home soon.
Hi maxman,
I'll save those for a special day. I have to keep in mind that the chips and the chocotate pretzels share lots of fat which can cause liver problems.
The good thing is that the cirrhosis will allow me to live a 'normal' lifestyle, albeit somewhat restricted in culinary choices.
I don't see you complaining about the chips and the chocolate covered pretzel.
hon30critter Hi maxman! That's a disturbing question I am now in a private room! I'm going to be kept for another 2-3 days. They have finall realized what is causing all of my oddball problems like fatigue and muscle pain, bloated stomach and flu like symptoms. I have low sodium. It should be easy to treat but it will two or three days. It is not an oversight by the lab. When I came in the levels were fine and they stayed that way for 3-4 days. The reason it dropped off was that I had stopped eating at all for two days and then I was put on a sodium free diet for another 4 days They are keeping me until I am stabilized which shouldn't take too long. Cheers!! Dave
Hi maxman!
That's a disturbing question
I am now in a private room! I'm going to be kept for another 2-3 days. They have finall realized what is causing all of my oddball problems like fatigue and muscle pain, bloated stomach and flu like symptoms. I have low sodium. It should be easy to treat but it will two or three days.
It is not an oversight by the lab. When I came in the levels were fine and they stayed that way for 3-4 days. The reason it dropped off was that I had stopped eating at all for two days and then I was put on a sodium free diet for another 4 days
They are keeping me until I am stabilized which shouldn't take too long.
Hi maxman.
I'm kind of glad that you are not my dietitian. The light beer doesn't appeal to me, and ever other beer will have alcohol. Livers can also suffer what is called "fatty liver disease" which is more common than cirrhosis and equally deadly.
Low sodium? Tonight's dinner special will be low carb beer with heaping side plates of potato chips and chocolate coated salted pretzels.
hon30critterThey are keeping me until I am stabilized which shouldn't take too long. Cherrs!!
That's good news! Keep the body recovering and do what the docs tell you to do!
hon30critterWhat happened was that the server at the hospital bit the dust and the IT technicians are still workiing on it.
Are they the same guys that are working on the forum issues?
Where did Dave go?
I don't blame you for asking. What happened was that the server at the hospital bit the dust and the IT technicians are still workiing on it. I also picked up a bug that left me left me with a very thick head and a fever. My sense of balance is way off the mark, and it has taken more than 45 minutes just compose.
This business of sitting around in a hospital is getting expensive! I just ordered 64 sq. ft. of slatwall to replace some old masonite pegboard and the crude hanging system for some long handled garden tools. If I like it I'll put a panel above the workbench as well.
Big change of direction!
One of the nice things about being stuck in the hospital is having lots of time to read. So, I have been reading about the Trusscore panels and I have come across quite a few negative reviews. In fact, close to 20% of the reviews are rated at 2 out of 5 or lower. The comments range from being tricky to install to lack of durability, and perhaps most important, poor appearance. The panels would also cost about $2000 more than drywall.
For those reasons I have decided to stay with drywall. My contractor's drywall person is an artist! The work he did for us in our kitchen and dining room was flawless. He even took the time to straighten a section of the living room wall that was crooked at no extra charge.
While I was exploring wall storage options I came across a paneling system by a company called Trusscore. They make PVC 16" wide corrugated smooth wall and ceiling panels up to 20' long, and they make slat wall panels as well.
Their installations look very sleek and professional, and the installation process is much cleaner and faster than drywall. There is no taping, filling and sanding of the joints and screws. The Trusscore mounting screws are all hidden and there are trim strips for all of the seams.
My contractor has agreed to doing two quotes, one for drywall and the other for the Trusscore system. I'm sure that the Trusscore system will be more expensive but if it is within reason, the professional appearance would justify the extra money and it would certainly enhance the value of the house.
As a bonus, the company is located in Ontario.
You're welcome Dave. Here is a little something to help you pass the time, beats staring at the ceiling.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Thanks Brent.
Great idea! The larger office chair wheels will negate the need to recess the plate into the floor at all. We only have to cut the cable trench.
hon30critterHowever, the office chair wouldn't roll over that height because the wheels are much smaller.
Dave, you can get aftermarket office chair wheels. My friend has 8" pneumatic wheels on his office chair, that he uses in his basement with an uneven floor.