We are building a new house and my wife has graciously granted me a train room, not in the basement but on the second floor near the guest bedrooms. The questions comes as to what will the flooring be in the train room. This will be my first large layout(last ones were on 4x8 plywood).
What flooring is under your layouts? Hardwood, carpet, tile, what??
Concrete. I'm in the basement. At some point I'll paint it and after the benchwork is built I'll put down carpet runners in the aisles.
If you're going to build models in there, I recommend wood. Unless you have a very short nap, you won't find any small parts that wind up on the carpet..
Enjoy
Paul
Mine is on epoxy painted concrete, since it occupies a room that was designed to be a two car garage.
I recommend a smooth floor. There will be sawdust, plaster dust, and small parts that wind up on the floor. Dealing with that on carpet is a nightmare. You also don't want your bench work to change height unevenly as the carpet mattes down under the weight.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
PS:
Welcome to the forum.
Sometime I too have to have a very short nap before continuing my search for very small parts!
I vote for carpeting if not in a basement and sometimes even then. I've had a few things dropped, that I was sure would break but the carpet pad provided enough bounce to save the day. Makes under the bench crawling much more comfortable but does preclude the use of a mechanic's roller unless you lay a small sheet of plywood down lst.
Slippery/smooth/hardwood floors may not inspire as much liability assurance for an insurance claim.
Paranoid but something to consider anyway.
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
I have carpeting and I love it. It vacs up just fine. It does not show stains much and it is wonderful to walk on. I have a large "jewler's apron" to catch the small parts that I drop by the work bench. I have heard, and made, all the arguements againt carpeting, but now that I have it, I love it.
Welcome
My layout room floor is tile. This both looks good, is easy to clean and find small parts on. It makes the room look good, and if you really mess it up by spilling paint or glue, you can just wipe it up or replace some tiles if really bad. I would not recommend a finished wood floor. It will get too messed up, and carpet is worse. Once the layout is finished, you can put down carpet runners of carpet tile.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I have vinyl flooring under my layout. In a bedroom. Yes, vinyl flooring in a BR. {it was easier and cheaper to lay down after part of the floor had to be replaced and to cut down on allergens}
Finding small parts such as coupler springs on a carpet can be a nightmare.
Carpet with foam backer is easier to stand on for long periods of time than a hard surface. SO are rubber chefs mats, though and you won't loose coupler springs with the rubber chefs mats.
Carpets can stain if you are careless and knock over a bottle of "railroad tie brown" or "grimy black"!
Tile can be nice, but I would take hardwood over tile anyday. both are durable and easy to find those durn small parts on.
The choice is yours. You will get as many opinions as there are floor types. ANd as many as there are model RR's sitting on top the floor types. From as many modelers modeling RR's on top of said floors.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Congratulations!
My layouts have resided the last 17 years in a second floor 11x15 room. Before I built my first room filling layout, I covered the wall to wall carpeting (over floorboards of course) with some thick plastic, and then picked up some carpet remnants to place over that.
When we got new carpeting, I did not replace the carpet in the train room, but took up the plastic and just placed a carpet remnant over the old wall to wall. I'm still careful about messing up the carpet, but it isn't a critical thing so its OK.
Ohhh, having a layout in a climate controlled room is great. HOWEVER, you will probably end up doing all your wood butchering and the like in the garage or driveway, and then you will carry the stuff up (and down and up..) to the trainroom - without making a mess in the other parts of the house.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I have carpet in a finished basement. If something falls, it's not that bad.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Mine is in a small trailer so the flooring is 3/4" plywood (not particle board or MDF) topped with linoleum tile. This proved to be somewhat dusty so I put down a cheap thin area rug. That seems to help keep the dust down but owing to the fact there are dirt roads all around us here there's no escaping it. A good vacuuming of the rug keeps the dust problem at bay.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Linoleum cleans more easily, and small things that drop will be easier to find with eyes at floor level. Larger things will usually mean more pieces to find, but they'll be easier to spot.
However, for appearance and comfort, it is hard to beat a good quality commercial grade carpet, the short pile kind that is often found in mall stores or hotel hallways. Then again, construction processes, particularly soldering and scenicing will almost always result in a point-outable boo boo. Glues that drip make really hard boo boos.
I read that....someplace.
-Crandell
selectorconstruction processes, particularly soldering and scenicing will almost always result in a point-outable boo boo. Glues that drip make really hard boo boos.
Right now, my basement train room has a concrete floor. I could live with that, but eventually, for aesthetic reasons, I'd like to upgrade. I've considered a number of flooring materials. Recently, I saw garage flooring that fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I haven't yet priced those to see how cost effective they would be. I'd also like to put in ceiling tiles and skirting on the benchwork to hide the storage space below, but first things first. My main priority right now is to have the entire mainline completely scenicked. Then I can turn my attention toward the window dressing.
Commercial grade/ foam backed carpet for me. I got it from a jobsite that was replacing the flooring. It's a darker color, goes good with the facia. If (when) I lose a part, the nap is short enough that a flashlight on the floor will see the shadow. It's laid over a sealed concrete floor in a 30'x 42' trainroom. Real easy on the feet, knees and legs. I like it!
No stains yet, but most stain-inducing work is done.
Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
Kevin, congratulations on getting a train room, I have a train / garage my self.
I just got done doing the kitchen floor and I high recommend Novalis self sticking title. I used part number 0171374, it is 18 X 18 inch sections. Very easy to work with and very cost effective. I bought it by the box, 10 pieces are $20.00 now, it was $18.00 when I started. You can find it at Lowe's. Here is a picture of it while I was doing the floor.
So far it has been very durable. Besides Tiff in the picture I have Shaddy a 140 pound Irish Wolfhound that loves to run in the house. She has yet to scratch the floor. All so Tiff, the little white dog. She will be 16 in a few months, lets just say here kidneys are not what they use to me. Tile is not coming up anywhere.
Cuda Ken and as well.
I hate Rust
My layout is in a basement, so I sealed the floor with an epoxy paint. A word to the wise, DO NOT sprinkle the paint flecks they give you to spruce it up! Have you ever tried to find and N scale coupler on the floor when there are all these light and dark brown specs? Anyway, after the benchwork was put up, I used a carpet tile from the local big box hardware store. It only is over the aisles, so the legs of the benchwork still rest on the concrete floor. If I get some solder, glue, or paint on it, I can just pull up that tile and replace it with another one. It really gave the room a finished look.
My trainroom is the basement, and with the exception of a small bathroom/shower, it is all mine. Floor is concrete obviously, but I laid vinyl tiles down 31 years ago, and about 20 years ago I laid carpet over the vinyl/concrete. The carpet is a commercial grade and has weathered time very nicely. Keeps the floor nice and warm while laying on my back doing wiring, etc.
Bob
My train room (non-climate-controlled garage) has a sealed concrete floor. At the moment, I put a cheap throw rug where I'm standing if I'm going to work in the same immediate area for a while. Sometime in the future I intend to pick up some carpet cutoffs and seconds (cheap!) to lay in the aisleways. As for the somewhat larger floor surface under the benchwork, since I don't walk there and it will be concealed by under-fascia drapery, it will remain concrete.
My last layout before Nevada was in a carpeted room. I put sheet plastic over the carpet when I was working, both to protect the carpet and to simplify the hunt for vagrant parts. When the layout was removed, the carpet was clean and the missing parts roster was limited to a few coupler springs.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
My layout room is about 15x30 located in the basement. I had mulled over this too and decided upon using a laminate flooring. I purchased some light oak laminate flooring from Menard's on sale. This purchase, when on sale was actually cheaper than having carpet installed or installed by myself. It looks really nice, cleans up nice and takes a beating. I figured I could always lay carpet runners once the layout was built if I needed more comfort. Using laminate also keeps down on the dust,dirt and stains. Only drawback I see is maybe comfort level. I figured if my feet hurt I will just wear slippers or tennis shoes. Cost was around $350 for everything. Good luck.
Carpeting makes the most sense in a non-basement situation.
However, if that room is already carpeted, do yourself (and your wife) a favor and buy a drop cloth used by painters to cover the carpet while you are building and landscaping the layout.
Not only will the drop cloth make it easier to find lost small items but it will also save the carpet from paint, glue and lord knows whatever else you might drop or spill.
Rich
Alton Junction
A drop cloth is a good idea and will keep the carpet clean. An alternative is the stick down plastic that re-modelers use to keep from tracking dirt all over your carpets. It comes in a roll about 18 inches wide and resembles heavy scotch tape on a roll with the adhesive side out. You just roll it out and it stays in place until you remove it. Don't put it down on wood floors though. When you replace it or remove it you will be surprised how much stuff it removes from the carpet.
Joe
I used rubber interlocking squares (about 2' X 2') that I found at Sears (tool department) on sale. Other home centers would probably have them also. They had 2 types, one with carpeting and the other just rubber, I chose the plain rubber. They are soft on the feet and knees and easy to vacuum. I had some carpeting before but it didn't do much for comfort.
Thanks everyone for the input. Now comes the discussion with my wife as to which she prefers.
My old train room had carpet and the new one will, too. Not by choice, but because that's what's there.
I've had train rooms with wood floors, and vinyl tile. I think it's a toss up - On carpet small parts are harder to find, but they don't bounce as far. Hard smooth floors do clean up well, but a drop cloth on major scenery days keeps the carpet looking decent. Other carpet upsides are ithat it is more comfortable to lay on when under the layout, and it does deaden some noise. It may reduce the damage when a loco or prized rolling stock falls (I haven't tested this).
I doubt that there is a best flooring for a train room.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
I vote for these squares also. They are easy on the legs, in expensive and if you have a spill or stain on one, you just pull it up and replace it. I got mine at Lowes.
Tim Fahey
Musconetcong Branch of the Lehigh Valley RR
I think I'd pick "standard" oak flooring--smooth, nice looking, and softer than concrete, both on my legs and on my dropped items. On concrete, installation quality is critical. Oh yeah, it's probably the most expensive route, but it'll look really nice, especially during resale.
If I were to stay with concrete floors, I'd seal them. Walking on untreated concrete generates dust.
If I were to go with carpeting, I'd aim for something thin--less place for dust to hide, and perhaps less carpet fuzz in the air.
You most definitely want a ceiling. Otherwise, there'll be a continuous drizzle of dust from above.
Later, you should probably be doing a lot of floor vacuuming. Not with a shop vac, as it'll probably re-distribute a lot of the finer dust out the exhaust. HEPA filters would be good. Also consider a room air filter. I've got a portable Honeywell that I leave running on low all the time.
DUST IS NOT OUR FRIEND!
Ed