train room flooring?

[rrinker]

 I'm with Brent. Since my layout is in a spare room - actually, the master bedroom, I'm lucky enough to have a GF who is happy to let me indulge in my hobby - and also who realizes that so long as the bed and dressers fit, there's no real reason to have a giant room for a bedroom - it had carpet, a grey/off white color, with off-white walls. Typical apartment fare. The carpet does sometimes look pink witht he lights reflecting off the foam, but it's definitely NOT pink carpet. And having carpet is great - I too often just lay down on the floor to think about things. Though I've been doing less thinkign and more doing lately - in thepast 2 months I've made more progress than the entire first year I was here.

                               --Randy

 

[D&HRR]

Hardwood under the benchwork and carpets on the walkways.

[da_kraut]

Hi,

I have laminate in my train room.  I like it because it is very durable, the surface is hard enough so that paint can be easily scrapped off with a finger nail, plaster and other items are easily cleaned and it looks clean and good.  As an added bonus when one of the small items drops on the floor, ie MU hose from a locomotive I am putting together, then it is easy to spot.  Also being that it is a easy floor do clean the dust issues is less trouble to keep in check.

Hope it helps

Frank

[tgindy]

Just finished the room prep for the library/layout room beside the furnace room.  Excluding the side hallway into the furnace room, the total usable space is apx. 9'x9' -- Also why N Scale is the choice for the 5'x9' (U-shaped "cockpit") layout area.

Due to a furnace pressure valve leaking a few years ago, the floor in the layout room is now commercial tile -- Like other hallways, kitchen, and bathroom flooring have ended up where tile replaced carpet or sticky-backed tile that had been stained, scratched, dented, etc..  A "shark steam" cleaner easily handles tile maintenance.

As layout construction progresses -- A commercial carpet will be cut to match the walkways other than the under-benchwork layout.  Carpet can be cut to size with edging applied by the carpet store.  Tile plays nice with round-nylon-sliders on storage desks, cabinets. bookcases -- Under the layout for maintenance access.

An additional tile consideration is your underlayment:  If you use sticky-backed tiles, a luan-plywood will suffice, and; for better quality commercial tile, a cement-board is needed if laid on top of wooden sub-floor, if you are not laying tile on top of cement flooring.  Another thought, for a room beside a hallway and/or other rooms, is the total height of the flooring between rooms to end up having the same floor-height -- Whether carpet, hardwood, or more tile.

[BATMAN]

Notice how the hue of the pink walls and carpet tie into the beautiful pink foam tabletop addition to the room. OOPS sorry, to much HGTV again.

Actually I didn't even know the walls and carpet were pink until I brought in my foam. I thought they were Gray up until then. You would have thunk the wife would have said something. It's her way of getting back at me for moving the Grand Piano out of the Trainroom to the Living room while she was away one weekend.

It was too late to change it all, the benchwork was in. Take note, if you have trouble with your colours like I do, get a buddy in to check things out first.

By the way I love carpet in the Trainroom. Many a time I have thought through construction issues while staring at the ceiling.

 

                                                                Brent

[cudaken]

Kevin-B

Thanks everyone for the input. Now comes the discussion with my wife as to which she prefers.

 Boy, that is not a good idea. Train room should be the man cave unless she is into trains.

 "but Kevin, the pink walls will make the trees stand out better and they will look great with these curtains"

 Hen Pecked Ken again.

 

[7j43k]

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

[tcf511]

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.

[shayfan84325]

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.

[JoeinPA]

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

[Kevin-B]

Thanks everyone for the input. Now comes the discussion with my wife as to which she prefers.

[HOn21/2]

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.

[JoeinPA]

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

[richhotrain]

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

[bigiron]

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.

[citylimits]

[tomikawaTT]

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)

[pastorbob]

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

[sschnabl]

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.

[cudaken]

 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.

[saronaterry]

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

[jecorbett]

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.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

selector

construction processes, particularly soldering and scenicing will almost always result in a point-outable boo boo.  Glues that drip make really hard boo boos.

In other words, use a carpet you can afford to lose.

[selector]

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

[jeffrey-wimberly]

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.

[Motley]

I have carpet in a finished basement. If something falls, it's not that bad.

[mobilman44]

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.

[galaxy]

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.

[Capt. Grimek]

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.