I was wondering if anybody has a layout in a storage building especially those who have to deal with the heat. (I'm in East Texas). What are the problems you have experienced? And would you recommend using a storage building or not.
What materials are or will be used in the building? Wood stud walls, so insulating is possible, to help keep temperatures more leveled out. Metal can "sweat", if there is a humidity issue. Some are plastics. What I have seen of metal and plastic, they aren't sturdy enough for my interests. Over time, some folks get to disliking the trip from house to outbuilding and back.
Extremes in temperatures will have its effect on track work and scenery. Enclosing an area of the building and providing climate control is always a possibility. On the other hand dust / dirt / bird dew will also add to your layout woes. Covering the layout would reduce maintenance and add an inconvenience at the same time. Everyone does what they have to do in order to enjoy the hobby, even if it is not under ideal conditions. One has to weigh the trade offs in terms of cost, time and desired outcome.
The primary difference between locating a layout in your living space versus in a storage space would probably be the amount of control you have over the heat and humidity. Most houses or apartments have decent insulation and provisions for heat when it's cold, many have AC to cool when it's hot, and some have ways to increase or decrease humidity levels. Most of the storage or outbuildings here in Central Illinois have limited climate control...minimal insulation and maybe a heater for winters. For your personal comfort, all you will need is some way to bring temps to the 60-80 degree range for the limited time each day that you're in the storage building. Unfortunately, a layout that permanently resides in a storage building or outbuilding, will NOT be "comfortable" with such an arrangement. The repeated dramatic changes in temperature and humidity occurring when you bring the room temp to your comfort zone will lead to cracking, warping, and distorting because the wide variety of materials used on a layout all shrink and expand at different rates, and track and electrical contacts will be more vulnerable to condensation-induced corrosion. A layout can survive--even thrive--in a storage building, if you install a heating/cooling unit that keeps temps in the 60-80 degree range and if you stabilize humidity...and climate control can be best accomplished if the storage building is very well-insulated. For what it's worth: Several years ago, we built a second garage/cottage on our property. The 18x24 foot garage portion was originally used for storing lawn and yard equipment. It is moderately well-insulated, but only heated by a portable space heater on an as-needed basis. The 24x24 foot cottage portion of the building is very well-insulated and heated/cooled year-round by a through-the-wall unit similar to those found in motel rooms. When not in use for my wife's weaving classes, my working out, or over-nighting relatives, we heat the cottage portion to 58 degrees. When heating in the spring and fall, we also use a portable dehumidifier in the cottage to manage humidity. Two years ago, I started using the garage portion as a workshop (drill press, lathe, bandsaw), as well as for storage, so I added a second portable dehumidifier in the garage portion of the building. If I were to start construction again, I'd probably insulate both portions equally, and install a unit(s) that could manage heat and humidity separately for each part of the building.
I imagine that in those conditions building the layout to the standards of garden railroading would work the best. Allowing for temperature and humidity swings. A lot of extra cleaning of the track and wheels also.
Thanks for all of the replies... I guess i'll have to insulate and find a way to manage the temperature in the building..... I'll keep you guys updated when I get to that phase.. Thanks
Last year I built a train room in half of my garage. I’ve known several others in my area of California that have had their layouts in garages and attic spaces and was concerned about temperature. So I added insulation all the way around and in the ceiling, and vented the roof with a turbine vent and added vent holes so it had an attic space just like a house. I think the attic above with good ventilation really helps. We don’t have the temperatures that they have in Texas, but so far on a few days we’ve had 90 to 95 the room has stayed at 80 or lower. I ended up spending more of my layout budget than I had planned on building the room but am happy I did and the room has been a joy to spend time in so far. Brad Myers Peninsula Ntrak / AsiaNrail My Blogs: http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/ http://www.palisadecanyonrr.blogspot.com/ http://tokyo-in-nscale.blogspot.com/
You'll never regret careful pre-layout preparation such as insulation, wiring, lighting,.... Wishing it had been done, afterward, then trying to do it is frustration, money and layout disruption you do not want to face.
