Two Car Garage Layout Plans?

[Flagler]

Looking for layout plans that use a Two car Garage ,about 21' X 21'.


Please share track plans,Table & Isle Arangements or Pictures 

[Flagler]

   Maybe 3 Car

[soo]

 Having that kind of space can be really cool,,, I jumped into my garage layout with both feet in the deep end becase I was just wanting to work on a layout. From my experience I would say if the area is not climate controlled, do not do it. You will regret having to sweat or freeze just to work on the layout.

  After realizing that I will never be able to control the garage environment, I have begun taking my layout down,,, just tired of always fighting different aspects of it. Your mileage my vary,, your world, not mine.





















So there are pictures,, maybe they will help,,maybe they won't who knows. But as I said before,,, your mileage may vary. I am just tired of the non-climate controlled environment.

See ya, Wyatt

[TiVoPrince]

SoCal
garage was not an issue. Georgia hot/cold is too much to bear. Where a 65-85* temperatureswing might be a bit unpleasant, 40-100* with 20-99% humidity is completely unbearable. Insulation in walls, ceiling and door will all make a difference. Do your preperation like your life depends on it.  Planning to perma-close the big door(s) once the construction materials are in is a big help. Sealing the floor will help reduce the creeping dust and whatnot that always appears in a unfinished space...

[C855B]

Let me "+1" to the climate-controlled issue. You do not want to deal with excessive temperature OR HUMIDITY swings. Humidity variances and wooden benchwork are a teeth-gritting combo as you chase endless gremlins from dimensional changes as the wood swells and contracts with weather. Think "sticking door", but multiply by the size of your layout. Not fun.

That said, my father (not a MRR'er) modified our family's garage into an easily-conditioned space by simply closing the door and building a studwall behind it, with vapor barrier and insulation. He dismantled the overhead rails for the door and, in a stroke of brilliance, stored them behind the false wall. When they moved out some 20 years later, it was a matter of a couple of hours to dismantle the wall, restore the mechanicals and - voilà! - it was a garage again, albeit a garage with a nice floor, wooden paneling and a room air conditioner.

Wyatt, I think this was part of your issue. You didn't defend against the poor seal around the door. Even if you added HVAC of some sort, it would be a losing battle between the elements and the utility bills.

FWIW, I knew this all along in theory, but it really has been hitting home in the construction of our layout building. It is a converted pole barn, basically, so more of the "garage" issues than you can shake a stick at. We are over-insulating (R-40 or better all around), and spending a fair amount of effort on things like sealant foam ("Great Stuff", etc.) for the voids and other structure gaps we run across. Every major sub-project with insulating and sealing has been bearing obvious fruit, including this summer's electric bills being half of last year's. The little stuff gets pretty big in total.

[Flagler]

I plan to use my Garage in Florida and on the Ocean.The room will be insulated  and Central air conditioning will be supplied.The doors will be opened  sometimes to get the mower  out. The room will not have a thermostat.I
hope to keep the temp around 82 max. We keep the house at 77

[Baronjutter]

Sounds good, Florida is humid but not too big shifts in temperature there.  Certainly no freeze/thaw.  More just "pretty hot" to "way too hot" but it sounds like your AC takes care of that.

I know if I was doing this where I live I'd make sure the train room was totally sealed and up to the same heating/venting/insulation standards as the rest of the house.  Then again if I had a house where I live I'd be a millionaire.

In terms of plans we'd probably need to see a plan of your space. Where the doors are and so on.  Also what sort of layout you want to make.

[MichaelWinicki]

I know if I was doing this where I live I'd make sure the train room was totally sealed and up to the same heating/venting/insulation standards as the rest of the house. 

Yep, even opening the doors once a week or so is going to create a lot of dirt and dust issues.

[C855B]

Yep, even opening the doors once a week or so is going to create a lot of dirt and dust issues.

Amen to that. We found one of those robotic vacuum cleaners on sale a couple of weeks ago, and even in the finished and mostly sealed area of our building, the amount of dust it picks up each time it runs is astounding. I am somewhat concerned at this point what's going to happen in the layout space, even after all the work to close things up.

[MichaelWinicki]

Amen to that. We found one of those robotic vacuum cleaners on sale a couple of weeks ago, and even in the finished and mostly sealed area of our building, the amount of dust it picks up each time it runs is astounding. I am somewhat concerned at this point what's going to happen in the layout space, even after all the work to close things up.

Exactly.

Give Flagler's situation I'd create a slightly smaller space inside the garage that was isolated from the "open" part of the garage. 

In the end it will save a lot of aggravation.

[MichaelWinicki]

I missed Flagler's reply on the central air, which is a good thing... But even 82 is pretty warm to me... And I find it amazing in my layout room how much extra heat in created even with fluorescent lights.

[JoeD]

I spent 10 years in Orlando and just the humidity was enough to make working in the garage intolerable unless you were a Fla-Bubba and used to it.  I agree, before even thinking about a track plan, figure out the best way to seal it up...even on the balmy West Coast of Fla, salt my friend, salt in the air is going to screw up everything fast.  I grew up over in Cocoa Beach and had a short fling with N Scale there and even in the house, rust and pitting was always a problem.  Plan for the worst and you will have a good experience.


Joe

[Dave V]

Sounds good, Florida is humid but not too big shifts in temperature there.  Certainly no freeze/thaw. 

Temperature fluctuations actually have very little impact on expansion/contraction. You can do the metallurgical study on how much nickel silver actually expands under the normal range of temperatures you'd experience in a non-climate-controlled garage.  As long as you're not exposing it to direct sunlight, it's fairly negligible.

It's the humidity and your wooden benchwork that will cause you the most headaches as C855B mentioned.  Wood expands and contracts measurably even under a relatively modest range of humidities.

[DKS]

It's the humidity and your wooden benchwork that will cause you the most headaches as C855B mentioned.  Wood expands and contracts measurably even under a relatively modest range of humidities.

This.

[Flagler]

I am glad I use unitrack on blue foam. will the kato  rail head rust or pit?