Seaboard Central 2.0

[Chris333]

Yeah I would also just finish the stud wall and paint the whole room, work on the ceiling.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Oh for your problems Dave. We do not have the luxury of having basements and have to build our RR in a shed in the backyard and would kill for being able to just walk downstairs to a nice RR room. Our temps get to 40C plus in summer however we do not get snow just cold temps as low as 1C.
Now that all of this is in your mind if it was me I would pull down the existing layout, finish off the area, walls, floor and ceiling and start a new layout. I went through all of these sort of thoughts 21 years ago wondering what to do with the then current layout. After stuffing around I went outside and the layout was down in a day. The shed got lined with coved corners in the top half of the walls (made from off cuts of laminex), ceiling in, all painted and a new RR was born and I haven't regretted the move for one minute.
I was able to incorporate many of the things I had learnt in the new RR that would have been impossible to do in the old. I had more room, a better layout and moved to code 55 rail etc.
Make the move Dave and enjoy the result.
Rod.

[glakedylan]

thinking out loud, fwiw...

blue concrete walls
finished wall where studs are
sky blue there too
it is amazing how ceilings tend
to disappear from sight when
painted flat black (at least they
seem to in some lofts I have
looked at)
move water heater
extend plan for more mainline
or yard and/or operations
your work is too good to start
over (my sentiment) but if a
new start rekindles more inspiration
and passion to work on it
still do the finishing as noted above

just my thoughts
I know you will choose what is
best for you

best wishes!
G

[davefoxx]

Your suggestions to just finish the stud wall would be an easy way to start this.  It also would save a lot of labor and materials.  Besides, if I changed my mind later, I could always build the other walls later.  This idea really does appeal to me, except that I really would like to consider a drop ceiling.  I'll have to ponder that one for a while.  I don't have any interest in painting the ceiling joists, because there's a lot of wires running all over the place, and, as I described it, a hodgepodge of ceiling fixtures.

Thanks,
DFF

[mcjaco]

You lose a couple more inches with drop ceilings. Might really start to feel cramped.

[Specter3]

What am I, the tenth guy to say finish the stud wall. Leave the block walls alone except for color. Nice hazy sky blue layout level and up. For the ceiling, I would get old style paneling. Thin. Comes in 4x8 sheets. Takes Paint. Not expensive so if you need to cut into it to fix something, not a huge deal. While you have all the lights down you can rearrange them and make a bit more sense with their placement.
   For the water heater, sweating pipe is daunting if you have not done it, but once you try it, you will wonder why you were worried. The biggest thing is making sure there is no water in the pipe for a couple feet from where you are working. If there is, all the heat you put into the pipe gets used boiling water.
  I understand wanting to use dollars wisely regarding going tankless. But man, it was one of the best things I have ever done for improving daily life around here. The only downside is the increase in the water bill as kids  and spouse start taking crazy long showers.
   

[conrail98]

Dave, your questions and approaching this similar to my thoughts on (and your feedback on my thread) my space. What I've decided to do is take those stud walls I have and go get 1/8 hardboard and put that up, tape the seams, cover the screws and paint everything the sky blue color I decided on, but, it won't go to the floor. The guys in my area that "finished" layout rooms have usually said not to go down to the floor but stop 6" to 12" from the floor. The one guy that did go to the floor had his basement flood and he had to take down parts of the layout to remove the drywall and do the water proofing thing. I know you said you don't get water, but you never know what might happen in your yard like a one season visit from a groundhog that causes all sorts of issues later on. I agree with the others, if you want to minimize the amount of space it might take up, put 1x2 furring strips up and put the hardboard/paneling over it. You could even get the white kind to brighten the room up,

Phil

[jpec]

Unfortunately, Dave, this is one of those issues like "which control system should I use?" or "which freight cars are the best?" For my money, I'd do the minimum to ease your mind and wallet. Finish the wall and paint the block if it improves your view. Next time you're out at a chain restaurant, look up. The current trend is following the Rolling Stones advice to paint it black. Minimizes pipes and wires and you have the flexibility to put in whatever lighting system you please and you'll find if you start hanging ceiling, the room's going to shrinknot to mention the PITA it'll be if you need to access a leaky pipe or whatever. For photography, get yourself one of the zillion excellent photo backdrops on the market and mount it to a piece of Gatorboard and prop it up when you need to take photos.  Remember, the trains are the star of the show and your work gives them a fine stage to perform on;  I'd be willing to bet that if folks are over operating or viewing your layout they won't give a hoot whether your ceiling is finished or you've only painted the block wall or only installed a half-wall...their focus is going to be on that fine layout.

Jeff

[conrail98]

Unfortunately, Dave, this is one of those issues like "which control system should I use?" or "which freight cars are the best?" For my money, I'd do the minimum to ease your mind and wallet. Finish the wall and paint the block if it improves your view. Next time you're out at a chain restaurant, look up. The current trend is following the Rolling Stones advice to paint it black. Minimizes pipes and wires and you have the flexibility to put in whatever lighting system you please and you'll find if you start hanging ceiling, the room's going to shrinknot to mention the PITA it'll be if you need to access a leaky pipe or whatever. For photography, get yourself one of the zillion excellent photo backdrops on the market and mount it to a piece of Gatorboard and prop it up when you need to take photos.  Remember, the trains are the star of the show and your work gives them a fine stage to perform on;  I'd be willing to bet that if folks are over operating or viewing your layout they won't give a hoot whether your ceiling is finished or you've only painted the block wall or only installed a half-wall...their focus is going to be on that fine layout.

Jeff

Great advice Jeff,

Phil

[John]

Find an office building that's being renovated .. I got my entire ceiling tile collection from the dumpster along with a lot of the grid .. you could even ask the foreman ..  I had to buy some L channel, but thats about it ..  I also got about 1000 feet of CAT5 from the same dumpster

[wm3798]

What John said.  My favorite color is free.

Also, don't forego the ceiling.  Apart from making the room look more finished, it will help minimize the dust that settles on the layout. 

I'd go with finishing the walls.  It just makes the room more comfortable and livable.  As for the tax liability, what the assessor can't see from the street won't hurt you.  Besides, you live in Delaware, so E.I. DuPont already picks up the tab for everything...

Box out the pooper pipe.  Keep the floor space available.

Let us know when the sheetrock work begins.  I'll help by going out of town... (I'm horrible at it!)

Lee

[peteski]

Dave,
here is another voice steering you towards finishing the layout area.  Where would you like to spend your hobby time for the foreseeable future?  In here?


Or in a layout room like this?

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It is so much more pleasant to work in a brightly-lit finished room than in a unfinished basement setting.  Of course it would be the best to finish the room before building the layout, but even with a partially built layout you can still do some finishing work.  The layout shown above did begin in a fished room with a PVC-tiled floor. The skirts and carpeting were added much later. The carpeting is much easier on your feet than a hard floor (especially during a 2-hour operating session where you up on your feet most of the time).

You don't have to go all the way either. Any additional room finishing step will make a big overall difference in the comfort level.  Your concrete block walls are painted, so they look ok. The cement floor appears to be sealed, so that greatly limits the dust level in the room.  Tile or carpet would be nice, but it is not a requirement.   One biggest finishing step you can make is to finish the ceiling and install bright lighting.  That makes a huge overall difference in the appearance of a layout room.  Instead of playing trains in the basement you layout room becomes a showcase of your modeling skills.

In your example there is some plumbing and a steel beam which will have to remain where they are. But if you do install suspended ceiling and those still hang below, if you paint them to match the color of the ceiling, the room will still have a nicely finished look.  I've seen black ceilings and while they work in certain settings, I thing that would make the room look smaller and darker. Ceiling needs to be very light color to reflect more light towards the layout.  However, if your plan is to showcase just the surface of your layout like a theater stage, paint the entire room black and have bright focus lighting just on the layout.  That creates a totally different look.

[Dave V]

I completely agree with Peteski on this one (I know, whoa!   ).

I've had the JD in a basement similar to yours and had all kinds of dust and temperature control problems.

I finished out the basement in my current home and it's just way nicer to be in.  It's warm in the winter, cool in the summer, bright, and clean.

I'm also putting wall candy up (it does interfere a bit with photos) so that the room has a train "museum" quality.  Case in point, yours truly with one @Philip H...

[OldEastRR]

Sheetrock the stud wall and finish the ceiling with panels and recessed lighting. Rework/position the ceiling lights to be all the same type and directly over parts of the layout. See what that looks like before you do any more remodeling.
Get carpeting for the floor. If you can find an office, apartment complex or hotel doing renovations with new carpeting see if they'll let you haul away the old stuff for free. Your feet will find carpeting nice, but falling rolling stock and locos will love it.

[Dave V]

I should caveat that I'm a strong believer in white ceilings for a train room.  My white ceiling blends very nicely with my Behr "Morning Haze" blue such that the wall/ceiling transition washes out in photography.  It helps keep the room bright and the light diffuse.  Dark ceilings are great for bars where you don't always want a lot of light...