Shed for layout room

[vt_railroad_guy]

You all have made some really good points.  I'm thinking a stick built shed would be the way to go if I were to do it.  Regardless, I would be running electical out to it (not an extension cord) and I would add a couple of small windows.  Another potential option is the attic in my house.  I live in an 8yo spilt level and there are no windows up there nor a ton of head room, though.  I'm thinking it would end up costing me as much to ready that room for a layout as it would to just build a new out building.  *sigh*

[jpec]

If you go with the shed, I'd use a turbine or "whirlybird" vent vs. a powered attic fan...I've seen the result of these seizing up and burning the structure out too many times...

Jeff

[Leggy]

For one thing, the best advice I can give? Carpet! Carpet! Carpet! Before I decided on going to uni I was going to lay carpet in the shed under the layout, standing on concrete was just a pita.

[mmagliaro]

AS I noted, I did the attic room thing for many years with my PRR layout.   Headroom down the center was fine,
and it sloped down on either side.    If you plan it well so that there is layout benchwork under all the places where
the ceiling is too low to stand, it is not bad at all.   You will always be able to stand no matter where you are in the room
and it won't matter much that the ceiling slopes down in places.    Sometimes, the sloping ceiling was a bit of a pain
for things like backdrops or mountains (i.e. the ceiling might get low enough against a wall so that your layout is only
8" below it, for example, and then you can't have an 18" high backdrop).

In any event, work out how the benchwork and layout will actuall sit in the room, taking the ceiling into account.

The other obvious things are heat and cold.   I had two large windows at one end of the room, so I put a window A/C in one,
and the other could open for fresh air.  I used an electric space heater for heat because there was no house heat run up to
that room.

I still think that it would be better than a shed if you can work out the ceiling problem.   You may have to invest a couple thousand bucks
into some outlets, lighting, A/C, and cutting a window in.   But when it's January, and there is 18" of snow on the ground, and the temperature outside is 10F, you will mighty glad that you can just walk upstairs, turn on the heat and wait a little while to play with the trains, instead of trudging across the yard in the snow.

I cannot stress the importance of a window enough.   Rooms with no windows are like coffins. 

[aikorob]

Down here in the South, almost every town has one (or more) dealerships selling pre-built sheds. Pressure treated floors and joists, shingle roofs and decent quality siding. Bring them out to you on a roll back truck. You still need to wire and insulate. Available in sizes from 10'x10' to 12'x30'---various combination of doors and windows.
One of the guys on the old Atlas board was going this route. The Mrs. has already suggested this for me as well (she really doesn't want to give up a room in the house).
something like this:
http://www.theshedguy.net/gallery.html
http://southernstoragesolutions.biz/products.php

[C855B]

Down here in the South, almost every town has one (or more) dealerships selling pre-built sheds. ...

Oooo... they're not cheap, not like the OP's original idea. We bought a 10x16 with metal siding and 6' roll-up and it was $2.5K. I could've done it stick-built for half that, but we were pressed for space and time (not to be confused with spacetime... but then it would have warped wood... bah dum dum).

[vt_railroad_guy]

I'd love to be able to buy one built and ready to go, but finances won't allow that I'm afraid.  I like the idea of just climbing up into the attic to work on the railroad, but with three young children I ALSO like the idea of being able to retreat to a corner of my property for an hour or two.  WHen all is said and done, cost would be pretty comparable, but the disruption to my family would be less for a shed.  I don't know....

[sirenwerks]

Down here in Maryland there are regular stocks of construction office trailers being sold.  Containers too.  Since they build houses out of containers now, a shed shouldn't be a problem.

[mmagliaro]

I'd love to be able to buy one built and ready to go, but finances won't allow that I'm afraid.  I like the idea of just climbing up into the attic to work on the railroad, but with three young children I ALSO like the idea of being able to retreat to a corner of my property for an hour or two.  WHen all is said and done, cost would be pretty comparable, but the disruption to my family would be less for a shed.  I don't know....

I was totally in that situation with my attic layout room and young children.  But I found that in practice, I wasn't up there unless the kids
were in bed, or playing over at someone else's house anyway.   As for family disruption, I don't quite follow that.  I would have thought that using an attic space, and having you in the house where you could be reached, would be less disruptive than erecting a
structure in the yard and being separated.

Which reminds me of another bit of infrastructure you will need: an intercom.   It is no fun for your wife or kids to have to
trudge out to the shed or up to the attic to get you if you are needed.  I suppose if you and your wife both carry cellphones all the time,
she could text you.  But personally, I don't like to carry my cellphone around with me when I'm in my own house.

[Dave Schneider]

I text my daughter to bring me beer and pizza. She never fails to come through for her dear old dad!

Best wishes, Dave

[3DTrains]

Which reminds me of another bit of infrastructure you will need: an intercom.   It is no fun for your wife or kids to have to
trudge out to the shed or up to the attic to get you if you are needed.  I suppose if you and your wife both carry cellphones all the time,
she could text you.  But personally, I don't like to carry my cellphone around with me when I'm in my own house.

Many cordless phone systems include an intercom (Panasonic, Sony, etc.), which would give you the added benefit of being available to those outside the household, including those nice telemarketing folks.

Cheers!
Marc - Riverside

[Baronjutter]

Yeah I'd build my own in your situation.  That way you can make sure it meets your needs and is well insulated.  Even if you built it out of 2x4's don't forget you can include insulation in your sheathing system.  So have batt insulation between the 2x4's but then sheath the outside of the building with an extra 2" of rigid. 

Something like this:


It insulates better because it's a continuous layer, with batt insulation between stick framing you have the wood its self acting as a direct conductor to the outside.  Another option is to use 2 layers of 2x4 that are staggered so they aren't touching, but that's extreme for a shed and usually only used for party walls.

[Ian MacMillan]

ATCO stands for "Alberta Trailer Company" and those buildings are the bread and butter of the mining and oil patch camps.  They are not likely to be found in more industrialized areas like New England, even under different names.  Maybe from a gas driller in New York or the like. 

However, I do agree with Dave, it is worth doing right to make it worth your expense and to get a comfortable space for spending time.

We have a similar replacement though. They are "office trailers" used for the office at a construction site. They come in standard 20', 40', 45' container lengths. A large supplier of new and used ones in New England is Tilton Trailer in Tilton, NH