I'm faced with building the layout in the garage or unfinished basement. how have some of you handled that choice? everyone's physical spaces and environmental circumstances are a little different, I'm sure. Please share pics of interesting workarounds for storage and benchwork. thanks!
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I did the garage, Because I wanted a place I could go make a mess working on my layout and not have the wife complain about the smoke, dust and get in the way now I added heat and ac IF i had a full bathroom I never leave
My garage has two cars in it, and that's all it will hold. So... the basement is where the layout will go up as soon as Mianne gets the benchwork to me! 
If I had those two choices I would go for the basement layout..............Paul
Assuming both are equally temperature and humidity controlled for all year long usage, I think it really boils down to what secondary uses each area would be put to and where you can afford the space. Where I live in the Northeast, I couldn't begin to think about a garage layout - too cold and too much to store in the garage with snowblowers, lawnmowers, tools, automotive products, etc., but I was able to finish off the basement to accommodate a medium sized layout and a play area for the kids (now grandkids) and the grown-ups, so everybody was happy. On the other hand, if you really need that man-cave, the garage might be the choice (although I've seen some garages that were converted into fabulous man-caves, too) !
Here in the south I don't have a basement, ( most houses don't because of the soil) so I kicked the car out, and I'm going to be doing it in the garage. There's a lot to do to get it there but it's all I have. No room in the house either.
If I had a unfinished basement I would go that route
I have a layout in the loft in my garage (15' x 30'). I have a mini-split to control the temperature, but if I would do it again I would take the basement over the garage, no doubt about it!
My "Humidity control" is busy working in the other room. And as if you didn't believe everything is connected nowadays, I just checked it's operation on my cell phone. 
I have to go now, gotta check my phone and see if my beer is cold in the Fridge! 
Defunarly basement 62 degree summer 52 degree winter plus my layout wouldn't fit in the garage with the cars.
Few folks can put their cars in the basement...........
Leave it to John to come up with a gimmick that could sell more phones than a "naked weather" sales rep
..you know it's only a matter of time before you can check which can is coldest too 
Garages get hot, cold, and roof leaks go un-noticed longer. They are better for running without disturbing others. A human sized door protects from storms as opening a bay door lets weather in fast. A new roof without ceiling protection at the rafters could be a mess.
Basements can flood, and stairs can become an issue at any age. But it is inside, and it's normally much more cozy in the house. You'll more likely walk by and get an impulse to run them or work on things if inside too. (Maybe... There were years I spent much more time outside than inside ). I consider my house safer from a random break in too. (300lbs of dogs doesn't hurt either)
I'd chose the basement overall, keeping train shelves and power well off the floor.
If you flood often or bad enough to HAVE TO swim in "the concrete pond" to recover things (has happened to us), then the garage sounds pretty good. (I'd still use the basement here. That flood wasn't normal for us. A creek a hundred yards off got dammed with debris, plus our local drainage infrastructure has improved since then too )
mwb posted:Few folks can put their cars in the basement...........
AH....you haven't seen my lovely wife drive yet!!!
Easy question... ALWAYS take the basement. Better temperature control, less dirt and dust, and you are more likely to enjoy it.
My layout was built in an unfinished basement. I just put in insulation, did electrical, and hung Sheetrock. Never even taped the seams, because I covered everything with Masonite backdrops.
Funny you bring this up. We have a curved driveway that goes down to a four car garage that is under our house. There is a four inch drain at the bottom of the driveway where two cars can park outside. The garage sits about six inches higher than the drain and parking area. This morning we had a huge lighting and thunder storm followed by the biggest down pour I have ever seen and I have been in many huge rains here and in the South Pacific. Long story short. The garage is under three inches of water. Trains are fine but old home movies, family pictures, boxes of old Life magazines from WW2, our old film projector and most of my life long TV shows are useless. They were on wide mouth Betacam tapes.
I never worried about that four inch drain before. Thought it could handle anything.
Don
Could be better, but ok; it's by the door....now where is my duct tape?
When garages run 120+ during the summer here, you have to spend $$$ to get it usable for anything other then long term storage or car parking. But we also don't have basements as a rule here either. So I happened to luck out that the house we bought had a back room addition the wife let me put my trains in. But judging by the other things in here with the layout, it would more likely fall into the basement group, so that's where my vote goes.
OGR PUBLISHER posted:mwb posted:Few folks can put their cars in the basement...........
AH....you haven't seen my lovely wife drive yet!!!
I assume the “lovely wife” doesn’t follow the Forum 
OGR PUBLISHER posted:mwb posted:Few folks can put their cars in the basement...........
AH....you haven't seen my lovely wife drive yet!!!
... And to think I was going to settle on a suggestion they sell of some excess stock 
Don’t have a garage, but even if I did, it would not be a great idea in NE Pennsylvania!!!
I do have a crappy basement (despite some individuals suggesting the wood paneling I put up disqualifies me from using that term). I have to use a dehumidifier (non-internet variety), there is no real heat other than two space heaters and one air conditioner/heater split. But I love my space and wish I had about twice as much.
My main layout is in the basement. I have to share it with a few other things. As my initials are DW, I have thought of calling it the D&W Railroad which would also work for the other big items in the room which are the Dryer & Washer as are the furnace and the hot water heater. When we needed new ones a few years ago I got front loaders so the railroad could expand over the top of them. I am very lucky to have a very understanding wife. I have a smaller Marx tinplate layout in the spare bedroom/office. These trains are kinda addictive.
OGR PUBLISHER posted:mwb posted:Few folks can put their cars in the basement...........
AH....you haven't seen my lovely wife drive yet!!!
Well, we're blowing the whistle on you Alan, your butt will be in the doghouse for that little comment!
I call my layout The SolidRock Railroad, as I dug out my crawl space for my layout which is 30' x 46'. If you want it bad enough you will do whatever it takes. After all, we are all living like we are 12 year olds enjoying this hobby like when we were young. Yes I would do it again.
Alan, you are a brave soul. I mentioned to my wife that I was going to put in runway lights so she could back down the driveway. Shortly after that statement I was getting her car out and turning it around so all she had to do was go straight down the driveway.....Paul
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Yikes!!! I forgot that she does look at the forum.....Does anybody know how to extract a shoe from...well...you know from where.....?
On a serious note, my layout is above the garage! When we built the garage, I decided to go up a second floor since the garage, had it been a single floor, would have had an 'attic' anyway. So....the addition of a second floor (the walls essentially) was not that much more expensive. The wall height is just under 11 feet since I knew I was going to build either tall mountains or tall skyscrapers. Then we super insulated everything. Shoot...the train room is the most comfortable room in the entire place temperature wise. The main heat gain in any one story room exposed to the outside is from the roof/attic space. If you fill that space with top notch insulation, assuming you don't need it for storage, the room will be very comfortable and easy to heat and cool. Our ceiling joists are 16 inches deep made of engineered beams and the walls are 6 inch studs. All of this is filled with both blown and rolled insulation...then everything was wrapped.
Shelf layout, 24 feet long by 10 feet on the turn arounds.
This photo was shot with an iPhone in panoramic mode. I have 4 main lines with 7 sidings to park trains. I do have a Sears dehumidifier. This photo has a fisheye effect and the 24 foot wall is flat, looks curved in the photo.
My house was built in 1936 and we have two basements. One is called a Michigan basement and the one in this photo is under the new part of the house, about 500 square feet.
Gary
My layout is in the living room (bachelor) so that doesn't count but I would go with the basement. easier to get to in bad weather and poor dress (think bathrobe), more secure, easier climate control.
Had a 20 x 45 converted garage layout heavily insulated with it's own HVAC and now a large ranch basement. I would choose a basement again anytime. No matter the weather I can just go down stairs dressed "as is".
No separate HVAC system. Cut in a few supplies and a couple of returns and all is sweet.
My small, 3' x 12' layout is in our very small, 8' x 21' basement. The layout competes with the air conditioner main fan and duct unit, the well storage tank, a wall hung hot water heater and last but not least the main boiler for heating the house. I'm still waiting for daughter #2 to get married and buy a house. Al of her stuff is in my garage attic, which I am hoping to make into my train room.
I'm not ready to move into one of those 55 and older communities, but I do envy guys who live in them with their humongous basements.
Well earlier I stated I don't have room in the house and down here most don't have a basement ( myself included) So I'm going to change the garage into my train room. 1st step add power to the garage by means of it's own meter and breaker panel. 2nd knock down the 4" cinder block wall between the garage side and storage room side. 3rd close off that big garage door area ( ie build a wall and remove the big door. ) Put drywall or something up on the ceiling area so I can insulate the over head. ( oh some one said about leaks in the roof, I have a new roof, about 1 year old. ) Then I can start building the studs along the walls, and run electric to the breaker box. Then comes insulation along the 4 walls and then drywall them. finally put down a laminate flooring ( look like wood flooring, Then I will be ready start building my layout. And at this point I'm not sure if I'm going to go with a round the room, or what. I will have about 17' x 21' to use. Already told wife the stuff needing to be stored will be stored under the train table lol. I figure I will be over a year before I can get to that point of building a layout, as I need to do other stuff around the house too.
My little California bungalow does not have a basement. Wish it did, as I would built a layout down there in a flash. The garage is full of Studebakers, parts, and the shop.
The only unused space was in the attic, under the shallow airplane type the roof. Some years ago I put a floor in it and insulated it as much as possible. At the roof's peak, you can crouch. The tracks cover a roughly 12 x 15 "P" shaped track plan, plus a lot of boxes of trains. Temps vary from around 85 to 65. Thermostatic fans help cool it and a fan in the floor over the furnace helps heat it.
It's cramped and humble, but it's my little slice of heaven.
OGR PUBLISHER posted:Yikes!!! I forgot that she does look at the forum.....Does anybody know how to extract a shoe from...well...you know from where.....?
On a serious note, my layout is above the garage! When we built the garage, I decided to go up a second floor since the garage, had it been a single floor, would have had an 'attic' anyway. So....the addition of a second floor (the walls essentially) was not that much more expensive. The wall height is just under 11 feet since I knew I was going to build either tall mountains or tall skyscrapers. Then we super insulated everything. Shoot...the train room is the most comfortable room in the entire place temperature wise. The main heat gain in any one story room exposed to the outside is from the roof/attic space. If you fill that space with top notch insulation, assuming you don't need it for storage, the room will be very comfortable and easy to heat and cool. Our ceiling joists are 16 inches deep made of engineered beams and the walls are 6 inch studs. All of this is filled with both blown and rolled insulation...then everything was wrapped.
Earlier I said basement all the way, but anytime you have the chance to to custom build, that wins. Above the garage, in a conditioned space, is as good as it gets. In Minnesota it's rare not to have a basement.
Since I was building my house anyway, I got to pick how big of a train room I wanted. I ended up with 1900 square feet and a full 8' ceiling, but I'm not doing skyscrapers or mountains. A recent visitor called it a giant shelf layout. I thought that was a pretty good description.
how do the sensitive electronics in the engines and also the power supplies and controlers hold up in a garage setting? would not the extrem heat and cold be hard on them. assuming you have just a regular unheated and cooled garage. not to mention all the dust that may come from the outside if you ever have to open the garage door or doors.
if it has to be in the garage you could make moveble islands on wheels that could be moved out of the way to make room for at least one car. have thought about that if ever a garage was all I had available. I also like the room above the garage add on though hard to get the benchwork lumber up the stairs to build the layout.
my uncle built a garage and added a mancave room on top with a small bathroom. it has nice couches and a big screen tv and a full size refrigerator for the beer. he loves the huskers and it is decorated with lots of nebraska memorabilia. his boys come over on game day and they all watch the game together. it really turned out nice.
Definitely the basement. Do yourself a big favor and finish it first. You will increase the value of the house. Every man wants a finished basement for his own sanctuary. Protect the layout from water above and below. Install a sump pump and dehumidifier. You will also sleep better if you use metal roofing for a ceiling. The water from any over flow, busted washer hose, failed plumbing, or serious roof leak will, run down the walls of the basement instead of onto the layout. It's very easy to install. It can be ordered cut to the exact lengths you need and comes in white, off white or black, if you want a museum type atmosphere. Your furring strips only need to be 4 foot apart and it's easy to take down a single panel if you ever need to access any plumbing or wiring.
Cars in the garage- trains in the basement. Living in the Northeast it's nice to get in a warm dry car on a cold snowy morning. Too much dirt and dust in the garage too.
Just wish I had more space in the basement for the layout- sharing with LOTS of storage, my son's X-box lair, washer/dryer/ boiler, etc. Still negotiating for more real estate with the landlord. Had a dumidifier only until this year. We bought a portable AC unit which works well. Always been a dry basement (now I jinxed myself).
Garrett,
Personally, I would only put trains in a garage if I walled off a portion or all of it and added climate control. If I didn't have a basement, that is what I would do. Since I have a basement, I am working with the space I have. Here is my storage. Under the basement stairs. At just under 62 with arthritis, I plan to move this stuff under the layout when construction is farther along.
Here is the only space I could use for a layout while our daughters were home with all their stuff. 11 x 11.
Last winter, my wife suggested we don't need the family room as a family room, since the girls are married. She suggested we make it into a train room and a sewing area for her. We still have some stuff to redistribute, especially our older daughter's piano, but at least the big furniture is gone.
The plan.
Mark, if you could just move her sewing room to the basement...
scale rail posted:Funny you bring this up. We have a curved driveway that goes down to a four car garage that is under our house. There is a four inch drain at the bottom of the driveway where two cars can park outside. The garage sits about six inches higher than the drain and parking area. This morning we had a huge lighting and thunder storm followed by the biggest down pour I have ever seen and I have been in many huge rains here and in the South Pacific. Long story short. The garage is under three inches of water. Trains are fine but old home movies, family pictures, boxes of old Life magazines from WW2, our old film projector and most of my life long TV shows are useless. They were on wide mouth Betacam tapes.
I never worried about that four inch drain before. Thought it could handle anything.
Don
Wow Don, That is a bummer! And after the hurricane just a few weeks ago!!
gunrunnerjohn posted:Mark, if you could just move her sewing room to the basement...
Oh, John; my photograph is of the basement! The ground level in the front is a foot below the exterior window sills of the windows in the last photograph. The house is a split entry, which we don't like, but my mother-in-law wanted to unload it after my father-in-law passed. It was originally built for my wife's grandparents in 1968. My in-laws put in new French drains out front about 10 years ago, and all is dry. The ground tapers to a flat patio outside the back door. Also, there are no water pipes above either layout space. The kitchen pipes are above the proposed sewing area. How in the world did I get that to work out for me.
Where was the 11x11 layout?
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