Did some groundwork/landscaping around the foundation of a new structure for my layout... used only materials that were found naturally in my backyard!

No special tools required, just a wheelbarrow, shovels, and a sledge hammer to tamp everything down. Oh... my wife did help me. It only took two days of backbreaking work.

I figured it was okay to post this here in scenery since it does say "all scales."

Here are a couple of pics:





And here is a "before" pic showing what a mess is was after the foundation was poured.



Not sure when I will get started on framing the structure, but I will keep everyone posted on my progress.

WOW What a difference!! You 2 worked wonders!

Yeah - Post Pictures as you frame it out - that should be neat to see a before & After pic of that!!

what a mess indeed! Looked like a mud pit before - nice work cleaning that up.

Did you use white glue or matte medium to hold that ground cover in place? By the way, very nice work on those trees and your photo backdrop really blends in well with the foreground scenery, too - I can just barely see the joint by the base of the chain link fence.

Wayne

Wayne, I actually used a trick that I believe you once mentioned to me - It isn't mandatory to permanently fix the ground cover around the building. By leaving it loose, the building can be removed from the layout for remodeling, cleaning, etc. And when the building goes back, just sprinkle some ground cover around the foundation again.

But to answer your question, the fixative of choice would simply be... gravity!

I always preferred natural materials for ground cover ... your pics show that they look best ... but shouldn’t you lay track first before applying ground cover?? .. or are you developing a revolutionary new method? ... Tell us your secrets!

That concrete color is spot-on...looks great. Is that house in the background a kit bash? I haven't seen one like that with a breezeway between the garage and main building. The trees, fence, grass, dirt, even the small amount of water really makes the whole scene believable. WIll you be using wood to simulate the standard "stick" construction or a different material to make it look more "pre-fab" like metal sides?

This is gotta be the most awesome step by step thread I've ever seen!

Can't wait to see the results.
To bad you missed the scratchbuild challenge. You'd definatly win hands down!

Herc, I'll be using scale dimensional lumber and stick framing to make this structure as real as possible. I am even going to have the brick done one at a time instead of that sheet brick stuff!

88, thanks for the comments!

I'm a bit confused, this is for the layout , must be a big one.

I admire the ground cover too! Nice backdrop by the way!
Ralph

LynnB Wrote:I'm a bit confused, this is for the layout , must be a big one.

Yep. As mentioned in another thread, I grew tired of battling the spiders and bugs on my layout in my two-car garage so I am building a climate controlled building to move in to. The building is about 20 x 40.

I heartily applaud your efforts! Brick-by-brick and a "stick-built" shed...now that's some "old school" scratch building. Next you're probably going to tell me you're going to use real shingles or a real metal roof to top things off. Lemme guess...you're going to really electrify the building too I bet. Got to hand it to you going all out on this build. You're off to a great start and if the weather holds, I bet you'll be under roof in no time.

Gary S Wrote:

LynnB Wrote:I'm a bit confused, this is for the layout , must be a big one.

Yep. As mentioned in another thread, I grew tired of battling the spiders and bugs on my layout in my two-car garage so I am building a climate controlled building to move in to. The building is about 20 x 40.

Doh!

LynnB, it just dawned on me what you meant by your statement above. Took me awhile, but that is funny! Yep, that would be one HUGE layout!