WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build

[Gary S]

Gary, congratulations on everything!! I've really enjoyed watching your progress!! And give your daughter a "congratulatory" hug from me! You have much to be thankful for, indeed!!

I told her that all my train friends were very proud of her and she gave a big smile. Thanks for the congrats!

[nachoman]

I have got a more general question.
How is the situation building a second small building on your property in a modern urban area like this one (west of Sugarlad/Houston, TX)?

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Do you have legal restrictions other than the limited space? That area looks much like a similar area in Germany.

In a general sense, if you live inside a city or town, there will be some building restrictions. Outside of a city or town, people can generally build what they want. Restrictions inside cities or towns vary greatly. In Phoenix where I live, any outbuildings but be a certain distance from the property line, must be below a certain height, and total area of all buildings bust be less than a certain percent of property size. In addition, buildings must meet all safety and environmental building codes and pass inspection. Some neighborhoods are more restrictive in that they do not allow any additional structures that have foundations. Unless local neighborhoods have further restrictions, people can build whatever they want as long as it is safe, is not too tall, not too big, or not too close to the property line. The city does not put limits on building purpose or architectural style, as long as it is for domestic use. Phoenix building restrictions are probably similar to most cities in the USA.

About 15 years ago, people in my parents neighborhood started building detached "garages". These are not typical garages where most people store cars, they are much bigger. Some of the garages are as large as the house, large enough to park a bus or large recreational vehicle. A typical one of these "garages" is about 1500 square feet and 18 feet tall. Some people store their extra household items in these buildings, but it is quite apparent most were built for the purpose of a home-based business as a means of avoiding taxes or business restrictions. Running a business out of one's home is not allowed, but the loophole is that if one has less than a certain number of employees, it doesn't count as a business. My parents neighbors built such a "garage" for the purpose of storing and maintaining vending machines. The garage was large enough to have a forklift for loading and unloading the vending machines. With the garage door closed, it was difficult to prove that a business was being run from the home. But, the garage was built one foot taller than what is allowed, and two feet too close to the property line. So, my parents and another neighbor filed a lawsuit and the building had to be removed.

In the USA if you want to build a large additional building, make sure it meets all local codes, and more importantly make sure your neighbors are okay with it.

[faraway]

Gary, Kevin, thank you for the extensive explanations.

[Gary S]

You're welcome, Reinhard.

More progress today - the 22 foot section is in place.

   

   

   

[Gary S]

Yesterday, spent all afternoon cleaning up the garage where the layout was. This afternoon, worked a little on the layout. Got the peninsula section started. Still have some more bracing and such to do on it.

   

   

[e-paw]

looks like you'll be running in no time.

[Tom]

What radius curve is going on that new piece Gary?

[nachoman]

Those shelf brackets are making for a very neat installation.

[Gary S]

looks like you'll be running in no time.

I haven't decided whether I need to complete all the benchwork first, or if I should just get the existing pieces connected together and get some trains running. We'll see how the benchwork goes in the next few days.

[Gary S]

What radius curve is going on that new piece Gary?

The curve on the outer edge of the benchwork is about 65" diameter at the peninsula (that's 30" of shelves on each side plus almost 5" for the wall) So, that's 32.5 inch radius on the outside. If I put the track 6 inches in from the edge, I can get a 26" radius curve. I'm okay with that, as I'll be running 4 axle diesels like the GP7, CF7, and GP30, plus mostly 40 foot cars. I dind't want to go any wider than 30" on the shelving because of the freestanding brackets.

[Gary S]

Those shelf brackets are making for a very neat installation.

Especially at the peninsula! I made the vertical shelf rails 24" long. Now I am wishing I would have made them only 12" long for an even cleaner installation. I just may take the shelves back down and cut them all off. On that note, I need to take the shelves down anyway so I can paint the underside of the benchwork. It isn't necessary, but I like the look. The other layout was painted underneath and it just had this "finished" look about it.

[Russ Bellinis]

I think the biggest advantage to painting the underside of the shelves is that paint will seal the wood to keep the humidity from causing warping or distortion.

[MasonJar]

Those shelf brackets are making for a very neat installation.

Especially at the peninsula! I made the vertical shelf rails 24" long. Now I am wishing I would have made them only 12" long for an even cleaner installation. I just may take the shelves back down and cut them all off. On that note, I need to take the shelves down anyway so I can paint the underside of the benchwork. It isn't necessary, but I like the look. The other layout was painted underneath and it just had this "finished" look about it.

As soon as you cut the supports off, you will immediately need storage shelves beneath the layout...!

Andrew

[Gary S]

I think the biggest advantage to painting the underside of the shelves is that paint will seal the wood to keep the humidity from causing warping or distortion.

That's true Russ. With the old layout in the garage exposed to the humidity and temp changes, I never had a single issue with warping or bending. The track stayed in gauge with no kinks too. The good results came from four things I think:

1. I used a table saw to rip 3/4 inch good quality plywood into strips that I used for the benchwork instead of the normal dimensional lumber.

2. I painted all the wood.

3. I used contact cement to attach the 2" thick faom to the top of the benchwork. I'm sure the foam helped stabalize everything.

4. The shelves were "free floating" on the shelf brackets, meaning they were not attached to the walls. This allowed a bit of room for expansion and contraction.

I'm planning on doing all of the above for the new layout too, even though it is in the new building which seals out the elements and is climate controlled.

[Gary S]

As soon as you cut the supports off, you will immediately need storage shelves beneath the layout...!

Andrew, that was my original thought on making the shelf brackets long. But I am thinking that instead of open shelving, I will use cabinets with drawers and doors underneath just to have a more "finished" look to the room.