WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build

[Steamtrains]

That looks so good...And it's gonna be filled with trains..!!!

The floor...You haven't mentioned it - are you going to put down a tile, carpet, or whatever..??

[Gary S]

Gus, for now, the floor will be left concrete. Perhaps someday when the layout is substantially complete, I'll put something in, maybe carpet? Carpets sounds good because I like going barefoot.

[Steve]

Completely.................
AWESOME!!!!!

[Gary S]

Picked up the air conditioner sleeve on Friday. Got it installed today and the sheetrock is finished!

Next is hire a finisher for the taping, floating, and texture. I may get them to do the priming and painting too. Shelf brackets soon to follow.

[Gary S]

Oops... just dawned on me.

I still have to dig the trench for the electrical feed and also install the light fixtures before I start on the benchwork.

[Gary S]

Dug the trench and got the water pipe and the electrical pipe in. Will backfill the trench tomorrow. I started on this about 1:00pm. The ground was in perfect condition for digging, just the right amount of moisture, so I made good time. I even made a trip to HD for some pipe fittings, and still was able to get finished by dark.

One of the great things about living down south is that the water pipes don't have to be buried very deep. It hardly ever even gets below freezing, so no worry about the ground and pipes freezing. Could y'all up north get away with burying your pipes only 12" deep?

Digging the trench.

   

Glueing the pipes together.

   

Connecting the waterline to the existing pipe at the garage.

   

The pipes going into the train building. There is a spare electrical conduit coming from the panel just in case I ever wanted to add some electrical somewhere... maybe my wife will want a gazebo or something.

   

[tetters]

12" !!!


I wish! Try about 4 feet.

[Gary S]

Tetters, that is what I figured. I remember helping my Uncle put in some water lines in Colorado, and they had to be around 3 feet deep, plus it had one of those freeze-proof spigots for the faucet. The valve is actually underground, and when it is shut off, it drains out the water that is left in the above ground portion. You probably know what i am talking about.

[faraway]

It is amazing to see you building a building for your layout. I could not think about the cost and the paperwork with the officials to get all the permits here in Germany. You must be a happy man

[doctorwayne]

Boy, Gary, you sure don't waste any time! One thought crossed my mind, though: I trust the water line isn't anywhere within the area where your brick will be delivered? When I installed my electrical service to the house, it had to be 4.5' down and in heavy conduit, since it passes under the driveway.

Wayne

[Gary S]

I could not think about the cost and the paperwork with the officials to get all the permits here in Germany.

I guess I am still living in the "Home of the free and the land of the brave"... although that is changing little by little, everyday.

[Gary S]

Boy, Gary, you sure don't waste any time! One thought crossed my mind, though: I trust the water line isn't anywhere within the area where your brick will be delivered? When I installed my electrical service to the house, it had to be 4.5' down and in heavy conduit, since it passes under the driveway.

I hadn't thought about that. The brick "truck" won't be driving over the trench, but they will probably use a "brick forklift" to get the brick into the backyard. I don't think there would be any issue with it going over the trench, but I may put some boards over it just to make sure.

The weather has been nice and the yard is finally drying out. I may order the brick and have it delivered sometime in the next few days.

[nachoman]

When my dad was building his house, he had a problem with a utility trench. the power company routed the wire beside the driveway, but then crossed the driveway to install the transformer at the corner of the house. The soil underneath his house is very poorly drained due to shallow bedrock, so when it rains the ground stays saturated for long periods of time. For awhile, almost every delivery truck that came to the house got stuck, and so did the tow trucks that came to rescue them!

[BR60103]

Gary: We had the water supply pipes in the street replaced last summer and it included everything up to the outside shutoff valve. This is all located far enough down that it runs under the basement floor to the inside shutoff valve at the back of the house. So you can figure how far down the pipes are.

(We drove through Houston in January but didn't stop.)

[Gary S]

Gary: We had the water supply pipes in the street replaced last summer and it included everything up to the outside shutoff valve. This is all located far enough down that it runs under the basement floor to the inside shutoff valve at the back of the house. So you can figure how far down the pipes are.

Woah! I assume this was all done with a backhoe and not shovels?

(We drove through Houston in January but didn't stop.)

hock: Why didn't you say something???