New Homes & Basements

[rockislandmike]

My wife has decided we need to move up the date we buy our first home, to next summer/fall. Good news for my final layout, although my 7 x 12 would more than occupy my time for another year.

Not only that, but when she was checking the regional MLS listings online, she was specifically noting those homes that would have an acceptable basement for my layout.

 

[Woodie]

Bannished to the basement, hey Mike!

 

[rockislandmike]

Would certainly be better than the uninsulated garage, esp. in our winters !!!

 

[Woodie]

We don't have basements. We get banished to the back shed.

 

[Casey Feedwater]

Ahhhh, but such lovely contentment, that banishment

 

[sumpter250]

Woodie,
The condition of "banishment to the back shed" depends on just how "back shed" the back shed is.
At some point, I'm going to want all my living space on one level.
My knees aren't going to love stairs, so the idea of a back shed, vice the stairs down to the basement, has a certain appeal. And, there won't be a hot water heater, furnace, or laundry in the way.

Pete

 

[Vic]

Hey Mike, I had a full basement once. Although I throughly enjoyed having 2500 sq ft. to play in there were some drawbacks:
1. Cost me "a bundle" to extend heat and air conditioning into it.
2. Cost me "another bundle" to finish it off.
3. Climbing stairs got old after awhile.
4. Moisture was a problem.
5. Doubled my power bills for heat and air.
6. Was like having a second house to clean.
7. No outside entrance.
8. Etc Etc Etc

A standard attached 2 car garage is 20x20 plus utility space, easily insulated, easily enclosed, has outside access, already wired, level concrete floor, easily finished and etc.

Know that you have some harsh winters so you may not be able to devote a garage to a "play aera" but just some thoughts.

 

[rockislandmike]

Ack no way I want 2500 square feet anyways. Our deal is that I get half the basement, and I don't think I'd want any more than 500 square feet. That gets me like a 25x20 space (+/-), and that will be more than enough to satiate my layout cravings............................................

 

[60103]

Mike:
We're in our third house now, but the first used one. This one came with well finished basement room -- walls, ceiling and floor tiles.
It looks like you're thinking about a used house? Definitely check the basement for posts holding up the centrebeam--with luck they'll be hidden behind walls.
You'll probably want a de-humidifier for the basement. Concrete gives off water for years.
If the basement isn't finished, do it before starting the layout.
Check the level in the basement floor when you put the layout in. I forgot to, and my grades are 4% instead of 2%. (You can't fix the floor, but you can adjust the layout.)
Remember that anything made of wood, plaster, mortar and bricks can be changed.

My wife aalways tells real estate people that I have a railway. She also mentions our library.

 

[Vic]

Likes Banishment

Originally posted by sumpter250
Woodie,
The condition of "banishment to the back shed" depends on just how "back shed" the back shed is.

Pete

Hey Pete and Woodie, I've been banished to the back shed since 1990....and I love it!!!! Enclosed a detached two car garage. Dang thing was built in 1939. Nobody/nothing here but me, the railroad, an amatuer radio station and a computer...what more could I want???

 

[sumpter250]

Vic,
What more could you want!!????, how about plenty of cold beer, inexpensive brass narrow gauge locos ( that run! ), and no stinking tiny springs that have to be handled with tweezers!
Pete

 

[rich maiorano]

guess am with woodie and vis and been sent to the shed how if i can get CFO to release the funds I can start building my layout rich

 

[Vic]

Springs

Hey Pete, About those tiny springs.....I gave up on tweezers....I use the Xacto knife to handle them...slip the tip of the balde between the coils and then use it like to pencil to insert them where you want to. I usually put the tip of the blade near one end of the spring so it can be compressed if necessary. Still loose some but not near as many. I wonder where the $#%^ things go when they "take off"....haven't found one yet!!!

BTW
1. Cold Beer ....I got
2. Cheap Brass that runs.....We're both dreaming
3. Little springs...Like women..you can't live with 'em or without 'em

 

[marty w.]

Those springs meet up with the socks at the washing machine and run away together.
Marty

 

[marty w.]

WHAT?????????????????????????
When in the hell did I become a Senior Member?
I don't need this forum to remind me of that.
Do I get discounts now?
Marty

 

[planeshavings42]

Basement Good

Michael, You'll love the basement, plenty of room, no restrictions to growth, Cool in the summers, room for a workshop as well, you'll just need to put in a dumb waiter for those quick snacks and cold beer requirements...basements are the best.....

 

[Ralph]

Best of luck on the new home (and especially the new basement!) search Mike. After years in apartments a suitable basement was high on my list of priorities while my wife thought about things like kitchens and bedrooms. Advice already posted above regarding finishing the basement to your satisfaction is important to note. Any finishing work you do may delay the start of the layout but in the end you'll be so much happier and won't have to tear the railroad apart when the need for basement renovations finally must be addressed. By the way, my wife immediately lost interest in any home we looked at if the basement wasn't a good one. She's terrific! It sounds like you are also blessed with a model railroader's best friend.
Ralph

 

[60103]

Tiny Springs

Vic & Pete:
Tip from years ago. When you work with Kadee coil springs or truck springs, put a long piece of thread through the spring before you pick it up on the knife. It doesn't fly away as far and you can see the thread. Then take the thread out.
Also look at the Kadee spring pik, which has a pair of bumps that fit ino the coils.

 

[eightyeightfan1]

Basements......

I'm in the attic......You know how hot it gets up there. Early mornings and late nights in the summer for working on the layout.Sometimes I wish I should of done a desert railway instead of northwest Connecticut.....this way the tempature would match the scenery.

 

[Vic]

Thanks David

Hi David, That's a great tip about the thread thru the springs. I certainly am going to try that the next time I have to deal with those little devils THANK YOU!!!!