base boards

[outofgauge]

Hi all, I,m having a purpose built shed in the garden as my railway room, taking into account weather conditions whats the best board to use, MDF or plywood.

Cheers
    Les

Less just to prewarn you -my Mrs bought me this

And I can positively  tell you it was useless in the construction of my railroom / workshop

So if she offers -politely refuse and opt for a 1/2kg bag of nails from screwfix !!!!!

[outofgauge]

First timer and Daffy  check your in boxes please

[jrb]

That's a very nice shed.

[daveg]

Thanks for all your help. Plywood it is 9mm or 12mm, what,s the best?

I've found that 9mm ply with decent 2x1 battening works well.

Remember to varnish both sides and edges to help seal and protect.

Dave G

[ntpntpntp]

Thanks for all your help. Plywood it is 9mm or 12mm, what,s the best?

As previously mentioned, 9mm works for me for my portable exhibition  layout baseboards, for the sides of the baseboard "box" and for the track bed. 

I've seen 6mm used quite effectively for a light and airy design almost like an aircraft frame.

[first timer]

Hi all, I,m having a wooden shed to house my railway, is wood the best choice or should I plumb for plastic or metal?

[Newportnobby]

Nothing wrong with a wooden shed provided it's well insulated, heated, carpeted, has professionally done electrics (no extension lead from the house please) and made secure against tea leaves.
There's no doubt summat I've missed but go for it, I say.

[outofgauge]

Mines osb board with a waterproof membrane on outside - slate battern - then upvc cladding over that - apart from the front - my one back down with the Mrs that's clad in Siberian larch . Metal roof is Sat on 1" polystyrene and that's Sat on osb board again ! Metal will condensate badly in winter if you don't insulate it - drip paradise ! Woods fine just use polystyrene from wicked - big sheet cheap - buy 5 they go cheaper again !

[Newportnobby]

We seem to have drifted quite far from the original topic of 'Base Boards' albeit with a tenuous link
There's no separate section for 'Mancaves' so I can't think where best to move this to

[first timer]

Newportnobby, Got the carpet (free on freecycle) and underlay, and the insulation roll, but until I can afford the electrics it will have to be an extention cable, but to start with it will only be for the control box and perhaps a one bulb light. I did,nt think the electrics would be so expencive ( up to £400 ). I run the mower and strimmer on an extention cable from the house so one control box should not be a problem ( do you think )

    Les

[daffy]

Hi Les, I'm no expert electrician but it won't be just a control box. You have to have shed lighting too, and should not be running mains power through an extension for both lighting and power sockets/outlets.

As far as I know the power to a shed should be a seperate circuit from your house main consumer unit (fuse box), complete with fuse (circuit breaker) and be fully insulated, properly routed (underground is best) to feed a sub-unit (secondary fuse box) in the shed, from which separate lighting and power circuits can be run, and again this must be fitted with circuit breakers.

To do otherwise is not only outside the modern regulations and likely to not be best received by insurers if you ever need to claim when it all goes horribly wrong, but is very risky. That extension cable from the house, if you are running a mower etc, is likely to be 13 amp rated - way too high for safety with lighting, let alone your valuable model layout.

£400 sounds a lot, but it is what I would spend in the circumstances - the quote two years ago for my shed to be wired was £600, but I only use it for storage and stuff, so I passed. My layout room - the good lady still insists on calling it "the dining room" -  is in the house.

Sorry to sound preachy, not my intent, and plenty of folks run stuff in sheds on extension leads, including me, but only on a very occasional basis with a circuit breaker fitted for safety at the house socket, and never when it's raining or humidity is high.  Sheds can be damp places, and damp and electrics don't mix.

As NPN said, do it proper. It will pay dividends in the long run and also protect your investment - layouts and rolling stock don't come cheap.

[Newportnobby]

I'm the last person to advise you on electrics, Les, believe me!
I'm in agreement with Mike (Daffy) in that it really is a job which needs doing correctly to protect both you and your surroundings. My next door neighbour has a cable running from his leccy fusebox on the wall outside up the wall and then carried on some wire across to his garage. I'm sure 'elf 'n' safety would have a conniption fit. A couple of years ago I was quoted over £600 to run armoured cabling out to my shed so gave it a swerve completely.

[first timer]

Thanks guys, well that's the shed idea gone,not working theres no way I can afford to put electrics in, good job I hav,nt bought the shed yet, only have a small 1 bed bungalow so no where to work on it or run it. Anyone want to buy a load of N gauge?

[Yet_Another]

I run my shed successfully off an extension which runs from an external RCD protected and waterproof socket. The extension cable is protected in conduit, which is buried alongside the path. It is entirely adequate for my purposes, because I know what I'm doing. My layout's not in there, so I've never had to heat it, and as long as I keep the current down it's fine.

So you can run the power to your shed via an extension lead, as long as you are mindful of what you are doing, and treat it as if it were another appliance, like a lawn mower. If you don't run a lawnmower in the rain, don't run the shed.

But, as with all advice you'll get on the internet, if it's something that can cause harm in any way, get the actual advice of an actual expert who is actually standing in front of you when they give it to you.

[Newportnobby]

Thanks guys, well that's the shed idea gone,not working theres no way I can afford to put electrics in, good job I hav,nt bought the shed yet, only have a small 1 bed bungalow so no where to work on it or run it. Anyone want to buy a load of N gauge?

The last thing I want to do is put you off but I do want you to be safe. Running the wire through thick hosepiping to a shed into a double socket protected with RCDs is something I did in Telford but did not run a layout or heating. It was purely for lights and power tools or lawn mower/strimmer.
How about fitting a decent batten to the bedroom wall and having a fold down layout on hinges over the bed?