Very basic question, what is a good height, floor to baseboard? I am thinking that if I measure the height of the average kitchen/dining table I would be good. Am I missing anything? I am probably going to top the baseboard with around 2" of foam to allow for some sub level scenics, river, canal, pond - whatever. Approximate measurements of the layout will be 6' x ??? with access only really on the long edge.
Thoughts and suggestions would be most welcome...
Thanks, Allan.....
I guess it really does depend on what you want.
I have Trepol Bay quite low at home because it live in a room with a sloping roof but it is on adjustable tables which I raise to dining table height at exhibitions as that provides a better viewing height.
The higher it is the less you have to bend to work on it !
The height is a personal choice but remember the higher it is the more difficult it is to reach the far side of the board. I find that a meter high is about my limit with a 2ft(610mm) wide board but I am only 5ft 7ins tall, so I would play around with a piece of board of the depth you will be using until you find a comfortable hieght to work on.
I hope this helps.
I like my trains high up so I can see them, about 4 feet is good for N to me; though I never have built anything rectangular block shaped, more of a shelf layout for me :)
If reach is a problem something to stand on helps a lot, I have some small steps I used for high cupboards.
The top of my baseboard is 32.5 inches off the floor. It is just about 30 inches deep and I can comfortably reach all areas. A lot depends on how long your arms are and how high your waist is off the floor i.e. where you are bending. As has been suggested, it would be a good idea if you could get your baseboard and experiment with various heights. Remember, you have to be comfortable and if you are constantly stretching at your limit, you will soon get :censored: fed up!
Is this for a layout you are planning to exhibit?
If it is you may want to consider children and wheelchair users. Alternatively you may not. I really like high boards that are nearer to my eye level. However I know this is difficult for disabled wheelchair users - although children can usually use a step stool, and as such our layout is at what I would regard the usual hight, about a metre.
Alternatively if it's just for you you are probably going to be operating it very differently. Certainly my home layout I operate sitting down.
Cheers
Kirky
My main layout is fixed at 44" above floor level (a) so I don't strain my back bending over the boards and (b) so that I can still get under it to the other side (you might deduce from this I'm not very bendy :-[)
My smaller end to end layout is set up on 3 x height adjustable trestles.
To some extent it depends on how tall the modeller is, I am 6ft tall and found between 38 and 42in was ideal for my layouts.
The main part of my layout has a board level of 41" (1.04 m). This gives me a viewing height of a bit above horizontal when I'm rolling about my room on my swivel chair. Suits me fine, but I do have to stand on a milk crate to reach the far side of my layout. Like NPN, I'm not bendy. Working under my layout is not comfortable, but it would be worse with a lower baseboard.
There is no correct choice for baseboard height as there are trade-offs between lower and higher heights. Comes down to personal choice. I've never regretted mine.
Webbo
The layout that I am building is at 51" to give a lowish-level perspective when standing. I will invest in a bar-stool for seated operation.
Just went out to the garage and measured my layout.... 46" to from floor to datum level, but some trackwork is on a higher level and I do have to stand on a chair to get to the far side of the widest baseboard section. I never found that to be a problem when I built it but with the passing of years, it is becoming a bit of a pain.
For viewing/filming purposes I have a height adjustable bar stool which I managed to salvage from a skip at my sisters old house :)
Your sister lived in a pub, then? :beers:
A height-adjustable option is great if you are planning on having just the one board where you can use trestles with variable heights.
I based my board height on standard kitchen worktops (c36/37 inches) as I knew I could comfortably work standing up and not too much of a challenge to work under. The latter however is becoming more of a challenge but that's mostly down to 'anno domini'
I use a 'step-up' to help me reach the far corner of my L shaped layout..
A decent chair with adjustable height is great for benchwork and watching the trains go by. :D
Dave G
Thanks to everyone who responded to my question.
When the work on my place is finished and I start to actually get into the layout building it is (probably) going to be attached to the wall on three sides. Either that or it's going to be fitted so close to the wall that it may as well be attached. So, no, I have no aspirations in the direction of exhibiting, it will be, to all intents, a fixture. It is my intention to have as little wiring done under the board as is possible, I have a lot of the work done in that direction already, semi-ready to just cut and fit. (fingers crossed) I know that there will be work to do under the board to get it near to completion (completion never happens I am told) and most of that can be done with the board standing upright against the wall with luck.
So, based on the excellent set of replies in the thread I will most likely go with something a bit higher than the kitchen table but still viewable from a seated position.
Thanks again to all for your contributions.
Regards, Allan..... :thankyousign:
Quote from: dannyboy on June 05, 2016, 08:13:39 PM
you will soon get :censored: fed up!
Sorry Mods :-[
The track height of mine is set at about 53 inches (about because I do have gradients). I know that this is not great for children or disabled people, but I expect to use my layout at home far more that than at exhibition so I have set it at a height that suits me. This height allows me to view the layout out at near eye level which is a key design feature that I had in mind when I started to build the layout.
My board is 34" from floor to track. Bit lower than I would have guessed, but it fits well with the armchair that I slouch in to watch the trains go by. Gives me a sort of low level drone view across the boards, so I can see front and back trains on my 600mm wide board.
Helps hide the shocking lack of change on the scenery front too!
But it is wanting to be a bit higher for when work does get done, as it's a bit back aching to bend over it for any great time...
Donald
My wife greeted me this morning with an idea that we could use existing cupboards, minus their plinths, as supports for the layout I am considering putting it what we laughingly call "the dining room". As this would place the underside of the layout at 1.03 metres I was curious as to other views, and this thread has been most helpful.
Thanks to all who contributed.
At 6'1" tall I shouldn't have difficulty reaching the back of the layout, and the pine cupboards will give excellent storage, with the overall height keeping the Osteopath at bay.
:thankyousign:
Great idea with all that storage on offer but do remember that you'll need to have easy access to the underside of the board(s) unless you plan to surface mount your electrics.
Another thing I found is while whatever height (and depth) decided on may be fine to reach to the back and sort out a misbehaving loco or bit of stock, it also has to be good when actually working on say, laying track or the deepest joy of ballasting (Kato of course needn't have ballast). Back ache can set in pretty quickly if there's a tricky bit of track or pointwork to grapple with!
Having said all that, I've found that kitchen worktop height works fine for me and I'm a huge 5'61/2"!
Look forward to seeing what you are building.
Dave G
Quote from: daffy on September 28, 2016, 09:37:03 AM
My wife greeted me this morning with an idea that we could use existing cupboards, minus their plinths, as supports for the layout I am considering putting it what we laughingly call "the dining room".
She's a treasure, Daffy. Wish I'd had one of those :(
Good thoughts Dave. Thanks. I am envisaging an l-shaped board 6' or so on one wall, and 4' to 6' on the other. The longer side would be 3' deep, the other less deep and maybe with a narrow extension with sidings, fiddle yard or what ever.
The two Ducal cupboards are only 10" deep and 34" wide so I could position them strategically against the walls, or might now consider having them freestanding and leave a gap to the baseboard for wiring clearance. Okay it will increase the height, but only a little.
It's all a mind plan at the moment as we have to have a door knocked through to the garage on the same wall the board will mount to, so I'm waiting for all that to be completed. I understand breeze-block dust and n gauge are not good friends. :D ( might sweep it up to use in my scenics for scree slopes, boulders etc).
Not that any of this necessary delay stops me buying bits and bobs of track and trains, and doing lots of research and reading the great wealth of knowledge found on this forum.
Once the dust settles and the room gets redecorated I shall start a thread so I can illustrate the process of gaffs and errors I am bound to make! ;D
Probably not going to be until the New Year that the baseboard gets its first fitting. :( and I need to do a lot of practise scenery making! :)
Quote from: newportnobby link=topic=33467.msg404552#msg404552 date=1475067552
She's a treasure, Daffy. Wish I'd had one of those :(
/quote]
She truly is. Sorts the finances, keeps me sane, and has the best of qualities for model building and detail work - myopia! :D She's all a long-sighted old git like me could ever need. :thumbsup:
Hmmmn :-\ seems I quoted myself before I'd even said it.