Weed cloth

Hi Scott - I've been happy with the weed barrier cloth I used, seen in the photo below.  Pros are that it's cheap, comes in good widths to allow it to hang near the floor without resting on it, and can be purchased in lengths to allow you to do the entire layout with no gaps.  Cons are that, as you might expect, it's unforgiving of hot soldering irons when working under the layout (ask me how I know), and it can be difficult to cut cleanly.  The best solution I've found for the latter is to make the cuts outside in your yard, with a long metal ruler guiding the cut.  Another option is to just fold the rough-cut end back on itself and duct tape it to the back of the weed cloth, giving a nice straight visible end.

Weed cloth!

Thanks, Joe. I never would have guessed that you used weed cloth. I just happen to have some in the garage and will check it out. 

I thought I would get a few interesting suggestions, but you’re starting this thread off on a high note.

Low cost fabric with pleats

I used fabric that I got for $1.23 per yard that was 44" in width.  I put pleats in it by folding it back upon itself and hot gluing it.  It is held in place by clothes pins hot glued to the back of the fascia..  It costs more than landscape fabric but I liked the more "finished" look.

Weed cloth

Please let us know what you think Scott.

By the way, if you end up having to buy more, just a word of caution:  The most recent roll of weed cloth I bought - for its intended use this time - had the manufacturer's logo imprinted in it.  While it was also black, I think it'd be very noticeable for layout use.  Unfortunately, by the time I noticed it while working in the yard, I'd already thrown away the package label, and I don't recall the manufacturer's name.  If I think of it, I'll check the garage later to see if we have any left, so you know what brand to stay away from.

Fabric Store

Hi Rrfaniowa,

Your local fabric store would have some inexpensive cotton cloth in widths up to 44".

Id badge clips from the office supply store can be used to hold the material to the fascia.

It's removable, washable and lasts for years.

Hardboard

Scott,

I used 1/8 inch masonite hardboard to skirt the Grimes Line and try to provide some level of finish to a rather unfinished basement. I set it back as deep as I could from the fascia edge to provide toe space for operators and give the benchwork a floating look.

However, I don't have any storage under the layout.

I'd say that a fabric skirting is the easiest to deal with if you have to have repeated access to underneath the layout. I do remember an article from Paul Dolkos about how he used removable beadboard paneling underneath his layout. Every panel was removable to give access anywhere on the layout, instead of just as certain points.

No matter what material or method you use, I'd recommend trying to set it back from the fascia edge, to prevent you and your operators from kicking the material over and over again.

James

Shelf

I am a big fan of putting a 4 inch wide shelf around the base of the fascia.  I recommend making them as long as possible and as many as possible.  They come in handy while working on the layout to set materials and tools on; and during operations to set paperwork and decoupling tools on.  I would then hang a curtain underneath the shelf.

Our club used weed cloth.  It looked great, but we found it is not durable enough.   I tended to rip out were we attached it to the benchwork.  With all the work it is going to take to mount the curtains (I took us longer than we thought it would)  you might be better off spending a little bit more and going with a heavier cloth.  Then again it might hold up better on a private layout.

Art     

Weed Cloth

I use weed cloth as well. I glued clothespins to the back of the fascia to hold it up. If the cloth gets snagged or stepped on, it pulls out of the clothespin instead of ripping.  Luckily, I didn't need to trim it lengthwise.  

options for a covering below my layout fascia to hide storage?

   I kinda like those rolling stacked drawer units with plastic bins, they seem like they would be flexible in their placement and easy to move around as needed.  For my new HO layout I'm using old kitchen base cabinets for the peninsulas and some plywood drop in doors creating storage along the wall in wider benchwork spots, while other wall areas with narrow benchwork will just be bare stud walls from layout to floor.....DaveB

Curtain connection

Found these super-cheap items at Lowes last night. I think they would work well to hold whatever material I use for the curtain. 

I plan to use 1/2 inch conduit as the rods because it’s also super-cheap -- about $2 per 10 feet. I’ll glue a spacer block behind my fascia, screw in the 1/2 inch pvc clamp, insert the rod cut to length, and bingo, nice supports!

I’ll install grommets along the length of the curtain and use the metal clip shown to connect to the rods. The whole assembly will be concealed just under the fascia so all the operators will see is black curtain. 

BTW: a package of five 1/2 inch pvc clamps cost $.93 and package of 12 metal clips $2. 

Cheap shower curtains

I have nothing on my present layout but in the past I've used cheap black shower curtains that I cut down in length. I used small PVC pipe mounted behind the fascia for "curtain" rods.

Michael

another vote for weed cloth

and it is cheap enough that I never hesitate to replace sections that might get plaster splattered on it!

md

In reference to the panels

I do not remember who had built the layout but his under layout area had wood panels in tracks so they would slide from one side to the other. The items were much like a sliding shower door. They could also be easily removed and repainted if need be. Access was very easy as well and a large amount of storage was available under the layout.

Under benchwork panels

"I do not remember who had built the layout but his under layout area had wood panels in tracks so they would slide from one side to the other. The items were much like a sliding shower door. They could also be easily removed and repainted if need be. Access was very easy as well and a large amount of storage was available under the layout".

      I used a similar method for parts of my new HO layout. Certain areas around the route  had a workbench along the wall so I added plywood drop in panels. The panels are held in place by wooden strips at the top and the bottom, the slot in the top strip is deep enough that  the panel can be lifted up to clear the bottom strip then tilted out at the bottom for removal. A knob up near the top gives a handy handle. The panels can be seen in the background of this photo. The existing workbench was 36 inch tall and the layout will be about 53 inches tall so there will be under layout access space above the panels.The bottom of the unpainted masonite in the photo is the layout benchwork height....DaveB

Weed cloth brand to avoid

Weed Block

I am going to use the weed fabric around my layout when I get to that stage.Thanks Joe for letting us know about the unsuitable brand. Since I'll be using steel studs for my bench work I'm going to hold the fabric on with magnets, easy to take off and on.

One other item to use is the slumlord plastic window blinds. They come in many colors and sizes and the sellers will usually cut to size free. Again, easy access but the price can start to get high if you have a larger layout.   

Thanks everyone…

…for your input. 

I’ve decided to go with black duck cloth from the fabric store. It’s fairly heavy cloth so it’ll hang nicely, plus it can be cleaned easily as well. 

Canvas drop cloths

Under the layout material - flame resistance

Long ago I had a modular O Scale (2 rail) layout. We had it on exhibit in a side lobby at a major hotel and the hotel management insisted we remove the cloth skirts, then provided black fire proof cloth (like use to wrap temporary stages, tables, etc). They let us keep the black fabric, thou I believe it went with the layout when it was sold. 

I wonder where one might get that stuff? Probably better than using flammable cloth, is available and retaliativly affordable (I am not to that stage on my current layout, but when I get there...). 

Bob Courtney

Flame Resistance

?

The same thing happened at an indoor car show once...

It was the world of Wheels that also had clubs displaying their cars among the show beauties.  One of the clubs did a beautiful job of decorating their space with a USA theme and used all sorts of paper display items.  The Fire Marshal made them take it all down and dispose of it because it wasn't treated with a fire retardant spray.  The folks running the show disqualified the club.

Den