What I did in Florida

Im in west central Florida and my layout is in the garage, My garage is drywall on two side, block wall on the other two and a finished ceiling. Of course heat and humidity are the main issue, so I insulated the garage door and installed a window AC and put some insulation over the rest of the window. Parts of my layout are over 30 years old and I have not really had any issues with the heat or humidity. I only run the AC when I am out there. I built the layout using plywood, homasote and cork roadbed. 

Garage Layout in SC

I'm near the coast in South Carolina and well into a garage layout project (6 years now).  The garage is insulated and dry walled with just a single window and an insulated double garage door.  The RR and its lights are on their own power circuits.  I do use a window A/C unit for about 6-8 months of the year.  It has to be removed (HOA silliness) for the off season.  I also use a sealed space heater to keep the temp above 45F during the winter as needed when it gets colder (not often a problem here).  I would suspect that in NJ a better heating solution would be advisable.  I am considering a split heat pump system as removing the A/C every year takes a toll on the window frame.

One interesting thing I discovered to watch out for - extended direct sunlight on small rail sizes (code 70 as an example) can causes thermal kinks.  The rail gets very hot if exposed to direct sunlight for more than 20 minutes, so I use a temporary 'false wall' (basically tarps hung from the door) when I have to have the garage door open for long periods of time.  Ultimately a better way is needed of course that would work with the need to have the garage door usable.

One other thing, I use cheap industrial grade carpets tiles in the RR aisle ways - makes it easier on the feet instead of  bare concrete

Bottom line, with care and planning a RR in a garage works.

Rick G.

Byron Henderson has a good article

You can find it here   http://www.layoutvision.com/id42.html

I had my last one in the garage and am planning the next on for there too.  The biggest key is be sure it is finished - sheet rock on 5 sides.

Here is the photos from the last day of that layout http://s90.photobucket.com/user/ratled/library/Klamath%20sub%20ver%201%20last%20day?sort=3&page=1

Steve

How do you insulate your door?

How do you insulate your garage door? I have a decent insulated door but my biggest concern is sealing/insulating the door opening. 

Two ideas

Maybe not the cheapest solution but 1) fill the opening from the outside with studs and siding to match the house or 2) if you must retain the garage "look" (and don't want to deal with the permits) then frame the wall in behind the garage door to the ceiling. Insulate both of course. 

My layout is in the room above our garage and has become tolerable despite the sloping ceilings. 

Thats what I did. Frame up in

Thats what I did. Frame up in front of the garage door. Worked well, until it needed to be taken down

Regards Phil

Garage Door

Since our garage door (it is insulated) must remain operable so any sort of framing was not really practical.  Plus the door opener rails were in the way too.  The best I could come up was to attach 1in foam panels on the door to add extra insulation to the door.  They don't weigh much so the door opener motor doesn't have much of an additional strain added to it. The added R-value certainly isn't much, but every little bit helps. I'm sure there are better ways, but it works ok in our situation.

Rick G. 

Layout in garage

I live in central Florida and I have a layout (based on the New Haven set in 1948) in my garage as well. We moved into the house two years ago. The home was a foreclosure and needed a new A/C unit. At that time, I had duct work added to the garage The additional air required an A/C unit that was slightly bigger by 1 ton. The garage door also needed to be replaced. That was done with an insulated garage door. The entire garage was painted white and the floor was done in a 2 part epoxy. Now it is as comfortable as any other room in the house. I needed to make sure the layout didn't interfere with the attic ladder. 

Robert Gross

Groveland, FL

Garage Layout Ideas

There are many different garage layout ideas like first of all you have to make a list the things that you need in the garage and then categorize in different categories. After that you decide the design what you want. I used many companies services for my garage but I recommend that you use the service for plumber in Bedford. Their work is outstanding and  prices are very affordable.

Garage Door Seals & Gasket

Hi Patrick,

When we had our garage door replaced, they put on trim boards with vinyl/rubber seals on the top and sides of the door.  It prevented drafts, moisture and insects from invading the garage.  If you don't have the seals, they can be purchased by the foot from any garage door company.

The same sealing issues exist for the bottom of the door.  They make a "U" shaped rubber gasket that can be attached to the bottom of the door.

I would recommend using screws to attach everything so they aren't affected by heat, cold, humidity and vibration.