Not sure where you live, but

I would check the building codes.  Where I live, the basement walls must be studded, insulated and covered with drywall or wallboard of some kind.  You also must have an outlet every 12 feet along the wall.  You might have more lax codes in your area, but this is standard for most places I know people that have built houses recently. 

I'd like to help, but in So. California,

the first question that comes to mind is "What is a basement?"  From what I've seen, I think I would like to have one of those, but I don't think I've ever seen one in So Cal.

requirements

Ryan,

Dave makes a great point.  Check with your building dept or local building permitting authority.  They can give you the requirements for your upgrades to the space, and can also advise you regarding such things as ground water intrusion issues and type and amounts of insulation that may be necessary and/or wise to install.

For your size basement, I suspect you will have some significant electrical requirements, both in lighting and lighting controls, and in power for layout functions.  It may be time well spent doing some electrical pre-planning with an professional electrician (not a handyman).  You may consider a subpanel, or at least 2 or more dedicated circuits just for layout and room use.  These should be installed earlier rather than later.  A master switch for all layout power circuits at the entrance/exit to the room is an excellent safety device.

Russ, we in SoCal have basements:  it's that space under the hillside homes in the high-fire-areas!

Also do a floor

Codes are a good guide.  But here's what my brother (pro carpenter) suggested for a floor:

Lay a grid of 1x2 (I ripped 1x4 in half) pressure treated (PT) wood on about 16" centers.  Leave gaps between the pieces to let the air move underneath.  Glue that stuff down with construction adhesive (liquid nails).  Then lay 3/4" tongue & groove PT plywood.  Screw into the 1x2.  Apply floor leveler and then lay vinyl tiles.  (I used beigy slate colored tiles, which look good and make it easy to see stuff when it falls, even NBW castings!).  This makes standing on the floor a lot easier. 

When you wire in the room, I suggest having all of the outlets controlled by a single master switch.  That way you can turn everything off from one switch and make sure you didn't leave that soldering iron plugged in and on

dave

Fire Code

Regardless of local building codes, I am willing to be you will have to cover the foam with a fire retardant product.

Check local codes and hire professionals to plan wiring as mentioned already.

Basement Layout

Several years ago I built a new home for my wife to keep the snow off of my trains which will reside in a 30' x 60' basement.  I had the walls and flors painted by the contractor.  My layout will run around the walls with a long center pensula.  I use domino modular construction and the photo shows my previous apartment layout.  The modules will be incoprorated into the new layout design.  I will probably not install sheet rock, and have yet to decide on a backdrop. http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff354/jamnest/100_1195-1.jpg

The shop lights are connected to a master switch at the foot of the stairs. I had a independent 20 AMP circuit installed for my Digitrax DCC system with a master cut of switch at the base of the stairs. http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff354/jamnest/100_1196.jpg

The work bench has its own power circuit.  When I turn out the overhead light, all power is terminated to the work bench. http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff354/jamnest/100_0275.jpg

The contractor installed electrical outletts around the walls with GFI.  These will not be used for layout operations, but are used for power tools to construct the layout.

Layout room ceilings

Not to pick a fight but i have changed my opinion on Tbar ceilings.My layout is 27ftx37FT with a suspended ceiling.I have problems with dirty track that my freinds with a drywall ceiling don't seem to have.This is hardly  scientific evidence just my feeling.I would do it like Charli did if I could do it over.

http://s145079212.onlinehome.us/rr/bcsj3/construct070301/index.html

Got an acoustic tile ceiling, hate it

 I did ceiling tiles on my train room, and I'm sorry I did it that way.  The train room sits directly underneath the washer which dumped a load over the train room.  The ceiling tiles kinda disintegrated over some structures, etc.  They were easy to replace, and the damage was less than I would have gotten if wallboard had fallen on the layout.  So that's the good news.  The bad news is that they're dirty.  The tiles themselves give off dust and they don't seal off the dust that falls from the floor above.  And it's also hard to install anything on the ceiling.  If I were doing this over, I would bite the bullet and do wallboard.  Or at least I'd paint the tiles to seal them.

dave

Living Space vs Storage Space

That may well be the requirement for Living Space vs Storage or Utliity Space. It may not be relevent to a space which is not intended to be living space. Its a fine distinction but it can make a big difference and worth looking into. However, where the OP is doing other finishing tasks it may trigger this being a finished living space and create an issue regardless.

I am lookng at doing my own layout space and one thing I want to avoid is adding to the square footage of my house. My state has no income tax.. just property tax. Adding 400 sq ft of area if I made my layout space something other then unfinished basement would result in a not insignificant increase in property tax. I want to make it comfortable and useful without  making it finished..

Regards,

Chris

ceiling tile options

Options to ceiling tile (in addition to Dave's suggestion to paint/seal them):

Some restaurant kitchens do this for sanitation:  Cut gypsum board panels and paint them.

Some restaurants and medical facilities use "Thermo-Tile", a polystyrene panel product that's been around for several decades, so it should be available.  It's light, and dust-free.                                  Don't know the cost.   Here's a link:                                  http://www.thermo-tile.com/Benefits.html

california basements

What do people think of "finishing" for California Basements (AKA garage, under the house on a hillside, etc)?  Right now I have a similar situation as Ryan except mine is a concrete wall in the garage approx 19ft long and floor to ceiling (4 or so inches short of ceiling).  All other walls and ceiling are drywall & textured.  My original plan was to do similar to Ryan of use liquid nails to attach 2 inch foamboard to the concrete in a vertical orientation and put in a 2x2" between sheets secured physically to the concrete with bolts of some sort so I can hang shelf brackets from them.  I was also considering running conduit behind the foam (cut channel or run from top of wall down) and put outlets next to these 2x2" "studs".

Thoughts?

Re: Living Space

Chris,

You hit this one on the head for me.  I want it to look nice, keep the dust down, insulate it, but not have it considered living space...  There are also HVAC requirements that come in to play if it is to become "living" space.

Ryan

Is it "Living Space"

I would guess it depneds on your local building inspector.  I have spoken to mine about what is considered and not considered "Living Space".  And I asked if I had tiled ceilings and carpeted floors for a model railroad set up, would that be considered "Living Space"? He said no.  It still would be as far as they are concerned "storage space".  But other areas may very.

Ken L.

"Living Space" vs. "Storage Space"

"Storage space" is used for just storage and you would rarely go into that area, and when you do you are in it for a very short time in most instances.  "Living space" is where you go into an area and spend a fair amount of time.  If you do much with your railroad, it really should be considered "living space."   I know from a financial and amount of work perspective, you'd like to cheat and call it storage space, but the reason the codes are there is to protect YOU and YOUR HOME.  Proper heating/cooling/ventilation as well as fire code requirements aren't there just to be irritating, there are very good reasons for them, not the least of which is containing a fire long enough for you to get out of the house, rather than having the place go up like a tinder box.  

A friend of mine is a fire inspector/investigator and there are a couple things he said that stuck with me.  One, you never see a tidy home get more than smoke damage when a fire starts - its the messy ones that burn to the ground.  Two, the fires that do the most damage are those that have not had building codes followed or are too old to enforce the building codes - and have a higher risk of death in the fire because of it.  His advice - the codes are there for a reason so follow them because they may just save your life.

Interesting, Ken

I don't think that would fly here.  If you finished the room and utilized it on a regular basis, I think they'd call it "living space."  Again, though, are you doing yourself any favour by not following the codes? 

It is a habitable (living) space

All on this thread:

Dave, your fire inspector/investigator friend is absolutely correct.  Here at work there are four fire investigators within 20 feet of my desk.  I just took a poll based on this thread topic and discussion.  We all agree with your friend.  And for the same reason:  not just that the building code and fire code say so, but the "been there mopping up after" factor:  the most deaths, injuries, and property damage are where the codes have been ignored.

So, by all means, include your building code authority in your plans.  Use them as an experienced resources to plan a safe, healthy, and comfortable railroad room.

And, yeah, I had my work hat on again.  Thanks for listening to the rant.

Basement

Don, are you suggesting I should not spend any time in my basement unless I have had it completely renovated? 

Chris

I live in Virginia and codes are strick But

When you buy a home with an un-finished basement it's considered utility space. It doesn't even count as part of the square footage of your home if it is unfinished upon final sale from contractor to home owner.

Finishing your basement: You need only follow Fire Codes for electrical, and plumbing and must use a licensed contractor for electrical installation and once you pass inspection you can do what ever you want to the walls.

you can hang Drywall, Paint the bricks, glue Egg cartons to the Brick wall, cover the walls is colored silly string.Tape Balloons to the walls anything you want as long as it doesn't cause interference with the electrical. How do I know this well I called the city and asked and they said all I needed to do before finishing the Basement is have a licensed electrical contractor install the wiring and have it inspected then once it passes inspection do what you want just don't alter the electrical installation  If you don't add electrical your free to do what you want to finish the walls and ceiling and you do NOT require a license to do it.

Personally I divided the basement into 4 rooms had a contractor friend of mine install electrical sockets and then finished them by adding 2 X 3 inch studs every 16 inches on center and placed 1-1/2inch thick solid corning isolation foam sheets between the studs. After that I put 1/2 plywood over the whole surface and 3/8 Drywall on top of that in two rooms and Masonite 1/4" thick wood paneling over the foam and studs in a third room. The 4th room is totally unfinished except for the block filler paint and weather sealer that I had the whole basement covered in when I moved in.

I finished one room that's 14 ft wide and 22 ft long with a 1/2' thick Drywall overhead and that's my office and the two railroad rooms have a light weight fiberglass drop ceiling. 

Dan

It doesn't even count as part

Something desirable in our state until you actually go to sell..

A homeowner can wire their own home in most states. I actually think that Federal law provides for it but cannot remember the name of the law. It may require some other regulation or subsequent inspection per local law. You must be licensed (depending on local laws) to wire someone else's home..

Chris

If that's the case, Dan

I'd argue that the rules aren't so strict in Virginia.  I believe our code here is that before the house can be sold, the outside walls must be insulated and sheeted with electrical outlets every 12 feet at minimum.  I'd have to check for sure, but that's what I recall.  

And, yes, those buildings built before the codes do not require upgrading to current standards in most circumstances, unless you do renovations.  Chris, its not that you shouldn't go into your basement, its what is the best thing to do when you are completing a layout area in your basement.  Obviously you only have to follow the code requirements in your area to the letter, I'm merely suggesting that I would consider my layout area a "living space" for the amount of time both me and my kids spend there. 

Wiring

In our area, you don't require a licensed electrician to wire your house, it only has to pass inspection by the licensed inspector. 

Finish the Room

Regardless of local code requirements, unfinished train rooms just too often suck to be in, and the lack of finishing means more dust on the track to ruin operation.  I will also echo the distaste for suspended ceilings since they do a poor job of containing dust.  It's tempting to cheap out on room preparation, but doing it right is so rewarding in the long run that you'll be glad you did.

One of my prior layouts was in a room that was finished except for the floor.  The concrete dust was such a problem that I gave in and installed vinyl tile everywhere, after which the layout ran MUCH better.  Don't skimp on a particular area like that; you'll pay for it later like I did.

Codes not require by city

My house fire insurance is reduced by $252.00 a year if all electrical is installed by a licensed and certified contractor. I checked with the boss lady and she said I was almost right It's not required by any code other then just her code of saving on everything.

Dan

Well......

Chris,

Now you're asking me to consider the intent of the code.  SO...

Fire & life safety, then health safety:  those are the background premises for the existence of the building and fire codes.

If you are in your unfinished basement doing stuff, the observed environment helps you define it and be cognizant of it, what you have to be aware of to be safe, and activities you would feel comfortable in doing.  If I were to visit for, say, an Ops session, I would observe the unfinished basement, and have a reasonable expectation of a level of safety that was different (less than) if I was in your home.

Concerning what you do in your own home:  it's basically your castle; you're the boss, the supreme fascist.(number theorist Paul Erdős' term, but sort of fitting).    But, once you introduce other people into your empire, the Code, as promulgated by the society in which we live, places some requirements on you to provide a level of safety for them.

That was the short answer; I'm still thinking about this.  Thanks for the question.