Seven Mills Sidings, from TOPS to the POD, Page 169 and Bench Road, Stabling and Fuelling Point from Page 245

[Andrew P]

9 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

What a shame mate.

Regards Lez.

Strangely enough, the current owners have planning permission to convert the Garage into an En Suit and third Bedroom, and so they started with a door from the Master Bedroom into the Garage, pity they didn't start with the one from the hall.

 

[5BarVT]

Solved it!

Convert the Garage into a lounge/diner . . .

:-)

Paul.

[Andrew P]

3 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Solved it!

Convert the Garage into a lounge/diner . . .

:-)

Paul.

Your all brave from a distance I notice, haha.

[Clive Mortimore]

27 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

Your all brave from a distance I notice, haha.

Hi Andy

 

Just tell Dee that Clive's railway room was called the living room by the estate agent.

[Donw]

Good news about finding a bungalow. Yes it is a pity the garage is not bigger but however much you get you can always use more. It should still be enough to keep you happy. New road looks nice but if it has to go ...   Layouts are best when the fiddleyard and the scenic bits are in balance. There is no point in having a fiddleyard which can hold a train longer than the layout can handle or one too small to hold one put together on the layout.

   The main thing is it is in an area you know and will suit you. The house is in pretty good nick from the sound of it and I assume Dee won't have too long a list of jobs for you (or those sons/son in laws can do them instead).

Don

[Hal Nail]

Given the speed you work at, wouldn't do any harm to draw up plans for a similar type layout but specifically designed for the length you have, rather than try and shoehorn this one in losing something you like?

 

Six and Abbot Mills?!

 

You dont have to go ahead but might be a good to have an exciting new project to start in the new home?

Edited February 28, 2020 by Hal Nail

[Andrew P]

9 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi Andy

 

Just tell Dee that Clive's railway room was called the living room by the estate agent.

I just did.

 

 

My bags are being packed as I speak

[Andrew P]

8 hours ago, Donw said:

Good news about finding a bungalow. Yes it is a pity the garage is not bigger but however much you get you can always use more. It should still be enough to keep you happy. New road looks nice but if it has to go ...   Layouts are best when the fiddleyard and the scenic bits are in balance. There is no point in having a fiddleyard which can hold a train longer than the layout can handle or one too small to hold one put together on the layout.

   The main thing is it is in an area you know and will suit you. The house is in pretty good nick from the sound of it and I assume Dee won't have too long a list of jobs for you (or those sons/son in laws can do them instead).

Don

Cheers Don, Yes apart from the Garage for me, nothing else needs touching, apart from hanging a few pictures etc.

The Garden needs a tidy up, back and front, and the Lawn at the front has been removed and Hardcore put down for more car parking off road, and turning to drive in / drive out, but I will have some of that Tarmacked and some Lazy Lawn put down, plus add a couple of Flowering Cherries and shrubs etc for more colour at the front.

Doing that, and the back garden will come once the rain stops, so maybe not this year it seems, haha.

 

The Garage conversion is only about a weeks work, it's just a case of a door, insulate the floor and seal the up and over door, and then a coat of white paint and some LED strip lights, and then I can do the framework to rest the Layout on and we will be up and running.

 

Your right about the Fiddle Yard, they need to be able to hold about 50% of the Stock or more if possible, but that is a challenge I'm now looking forward to overcoming in the Months ahead.

 

There is a small 6' x 4' Shed that is on it's last legs, so I might replace that with a similar one for doing the weathering / spraying in as it already has power out there.

 

Snowing hard here now, so best get that heater on in TOPS.

[Andrew P]

3 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

Given the speed you work at, wouldn't do any harm to draw up plans for a similar type layout but specifically designed for the length you have, rather than try and shoehorn this one in losing something you like?

 

Six and Abbot Mills?!

 

You dont have to go ahead but might be a good to have an exciting new project to start in the new home?

That's a good idea, and again, something worth considering once I'm in and see if I'm in the mood to start a new project or complete this one.

 

Cheers.

[gz3xzf]

Sorry for butting in Andy, I haven't posted on your thread before, but I have been watching it for sometime as I am really impressed at the speed you put the layouts together and move them on.
It struck me that (if there is enough room on the drive and SWMBO agrees) you could replace the garage door with a bay window to give you some more room in the garage?

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, gz3xzf said:

Sorry for butting in Andy, I haven't posted on your thread before, but I have been watching it for sometime as I am really impressed at the speed you put the layouts together and move them on.
It struck me that (if there is enough room on the drive and SWMBO agrees) you could replace the garage door with a bay window to give you some more room in the garage?

That's a nice idea Bryan, and as the Garage already has the Planning Permission to be a Bedroom / En Suit it may well be an option to look at once were in.

Thanks.

[Clive Mortimore]

16 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

That's a nice idea Bryan, and as the Garage already has the Planning Permission to be a Bedroom / En Suit it may well be an option to look at once were in.

Thanks.

There you go....garage, convert into Dee's soap opera viewing theater, and the living room into the toy trains room. 

[woodenhead]

There's always the garden isn't there - maybe a new TOPS

[Donw]

I like thie idea of using the small shed for spraying etc. If you could go up a size to 7x5 it is surprising how much difference it can make.

Of course there are all sorts of things you COULD do but take it from me doing a lot of DIY gets in the way of modelling and paying for others to do it eats up the money you could spend on trains.

 

Don

[Hal Nail]

2 hours ago, Andrew P said:

That's a nice idea Bryan, and as the Garage already has the Planning Permission to be a Bedroom / En Suit it may well be an option to look at once were in.

Thanks.

Not convinced the hall needs to be that wide either. Get them to put a cheap false wall up before you move in then burrow through from the play den at your leisure when no one is looking.

 

"Whats all that banging Darling?"

"47 is playing up again dear"

Edited February 28, 2020 by Hal Nail

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

There you go....garage, convert into Dee's soap opera viewing theater, and the living room into the toy trains room. 

I'll tell her once I've changed in my Military Combat Uniform.

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

There's always the garden isn't there - maybe a new TOPS

The Garden is bigger than we have now, but the 10K I had set aside for the new TOPS, has gone into the purchase as were over budget, plus, I'm happier with it all indoors, in the warm and no more getting wet, as I've just done coming in from TOPS.

But then I guess I could always do a Garden Layout.NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo

[Andrew P]

51 minutes ago, Donw said:

I like thie idea of using the small shed for spraying etc. If you could go up a size to 7x5 it is surprising how much difference it can make.

Of course there are all sorts of things you COULD do but take it from me doing a lot of DIY gets in the way of modelling and paying for others to do it eats up the money you could spend on trains.

 

Don

Yes, but luckily for me, my Train money is separate from the DIY money, so we O.K. for MORE LOCOS,

[Andrew P]

12 minutes ago, Hal Nail said:

Not convinced the hall needs to be that wide either. Get them to put a cheap false wall up before you move in then burrow through from the play den at your leisure when no one is looking.

 

"Whats all that banging Darling?"

"47 is playing up again dear"

Are you really trying to get me shot?

[Andrew P]

Had a nice planning meeting with the Local Authorities this morning, and it looks like Planning will be granted for the extra sidings, and new Fiddle Yard at Seven Mills.

[Andrew P]

Just a random, un edited pic for today.

[woodenhead]

13 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

The Garden is bigger than we have now, but the 10K I had set aside for the new TOPS, has gone into the purchase as were over budget, plus, I'm happier with it all indoors, in the warm and no more getting wet, as I've just done coming in from TOPS.

 

Well you'd better get building and selling more layouts to build a new TOPS contingency fund - with covered walkway from POD to TOPS

[Mulgabill]

Hey Andy

 

All good news now on the house front then, But as you might expect, after a period of reflection,

I've surfaced as devils advocate.

 

So a few musings for you to consider.

 

1) Past experience says the integral garage, will be naturally warmer, than an external TOPS.

So thats good, even if its a bit narrow.

 

2) Blocking off the big door, especially with a bay, sounds a good idea. However it won't conform

to building regs. Which may not bother you, but remember the safety implications. With TOPS

should you have a Fire (Don't Panic) you will either be aware that you've started it, or still have the

means to escape, should it start in the house. However if your in the new den, and a fire starts in the house,

where is your alternative exit?

 

3) Thats a very neat idea for the layout development, the kick back sector yard. But I think its a form

of prevarication. The limitations of the Fiddle bit's capacity, will still be there. But it will now be limiting

ops on effectively 2 (similar) layouts. Thus you might feel that more of a rebuild / replace would be better.

 

That could leave your way clear to

4) Have room on the other side for shorter term (4mm?) project that you obviously enjoy.

 

Anyway you've now got plenty of thinking time before you can really decide, the main thing is that its all

moving forward. This time next year, you might not be millionaire, but you'll be a lot more

settled than you have been this last 6 months. (You never know you you might even have revived those S&D plans).

 

All the best

 

TONY

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, Mulgabill said:

 

 

2) Blocking off the big door, especially with a bay, sounds a good idea. However it won't conform

to building regs. Which may not bother you, but remember the safety implications. With TOPS

should you have a Fire (Don't Panic) you will either be aware that you've started it, or still have the

means to escape, should it start in the house. However if your in the new den, and a fire starts in the house,

where is your alternative exit?

I don't think Andy was considering doing it himself with a  pallet of bricks and a wheelbarrow full of mortar without any reference to professional advice.

 

Surely any bay would have windows fitted, which would give Andy an escape route?  It is no different to my study which has a window and a single doorway into the hall.  Our kitchen has two doors, both internal; one to the hall and the other into the dining room.  Since the house was built like this, I presume that it conforms with building regulations.

 

I've seen a lot of these integral garage conversions done in the Telford area, so they are obviously popular and are a cheap way of extending the house:  Probably because the garage is not really wide enough to take a modern car!

 

A quick trawl of the internet brought this up which is useful:

 

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/garage-conversion/

 

However, Looking at their costs, it's almost as expensive as a new TOPS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Barnaby]

Go for it. 

The windows will supply an escape route in case of fire.  Vertical strip blinds will supply a natural view blocker.

Permissions are not normally required as long as you keep behind the build line but check the deeds for any limiting clauses as some can forbid any garage conversions.

 

Best

Edited February 28, 2020 by Barnaby