Starting out in the shed - some questions!

[NGaugeTom]

Hello all,

 

I've recently moved into a new property and one of the nice features is that it comes with a 19 x 11 ft workshop/shed in the garden.  It's built from 18mm marine ply mainly, two layers of which with roughly 2 inches of insulation sandwiched between each layer, so it appears very well built.  It has a decent (newish) roof and sits completely off the ground.  I'm going to use it as my model railway room / workshop but I've never had my models outside in this way, so forgive me if these are silly questions and if they've been answered before but I'm looking to see what others have done / found when using a shed for their layouts.

 

1)  My first question is do you heat your shed?  If so how and with what kind of heaters?  There is currently both a greenhouse 80watt tubular heater and a ceramic wall mounted heater, which I estimate to be around 1500watts.  I currently have the tubular heater on all the time to see what effect that has, but the ceramic wall heater I will only use when I am in there.  I'm thinking of a fan type heater to quickly bring it up to a comfortable working temperature when required.

 

2)  Is there an optimum temperature that people try to maintain when using a shed for their railway?  (When they are not in there themselves)

 

3)  Do you leave your rolling stock outside in the shed or do you bring them into the house after an operating session?

 

4)  Has anyone had any issue with the damp affecting the electronics in DCC locomotives?  Or any issue with rusting on wheelsets / parts?

 

5)  Does anyone use a dehumidifier to help remove the dampness from the shed?

 

6)  Any other hints or tips anyone has for using a shed for the hobby?

 

Any help is gratefully received

 

Tom

[AyJay]

Hello Tom, 

Yes I also am setup in my 'mancave' and I think I can kickoff with a few thoughts of my own.

Heating - Yes, you will need heating! I went for an electric radiator that is only on when I am using the space in the winter. Everything nice and toasty after an hour.

Insulation - Well this really goes hand-in-hand with the heating, otherwise you're just heating the garden.  But don't settle for as little as possible. Is your roof insulated?  Is the floor insulated?  I would also suggest a carpet/rug where you are walking.

It is not clear if your shed is double or single layered? Double layered is a must, and look out for sources of draft.

Dust - That's a killer. You don't want surfaces that will shed dust. Treat your inner walls with something.

Ventilation - Believe me, if you don't have airvents or a window that can be left open, it will be like working inside an oven.

Security - Security - Security.  Make sure your locks are beefy, include hingebolts and locks at the top and bottom of the door.  And if the shed is close to a public footpath or can be overseen by anyone, then do whatever you can to obstruct the view from any nosey parkers.  I went for that frosted film stuff that you can stick to the windows. But if you have the clearance, you might like to look at having vertical blinds, obstructs the view inside if a passer-by is off to the side.  Don't bother with that reflective film, it makes the inside dark during the day and if you are working in there after dark with the lights on, then its useless.  If you can do it without drawing attention to what your up to, then suggest you walk round outside your property, to see what can be seen.

Where is the sunlight falling? - If the sun is falling on the track, it will get very hot and you could risk buckling.

What you leave in your shed is really down to your risk appetite.  But typically, sheds are seen as an easy target by your neighbourhood 5cum; so I would recommend that you do not store there anything that does not absolutely need to be there. Keep power tools and anything else of high value in your house.  This goes for all your locomotives also!

For everything that you do keep down there, suggest you get something metal with a lock to put them in, its also a good cool place to store the solvents.

Keep it tidy - get yourself a rubbish bin and a suitable vacuum cleaner.  Be obsessive about keeping it tidy.  AND DO NOT ALLOW COMBUSTIBLE RUBBISH TO BUILD UP.  

Get yourself a fire extinguisher.  I went for a CO2 cylinder, realising that if a dry powder extinguisher was let off, well the result would only be good for the skip.

If you have a landline phone, you might care to buy something that you can keep there, don't want to be dashing up the garden every time the phone rings.

And lastly......   Check your home insurance!   You are looking for outbuildings and the value of their contents.  Suggest you also photograph everything, just in case.

 

Have fun :-)

 

Alan

[Kris]

I don't leave stock in the shed.

I did insulate the shed as much as I possibly could, but I don't heat it. I don't spend much time in there in the winter but even when it is cold I can spend a couple of hours in there without any discomfort. 

[jpendle]

Hi,

 

I have my layout in a well built insulated garage. It gets fairly cold in Winter and warm in the summer, but I have never had any problems with my locos or other electronics left out there.

However, where I live has a very dry climate so damp is not an issue, neither is dust, as the only organic being allowed in there is me, I get the odd insect but they don't shed like the cat and dogs do 

 

I have heaters for when I'm in there in the winter and a fan for the summer. All the windows have blinds.

 

Regards,

 

John P

[Jeepy]

Hello, 

That's a nice size shed! I thought i was lucky with a 12' x 10'!

I built mine from a 'kit', it sits on a timber frame suspended by posts concreted into the ground, the walls, ceiling and floor are insulated with 25mm polystyrene making sure there was an airflow gap between the insulation and the outer walls and roof then the interior was lined with 6mm ply sheets and sealed with undercoat and white emulsion, there are vents all around the exterior walls for the above mentioned insulation gap. 

Mains electricity was professionally installed with a seperate breaker box and a buried armoured cable from the house, i 'built' it around 3 Years ago and i only put the small electric heater on low for an hour or so during the colder periods before i venture down there, sometimes i don't go down there for a few days at a time and I've never had any problems, i have got venetian blinds on the windows that are kept closed during the warmer Months and if I'm home i hold the door slightly ajar on a hook and eye arrangement as it does get quite breezy here being on higher ground with bungalows all around, the wind whips around unchecked! 

 

Best wishes, 

 

Jim. 

[Jol Wilkinson]

Besides insulation it also depends on how airtight the doors and windows are.

 

I am fortunate to have a professionally built "garden room", with 100mm insulation to walls and ceiling, 75mm to the floor as well as double glazed UPVC doors and windows. It is heated by a Haverland 1500W programable heater set to 17 deg for the times I am likely to be in there.. That keeps it comfortable enough to work in and I have no problems with rust, etc. (either tools or my kit built models which all have steel tyred wheels). As it is a "garden room" and not a shed, our insurance covers it as part of the house.

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Jol Wilkinson
Spelling

[NGaugeTom]

Thank you for the replies everyone.  That is all really useful and helpful.  After reading I'm pretty confident the shed in it's current format is up to the job.  Just needs a little TLC to make it more comfortable.  Thanks again!

[StephenB]

Have you spoken to Tony Wright of this parish yet? He has probably the best known railway shed at present and could, no doubt, offer guidance.

 

Stephen 

[polybear]

On 06/01/2022 at 16:47, NGaugeTom said:

3)  Do you leave your rolling stock outside in the shed or do you bring them into the house after an operating session?

 

5)  Does anyone use a dehumidifier to help remove the dampness from the shed?

 

6)  Any other hints or tips anyone has for using a shed for the hobby?

 

 

As a minimum I'd move locos into the house, plus anything else of significant value such as a DCC controller.

 

I use a dehumidifier in my hard-roofed conservatory when drying laundry - it works very well and sucks damp out of the air like there's no tomorrow; it has a setting for adjustable humidity and will shut off/turn on automatically.  Recommended.

 

As regards security, I'd do things such as bolt hinges and door locks/hasps etc. rather than screw them - I use nyloc nuts on the inside so the bolts can't be unscrewed, plus reinforcing metal plates etc.  Whilst I don't have my layout in a shed (luckily I have a spare room indoors) I don't want a scrote getting inside.  The other thing I'd suggest is don't make security overly OTT - it might be a flag to scrotes to indicate it's really worth getting inside - perhaps thru' a wall (or roof) rather than a door.

Alarms are another option - personally I'd go for a wired house alarm panel with door switches and a dual-technology (IR and Microwave) movement detector; twenty quid shed alarms don't really cut it for me.

Finally, be very careful about who knows what your hobby is - and where - visitors, neighbours, tradesmen etc. etc.  Only those that can really be trusted - and need to know.  As regards insurance, Magnet to specialist model railway cover.  HTH

 

 

[NGaugeTom]

On 10/01/2022 at 14:15, StephenB said:

Have you spoken to Tony Wright of this parish yet? He has probably the best known railway shed at present and could, no doubt, offer guidance.

 

Stephen 

Not as yet, but that sounds interesting, thank you

[NGaugeTom]

On 10/01/2022 at 22:11, polybear said:

 

As a minimum I'd move locos into the house, plus anything else of significant value such as a DCC controller.

 

I use a dehumidifier in my hard-roofed conservatory when drying laundry - it works very well and sucks damp out of the air like there's no tomorrow; it has a setting for adjustable humidity and will shut off/turn on automatically.  Recommended.

 

As regards security, I'd do things such as bolt hinges and door locks/hasps etc. rather than screw them - I use nyloc nuts on the inside so the bolts can't be unscrewed, plus reinforcing metal plates etc.  Whilst I don't have my layout in a shed (luckily I have a spare room indoors) I don't want a scrote getting inside.  The other thing I'd suggest is don't make security overly OTT - it might be a flag to scrotes to indicate it's really worth getting inside - perhaps thru' a wall (or roof) rather than a door.

Alarms are another option - personally I'd go for a wired house alarm panel with door switches and a dual-technology (IR and Microwave) movement detector; twenty quid shed alarms don't really cut it for me.

Finally, be very careful about who knows what your hobby is - and where - visitors, neighbours, tradesmen etc. etc.  Only those that can really be trusted - and need to know.  As regards insurance, Magnet to specialist model railway cover.  HTH

 

 

Thanks Polybear.  I am planning to keep the rolling stock in the house, as this is the most valuable.  I have outbuildings / shed insurance within my home insurance which happily covers the layout.  Thanks for the suggestions regarding home security, luckily the shed area is well hidden and not overlooked (we live at the bottom of a cul-de-sac).  Having said that I am looking at some IR CCTV cameras that will link to my phone, similar to the ring doorbell technology.  I've also bought a dehumidifier as well and that's made a huge improvement in the last few days, just running it for 6 hours a day has dropped the humidity by 10% as well as adding a little warmth.  I just have to balance the length of time it's running against the cost with this silly rise of energy bills we're currently seeing.  All great suggestions, thank you!

[Geep7]

I'll pick up on one of the questions the OP asked. Regarding damp affecting DCC-fitted stock, from experience I do know they don't like being left in a car overnight when the temp. drops to just above or below freezing. I think that when they are bought back into the warm, condensation can form on the surface of the decoder, and they can be a bit erratic in performance until they have warmed up.