Kitchen units under a layout board?

[ITG]

My current layout around all 4 sides of a 3.5m x 2m room has various furniture items under it, upon which short adjustable legs stand supporting the board, as well as some tailor made laser cut ply full length legs in other places. The main drawback I’ve found is that a couple of the furniture items are too large to easily move if one needs to get at the underside of the board for adding wiring for electrical features or trouble shooting etc.

 

As I may soon have an extra layout room, which may coincide with a new kitchen being fitted, I’m wondering about using the old kitchen cupboards to support the new layout. I’m thinking about using the cupboards with no worktop on them, leaving an open top. Then, after emptying the cupboard, I’d have an ‘in and up’ access upwards to the underside of the board. Probably would put ‘beams’ on top of the cupboards so there was daylight (maybe 6”?) between the cupboard top and the board underside. (Note the main wiring would be done with the boards upside down; I’m not proposing to do everything with boards in place - it’s just add-ons and remedial work)

 

Just wondering if anyone has tried kitchen cupboards? How did you mount the board on top? Any pros and cons? 
Or is it better to use these cupboards with small castors on them, so the whole unit could be rolled out of the way - in which case, I’d use full length legs from floor to board height. But then the rolling cupboards (which now could have tops) would need to fit between legs easily, so they are not blocked in.

thanks for your help.

Ian
 

[1466]

About 10 years ago , I used Wickes basic cupboard uniits to support my baseboards in a shed .

I left the worktops off and built Barry Norman style double beam units to go on top  . This gave good access to install wiring from underneath.I actually did the wiring as I laid track . I would position track , mark it ; drill holes for wire , solder wire to the track ; glue track in position and then run the wiring to the control panel .

The combination has worked well and I use the space under the baseboards as storage . On one side I have boxes of rolling stock and the other cassettes with cuts of wagons and coaches .

The cupboards line each side of my shed and I built double beam baseboards at each end to give a continuous run .

The left hand  and end boards have scenery but the right hand has a sliding traverser.

In summary, cupboard units gave me relatively cheap , easily height adjustment , a firm base and useful storage space .

Disadvantages ; limited access if there are wiring problems . I’ve had one or two wiring issues in 10 years but nothing that can’t be overcome.

Hope this helps .

Ken 

[ITG]

5 minutes ago, 1466 said:

built Barry Norman style double beam units to go on top

Thanks for the response.
Sorry, don’t recognise that term. Who is he? 
How high was the underside of your board above the top of the cupboards?

[Nearholmer]

Yep, leave the worktop off. I fitted it, and wished I hadn’t, because access would be so much easier without it.

[figworthy]

I went for a slight variation on what you're thinking about.  My baseboards are ply on softwood, standing on legs, but I've got kitchen units on castors that live under the layout, so they can be wheeled out when I need to access the underside.  The units have a piece of hardboard glued onto the top.

 

Adrian

[Bernard Lamb]

Old kitchen units make a very good base.

You will probably need to add horizontal rails rather than put the baseboards directly onto the top of the sides of the units.

Doing that is probably the best way of maintaining a level.

It will also allow you to adjust the height. I found that I needed to raise the baseboards by a few inches. 

 

Less of the who is Barry Norman. It makes me feel old.

Bernard

[1466]

I am sorry my clumsy verbal shorthand has created some confusion.

Barry is  a polymath: expert modeller both mechanical and scenery: weathering guru; author: artist: video presenter etc.

He promoted a system of baseboard construction which uses two  "beams ": basically two plywood strips sandwiching blocks of wood. The structure is strong, lightweight and resists warping.

I chose to make my strips about 4 and a half inches deep to allow for point motors and I have taken photos to illustrate the construction but I am having difficulties accessing RMweb on my phone. Please bear with me and they may/will follow.

Ken

[1466]

1 hour ago, ITG said:

Thanks for the response.
Sorry, don’t recognise that term. Who is he? 
How high was the underside of your board above the top of the cupboards?

I’m sorry my clumsy verbal shorthand has created some confusion . Barry is a polymath - expert modeller both mechanical and scenic; author , video presenter ; artist and mentor .

He promoted the twin beam baseboard system . Basically two sheets of plywood separated by blocks of wood . It gives strong , lightweight structures which resist warping . I hope the following  photos may make it clear .I made my plywood sides about 4 and a half inches deep  to allow for point motors .

[1466]

The ruler stands against one of the beams painted black . See following 

[1466]

 

This shows the twin beams with a block of wood sandwiched and diagonal bracing . The sliding traverser rests on top . You can see the top of the Wickes cupboard unit .

[1466]

The sliding traverser.

[Wheatley]

My layout is in the garage and 3/4 of it sits on kitchen units, a mixture of second hand and cheap DIY store ones. I fitted a top made of everything from sheets of left over 18mm chipboard flooring to laminations of 6mm MDF ,  whatever was left over from other jobs. But it's level and with a couple of coats of floor paint it looks quite smart. 

 

The layout sits on cinventijval plg and softwood boards on top of this. The fiddle yard boards have all the wiring on top where I can see it, or where it has to go underneath, all the terminations and connections are on top with only plain wire runs underneath.

 

The scenic boards have as many of the point motors on top as possible, hidden under removeable buildings and scenery (or at least they will be when I get round to adding buildings and scenery). The rest is underneath but all boards with wiring underneath hinge up so it can be got at. 

 

I'm getting too old to be soldering upside down in cupboards !

[midlandmike]

Sounds like my layout Wheatley in the garage running mostly on old kitchen cupboards any old board in between been in there 20 years no problems to speak off - mind you Im very basic minimal wiring runs fine for me !!

[Matt C]

You can also do a hybrid. Space out the kitchen units so that you have gaps to put a couple of  wheeled plastic  drawer units in ( position the drawer units under sections of heavy wiring) my units have a couple of 3" by 2" beams running lengthways along the top which supports the baseboards. Works a treat

 

Cheers

 

Matt

[AndyB]

My current U-shaped layout is supported on one side by basic kitchen units that run the length of my garage. The garage is insulated and damp proofed.

 

The garage floor slopes and not all of that slope could be accommodated by the kitchen units' adjustable legs.

 

The units have a chipboard top to keep dust off the stuff in the cupboards.

To get the layout up to a sensible and level viewing height, and to allow me to access wiring I further raised the baseboard on sets of adjustable legs.

 

Over time the cupboards have bowed. I don't know if this is down to the weight of stuff placed in the cupboards or that of the layout on top of them.

 

My advice would be to avoid putting spot loads in the centre of any cupboard. Where the layout is supported aim to do this on the sides of the cupboards where you fix two units together.

 

The next iteration will be for me to take the cupboards out and put adjustable shelves up instead. Or use a metal frame such as used in warehousing. 

[Yarmouth Central]

Sorry I am a bit late to this party but I am in process of building my new layout, in my study, on new DIY Kitchens base units. I only just saw this article.

I am using White Rose baseboards straight on to the kitchen units (without a worktop) which raises the total height of the layout top to 985mm 

Because I am getting too long in the tooth to go crawling around under baseboards, I am laying track & then wiring the boards on their sides. My controller, block detection & point controllers are all in drawers in the cabinets for even easier access. I attach photos for anyone interested.

From Yarmouth Central

[ITG]

1 hour ago, Yarmouth Central said:

Sorry I am a bit late to this party but I am in process of building my new layout, in my study, on new DIY Kitchens base units. I only just saw this article.

I am using White Rose baseboards straight on to the kitchen units (without a worktop) which raises the total height of the layout top to 985mm 

Because I am getting too long in the tooth to go crawling around under baseboards, I am laying track & then wiring the boards on their sides. My controller, block detection & point controllers are all in drawers in the cabinets for even easier access. I attach photos for anyone interested.

From Yarmouth Central

Very neat looking. I assume if a subsequent under baseboard issue occurs, you access it by emptying the cupboard, and crawling in / peering upwards? Your arrangement is pretty much what I had in mind, although I was wondering about mounting cross-beams to both raise the baseboard more and allow more direct access.

[Yarmouth Central]

Hi Michael. Of course one hopes there will be no need to do any further work under the baseboard once all the track is laid & tested, but you never know.

I can get access from underneath but as there is only plain track crossing the corner board it should be possible to cut through at the joins & get the boards on their sides again.

I am leaving enough slack in the wiring to do this.

Kind regards