Fresh Coat of Paint

Once the drywall was taped, mudded, and sanded, it was time for a coat of paint.  Since I am planning to use the walls as the backdrop in several areas, that meant finding a color to represent the sky.  I decided to go with a Behr color called After Rain.  Now that the room is painted, I have a better sense of the size of the space and how best to use it.  In the pictures below, you can see the line where the carpet was removed.  This is as far as the layout will extend into the remainder of the basement.

By the end of the month, my plan is to have the drop ceiling installed in the new section and all of the lighting and wiring completed.

Drywall Finishing and Carpet Removal

The layout space is becoming better defined now that the drywall is finished.  I also removed the carpet from the floor in this area.  It was very thoroughly glued to the concrete so there will need to be some scraping and sanding to smooth the surface.  Currently, the plan is to leave the floor bare as I build the benchwork, but eventually I will remove the carpet in the rest of the basement and put down interlocking rubber flooring mats.  Since the rest of the basement is a play/workout space, the mats will be a good cushioned surface that is easily cleaned and can be replaced as needed.

Drywall installed and finished in the new section of the layout room

And so it begins...

The intent of this blog is to record my activity as I start a new hobby by building an N-scale model railroad in a portion of my basement.  The layout will be based on the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad's Northern Division, the majority of which is former Milwaukee Road trackage heading north and west from the city of Milwaukee toward Horicon and eventually Oshkosh.

As of now, I intend for most of the content I post to be photos of progress being made with some brief comments and notation.  That may change as time goes on.  Up first, some pictures of the demolition and finishing of the expanded area.

Starting to demolish wall between "train room" and the utility area in the basement.  Will be adding and area approximately 5' x 6' to the existing 8' x 10' area designated for the layout.

Wall removed.  Time for clean-up.

Framing complete for the addition.

Drywall is up in the new area.

On deck for next weekend -- Taping and mudding.