Valence 5

This last work session was focused on finishing up bits and pieces of valence and ceiling projects. 

• Drywall panels that i had delayed putting up were installed in zone 1. 

 

•  Spackling was done in zone 1, 2 and 3 finishing up ceiling work that had been done in bits and pieces. 

• The valence extending over the helix was built and installed.

 

•  Party light string was installed on the upper valence. 
• The upper outer l-girder was installed.

 

 

Next week I have to build the helix benchwork so i can finish the upper and lower deck benchwork and call overall benchwork construction done !

 

Valence 4

Last week i discussed a change in benchwork, resizing the south wall modules from 24 inches to 32 inches in depth. This change while relatively minor resulted in a whole new problem regarding valence location. 

What I failed to realize was that when the ceiling was installed I ran 1"x3"s and 1"x4"s to match drywall panel locations. I did NOT add 1"x3"s at the valence location points. I had two options: 1) I'd  have to mark the ceiling at 32 inches from the wall and cut out the drywall 3 inches wide along the entire 12-foot valence footprint, install a new 1"x3" and then replace the piece of drywall I cut out, or 2) I'd have to estimate the location of each rafter and then use a 6 inch long drill bit to find the real location and then use a longer lag screw to secure the valence to the ceiling. 

Keeping it simple, I quickly installed the east wall valence per normal practice. As i had an 8 inch opening along the south wall ceiling that hadn't been dry-walled yet, finding the rafters was no problem - a 4' drywall T square made estimating easier and within an hour i had the valences installed.  I missed a couple of rafters by several inches (laterally) but that's just a couple of holes to spackle and the damage is hidden. 

 

I then finished dry-walling the last bit of ceiling and will hit it with spackle and a paint job next week.

All that's left is a short 4 foot section had to be cut at the new 48 inch location for the helix valence, and then installing the party light strings. 

Valence 3

In the last blog post I identified that I need some additional valences to hide the lighting bars along the peninsula. Specifically I identified the need for: 1) a 4 inch height valence added to the bottom of the end valence to hide 20 feet of light bar, and 2) a 8 inch valence attached parallel to the center beam.

I added 4 inches in depth to the end valence. This sufficiently hid the lights when looking straight down the peninsula. As it stands now there is annoying light bleed from sloppy measuring and cutting. At some point in the future i will replace this panel with a more correctly sized and cut piece. Suffice to say I'm temporarily tired of cutting panels.

The Upper Level

The 8 inch valence attached parallel to the center beam was an error on my part.  The upper module will not be open around the entire 180 degrees. The track goes through a tunnel at the outermost end of the module. This requires a backdrop similar to that on the rest of the upper peninsula.

I cut two luan panels to fit in preparation for constructing the peninsula modules. They solve the problem but now i have a visual issue with the end panel being observable from the side. I'm not sure whether to add some depth to the front valence at the left and and curve it into the correct height or paint the interior of the end panel black or sky blue. I'll try all three solutions and see what looks best.

 

Notice the electrical box on the upper right side of the picture. This was the power source for both the upper and lower peninsula deck lighting strings. I had some problems plugging the cords in and quickly realized that the hidden outlet box wasn't a good idea. Out came the box and its been reinstalled outside the valence and the cords are routed through a 2 inch hole in the valence.

The Lower Level

The lower module is open around the entire 180 degrees of the peninsula. From the observer's position, either standing or sitting, the light bar is not visible so no changes are necessary.

Valence 2

An interesting thing happened on the way to completing the valence on the peninsula.

The end valence is the same height as all the others. This is what you see looking lengthwise through the peninsula with the end valence in place.

This is what you see looking at the peninsula from the side aisle. I expected that the standard height valence to cover the light bar all the way down the peninsula. It doesnt.

 The end of the peninsula is an open 4-foot by 5-foot area. This new viewing depth shows all the lightbulbs and wiring. Not quite what I expected to see. From the observer's position the entire light strand is visible and very very annoying visually.

This requires two additional valences:

1.  A 4-inch height valence added to the bottom of the end valence. This hides the 20-feet of light bar.
2. An 8-inch valence attached parallel to the center beam. The question then became: Do i paint the valence black or sky blue? 

More next week as I consider solutions to this dilemma. 

Valence 1

Early on I decided my railroad would be a shadowbox style presentation. I liked the shadowbox effect when used on museum dioramas and I thought that it would really draw your eye to the model railroad scene. It also makes hiding the layout lighting much easier too!

I'm 6' tall (72"). The room is 87" high floor to ceiling. With the lower level L-Girder set at 34 inches (zero elevation), the 4'x 8' backdrop panel leaves approximately 7" of wall visible. Each module is 24" deep, and the average operator will be about 30" or more away from the wall. Measuring downward from the ceiling module  the 7" of visible wall generally disappears from view at 15 1/2". I set the valence height at 15 3/4" which would allow 3 panels to be cut from one 4'x 8' luan panel.

Each panel was constructed with 1"x 3" lumber. The top horizontal was a 1"x 3" L-girder. The bottom horizontal was a single 1"x 3". Each end and one center vertical (at the 4' line) was cut to size and all pieces were biscuit cut for additional strength. Construction began with the top L-girder glued and screwed with 3/4" wood screws. The three verticals were glued into the top. The bottom horizontal 1"x 3" was then glued to the luan and the verticals. The entire panel was then clamped and allowed to dry. When dry, the panel was flipped over and the verticals and the bottom horizontal were screwed to the panel with 3/4" screws.

The ceiling was chalk line snapped at 24 3/8" (24" plus 2 panel thickness). It was then mounted to the ceiling with 1/4" lag screws. The valence was braced with 1"x 3" at each end and at each panel connection. 4" mending plates were used to align the panel bottoms.

The upper track level is 60" from the floor. That means the "view window" is about 12". That 12" or so at 30" shows about 20" of backdrop height.

The screw holes in the valence will be spackled with wood putty and sanded. It will be painted flat black.