[Coldblood]

Finally after many many months of asking, my beautiful and amazing wife has given in and said YES!..................
To me building a semi permanent (rented house) track in the attic.

I'm a very very happy man

So last Saturday I set too and cleared/rearranged the attic to make space for my new man cave

This is what I started with

That is 2 years of putting things in the attic at this house and around 12 other years of our lives in boxes and bags. Just a little bit of stuff to sort.
There is also more stuff behind me and random bags and boxes thrown into the side areas as well

So by Sunday afternoon after a break to watch the F1. I now have it looking like this

The pile of stuff in the middle is going to be car booted. Need funds for getting this done.

As you can see I have a nice big area to play with. (still haven't got round to measuring it)
Most of the materials I will be using for the build will come from odds and sods of lumber I already have. Oh and recycled wardrobe and draw units for the boarding.
I also have quite a bit of carpet up there, enough for the floor and for under the track. So that should help keep the noise down.

My plan is to finish the flooring and to get the strip light up. Then to build a table in the main area and to run boards between the support joists. With thin boarding on the back edge to act as a catch fence.
I'm still uncertain on whether to make a U or an L shaped track area. Any advice on this would be most welcomed. I will mainly be racing with my kids so not to many bodies up there blocking sight lines.
I'm hoping not to take to long building the area. But I can only really work on weekends or the very rare midweek day off.
Once the track area is finished I'm hoping to be able to insulate the whole area so it can be used all year round.

Oh almost forgot the track will be scaly sports analogue (hoping to upgrade to digital this Christmas). I have around 25/30 meters of track to play/build with.

regards
CB
Gaz

 

[Keeto]

Good luck with the project Gaz, before you know it, it will be over, so enjoy every moment!

 

[Chickster25]

be careful if your loft gets a bit damp in the winter. I left mine down last winter and not only did I find mould underthe track where damp had got caught underneath the track, but the metals rails also went rusty.

I have managed to clean up the track but havent had a chance yet to see if my digital lane changers stil lwork, it could end up being a very expensive mistake if they dont work.

 

[richardtheforth]

Congratulations Gaz, what a lovely wife you must have.

Hope the project goes well... don't rush it, do a good job & you'll end up with a nicely thought out hubbyhole.
I'd suggest to get the insulation done first, it can be quite a messy job.
You'll also be able to focus better on the job in hand if the track isn't set up!

Good luck with it, and lets have plenty of photos of the build please.
Those pix look just like the ones at the start of my loft thread... feels like a distant memory!
Cheers,
Richard

 

[grimboracer]

Hi gaz

good luck with your build, be careful of using furniture board as it is quite slippery and unless fixed well will tip up and you will be in the bedroom in no time

did my loft conversion over 4-5 months and it cost about £1000 including flooring, electrics,the table and lighting.
heres a link to my Loft conversion and my track build

good luck

 

[Alan Bean]

Hi Gaz,

As a man who's wife recently said yes to me bilding a track, i warn you it'll take over your life. You'll be always thinking about your build, and find yourself tinkering on things to do with it. Well i do anyway lol

Hope you have fun and give us plenty of photos.

Alan

 

[Coldblood]

So after reading posts from other man cave (sorry attic) converters. The decision has been made to save up and do it properly.

So the plan now is to sort out the electrics. A mate of mine is a sparky and is going to do it for me for the price of a 6pack an parts.

Good times.
The roof is going to be thermawrapped. With the price of fuel going up anything that might help keep the house warmer is a bonus.
The floor is going to be done with 18mm attic boarding which then frees up the old wardrobe and draw boards to become the track table

I'm also going to fit a loft ladder instead of have to use the step ladders

The only problem with all of this is that it costs quite a bit to get. So I'm having to wait till mid September before I can get the ball rolling.

So to pass the time I will mainly be playing around with UR to design my track.

Here is my table 3.5meter on the back wall and 3 meters up though the roof supports

And here is my favourite layout I've come up with so far. The track length is 21.99 meter on both lanes.
With the angle of the roof supports I'm hoping I can get away with the boarders over hanging a little.

Regards
CB
Gaz

 

[martyfuffkin]

Looks good to me!

 

[Aston man]

I like the layout a lot

What sort of scenery are you thinking? (If any)

 

[Coldblood]

QUOTE (Aston man @ 8 Aug 2011, 13:22) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I like the layout a lot

What sort of scenery are you thinking? (If any)

Thanks still tweeking it atm. The latest track is up to 25.4 meters but I think it might be a little to busy in 1 area. I'll just have to wait and see, I'm quite a way off laying any track down.(I'll post a pic tonight)

As for the scenery. I'm not sure if I will be doing any atm due to the house not being mine (housing association) I would hate to spend hours on doing scenery then have to take it all down.
Saying all that I was pondering over the idea lastnight. An seeing as I live in the lake district. I had visions of a mountain/hillside race way with rock outcrops and drystone walls lining areas of the track instead of crash barriers. But we will just have to wait and see. There is 1 thing for sure there will be some elevation change on the final track.

Right back to dreaming of what its going to look like

CB
Gaz

 

[Coldblood]

So here is the latest progression of the track design. Both lanes are 25.26 meters

The 1st pic shows how the layout would look the 2nd is just to show the new corner design.
I see the track starting to climb after the 2nd corner. Then the back straight running quite high peaking in the top left corner.
Then the track gradually making its way back down to table level. With either the middle chicane or the 2nd to last corner bring the track back onto the table.

Cheers
CB
Gaz

 

[RikkiGTR]

Excellent.
I'm currently working on my own permanent Suzuka GP course in my new loft conversion. If there were any justice in the world, we would all have our own man-caves. The world would be a peaceful, happy place

 

[Coldblood]

QUOTE (RikkiGTR @ 9 Aug 2011, 00:36) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Excellent.
I'm currently working on my own permanent Suzuka GP course in my new loft conversion. If there were any justice in the world, we would all have our own man-caves. The world would be a peaceful, happy place

Peaceful apart from the noise of Slot cars speeding around our tracks

Very jealous of the space you have there. Looks like its going to be a very very nice man-cave.

Where are you in the UK?

Regards
CB
Gaz

 

[gmac118]

keep in mind visability for drivers. ( speaking from experience here as I had to redesign my permanent layout )
Assuming all drivers have to be in the middle of the U shape, make sure they all have the ability to see all of the track at all times. Its very hard to drive if you cant see the corners coming up.Is it possible to design a space where drivers can stand on both sides of the table
Also because such a lot of your track is underneath another higher sections, have a think about where cars are likely to de slot, and if it will be easy to reach them. I can forsee problems if you de slot in the back right corner. This can seriously spoil your fun if it becomes a problem, so worth thinking about at the planning stage.
other wise looking great. Keep posting , especially photos

Grant

 

[sealevel]

This HAS to be the biggest advantage of plastic track.... the ability to test different layouts and/or variations before settling on one.

I look forward to your progress reports on the layout tests.

Cheers!

 

[RikkiGTR]

QUOTE (Coldblood @ 8 Aug 2011, 23:44) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Peaceful apart from the noise of Slot cars speeding around our tracks

Very jealous of the space you have there. Looks like its going to be a very very nice man-cave.

Where are you in the UK?

Regards
CB
Gaz

Yes I see what you mean. Kinda like when I was younger; I kept begging my mum for an electric guitar for my birthday. She eventually gave in and said "anything for a bit of peace and quiet"

I live in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.

 

[Coldblood]

QUOTE (gmac118 @ 9 Aug 2011, 02:21) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>keep in mind visability for drivers. ( speaking from experience here as I had to redesign my permanent layout )
Assuming all drivers have to be in the middle of the U shape, make sure they all have the ability to see all of the track at all times. Its very hard to drive if you cant see the corners coming up.Is it possible to design a space where drivers can stand on both sides of the table
Also because such a lot of your track is underneath another higher sections, have a think about where cars are likely to de slot, and if it will be easy to reach them. I can forsee problems if you de slot in the back right corner. This can seriously spoil your fun if it becomes a problem, so worth thinking about at the planning stage.
other wise looking great. Keep posting , especially photos

Grant

Thanks for the advice Grant.

You made me re-think the track design with more thought into what the driver will see.

Unfortunately with the space I have in the attic I can't redesign the table

So I have gone with a redesigned track instead.
With the last track (below) I had thought the sight lines would of been ok. But after thinking about it more, there would have been a lot of areas where you would loose sight of your car in braking zones as well as other areas of the track.

So I have had a complete rethink of the design. I have tried to take elements that I liked from the old track and then tweaked them to fit into the new layout.
The main 1 being the long straight with the banked corners. (less chance of de-slots I hope)
I have also kept the figure of 8 design to keep the lane lengths as close as possible (#1, 23.95m #2, 24.04m). This time bringing the cross over to an area in front of the drivers minimising the time the cars are unsighted.
I'm unsure atm whether to keep the areas of the track running next to each other on the same level or to have them at different levels? There is enough play in the track to be able clip the track together. Reducing the amount of borders used (though I do have enough borders for the whole track

) If anyone has any thoughts or tips on this please let me know

The way I see the track looking now is, from the start through to the top right corner being on the flat. Then the track to start climbing from the corner up to the left corner. With either a dip in the middle or for it to stay level along the back straight. Then dropping back down to the table at the bottom right corner. The track will the climb back up to the top left corner. Then drop down through the final s-bends over the bridge/tunnel and back to start/finish straight.

Well thats the plan anyway

All comments/tips welcomed

I had the sparky round today looking at the job. He says it should take a couple of hours to sort out the lighting and to wire in 4 double sockets, 2 either side of the table

I asked him how much it would cost. £20/£25 on materials and a case of beer

god I love mates rates

Roll on September so I can get started on the flooring, insulation and table building

Cheers
CB
Gaz

 

[RikkiGTR]

I like the new design; I'm fond of the technical infield section. Very nice indeed.

It seems we're in a very similar position - I can't get any more done until the joiners and electrician return from holiday and finish the loft. [The loft itself] Should be finished by the beginning of September. I hate waiting

 

[Coldblood]

Hi all.
I decided to give my attic track design a test in the lounge to see if I liked it.
I had to shorten the main straight and a make a few other minor changes to get it to fit in the lounge. But I managed to keep the overall layout quite similar

Lane length is 18.7m

Here is a video I shot while driving round the track.(harder to do than you think) I had a play around with track elevation to give myself an idea of what it might look like in the attic.
I'm happy with the way the track drives. The one thing I did find was the track is great fun to drive in either direction, so I'm going to convert my pb so I can change direction with the flick of a switch

Of cause the final track will have borders fitted for lots of no-mag drifting

Regards
CB
Gaz

 

[MrFlippant]

Looks good! I like the elevations.