1/2" plywood in the area of my yard - how wide should be the spacing of my joists to support this? ps - I painted my backdrop today, thanks to all who have posted on this subject, I read most of the past posts. I will post picture tomm.
With N scale? You could probably go 18" to 24" apart. Even that may be overkill. I model in HO and my joists are about 12-24" apart and I'm using 5/16" plywood. If you have any doubts, just add more joists now. What's a few more pieces of wood in the long run? Jas
On my layout the maximum joint spacing is 450 mm or 18 inches. I'm also an N modeller and find this spacing to be very supportive Here is a photo of the benchwork [ 05. January 2003, 08:24: Message edited by: Colonel ]
I spaced my bench work on 24 inch centers of 1 by 3, 3rd or 4th grade lumber,,, nothing fancy for the bench work! And used 1/2 inch plywood for subbase.... I did run a few stringers in some places needing extra support, that were run lateral instead of perpendicular with the rest of the joists. So in places my bench work looks like a tic-tac-toe board.... with all the small 24 inch squares.... In frame work, plan ahead! Think about what type scenry your going to use! In my case, being a Carpenter by trade I do some interior finish work, drop ceilings, and finish carpentry. like paneling, and fancy frame work around doors etc... So, I get alot of old drop ceiling panels, thats in decent shape that can be cut an stacked just like those of you use syrofoam sheets! Being thats heavy after so many layers, but lighter then plaster or any of the other scenic materials I didn't need all that much support! The 1/2 inch plywood is plenty strong to hold around 500 pound per 12 inch square... IF you bought 5 ply instead of 4 ply plywood..... Which sounds expensive, but its not really, its about a dollar or so more then the normal 4 ply... BUT I bought my materials at a surplus center for about half the cost of a 1/2 inch piece of 4 plywood so.... I got it pretty cheap.. right under $5 a sheet 4 feet by 8 feet. But always think of how much weight your bench work once its all done will have to support an build acordingly..... Its not a floor! that you walk on and is heavy traffic to over 100 pounds per square foot so..... And not alot of stoping and or running on it so.. Just a 1 to 6 pound loco and train on it that doesn't hammer on it like a person would by simply walking.... Its stationary light movement (as I call it) and doesn't require the support like a floor would!
