Monthly Archives: May 2024

Benchwork and Lighting Complete!

Upper deck lighting
View showing the upper deck lighting and lighting benchwork. A 12″ valance will cover the lights

Passed a big milestone this last week, the completion of all benchwork! The last layer of benchwork was the lighting valance above the upper level. It was made from 1×4″ boards for the valance and 1×2″ supports ripped from 1x4s for the rest of the structure. This allowed me to place the light fixtures for the upper level, 22 total fixtures spread out about every 2 feet. Like the lower deck, the lights are multi-color, dimmable, LED smart bulbs controlled by an app on my phone. I’ve got them grouped to work as a whole either by deck or the whole layout including overheads.

Very last piece of benchwork
Here’s the very last piece of benchwork ready to be installed

While the bulbs only draw 9W, they’re 60W equivalents… 47 60W-equivalent lightbulbs in a 12×16′ room!… Let’s just say it’s about as bright as daylight which is the idea, right? Even with all these lights, I’m still only drawing around 420W total, so I’m nowhere near the max capacity of the circuit. Technology is pretty cool! Next step, track for the upper level.

Upper deck lighting
Overview of the layout room showing most of the 47 LED lightbulbs

Fourth Level Benchwork

Top shelf lighting benchwork
A wide-angle view of the layout showing how the lighting benchwork follows the shape of the lower levels

No, that’s not a typo! I’m about halfway through my fourth level of benchwork for this layout. The first level is staging, the second is the lower deck, the third is the upper deck, and the fourth is for the lighting valance. I decided to go ahead and knock this out before putting any track on the upper level so I can install the lighting before I start hand-laying track (which will be most helpful). The good news is once I complete this level, it will complete my benchwork for the layout!… at least phase 1… if there are future phases.

My basement ceilings are 9 feet high, so I’m putting the lighting benchwork around 7.5 feet. The backdrops for the upper deck will be a lot taller than the lower deck, but this is necessary because you’re looking up at them. There will be a 1-foot tall fascia on the front of this level to constrain the view a bit and to hide the lights. I’m making it strong enough to hold some thin plywood so I can use the top to store some lighter things–a requirement from “building management” to compensate for me taking over the storage room.

Top shelf lighting benchwork
Here’s the first piece of lighting shelf benchwork–you can see the backdrop will be taller on the upper deck

 

Top shelf lighting benchwork
Part of the layout is under the stairs, and there’s an air duct in the way requiring some creative construction