I had a layout designed and built for me by a well known custom layout firm, SMARTT. They have been in business for decades and are doing well today. Just had one of their craftsmen at my home on Wednesday to do some repairs to the turnout points on the hand laid turnouts. I knew what I was getting in to, picked what I determined to be the best firm to deliver precisely the layout that I wanted, and signed the contract. I am totally happy with the layout. I could not have built this layout in 10 years, let alone just in the 9 months it took them to build, deliver, reassemble and test it.
There are all kinds of things to consider, think through and monitor. The biggest enemy of budget and schedule is the client. The Layout builders know what they are doing. After approving the plans the only changes I made were to increase the level of fine detailing in a couple of areas, that was a very minor impact. They currently have a mid sized HO layout (about 15'x25') in the shop for three years because every time the layout gets close to completion the client changes his mind and makes pages of line item changes.
I am used for a reference if a potential customer asks for one. To make it simple and organized I prepared a presentation that walks though the entire process on my layout. I have also hosted visitors to my layout who are considering a custom built layout. Every person is surprised by the construction features, neatness and organization when they look underneath.
What would you like to know?
