@geysergazer posted:Yes, a 24"-30" wide deck around the four walls leaving at least a 4' X 12' open middle space sounds right to me. From my experience in my 12'8" X 11'8" space I would go no wider that 24" because that open space is valuable also.
That standard-size office chair fills a lot of the open space, especially when an old fat guy sprawls in it:
This view is looking West at the 11'8" wall. That is a 1X6 shelf along the right wall in the pic. Decking on that wall could be wider if I didn't want the futon:
While wider in the corners the decking in front of the windows is only 20" wide:
As has been discussed, O scale takes a LOT of space.
I would do mock-ups to see how best to use your space.
"especially when an old fat guy sprawls in it"
LOL Lew.....I resemble that remark!
As for mock-ups, YES!!! Absolutely! Once I have the area cleared of junk, I am going to use painter's tape to mark out potential benchwork footprint(s) and and use paper track templates I've cut out to see what works. It's an old fashioned approach for sure, but I don't seem to be able to get the hang of either SCARM or AnyRail. At this rate, I feel like my would be better spent clearing out the junk. Pics of the space will follow the cleanout.
