# How to attach track to concrete?



## cfra7 (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi,

I’m running my trains into my garage for storage. How do I affix the track to the garage floor? Do I use glue? Is I even necessary? Given it’s the garage floor, it will be stepped on.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

If you really think it's necessary to anchor then I'd use a silicone adhesive so that you could remove later. I my self would not bother. Later RJD


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

If it's on concrete and gets stepped on, it will get bent and broken. You need to somehow support the weight around the railhead or use sections of track designed to this. They are offered.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

?? 

If you have a flat floor, you can drive a car over the track. I walk on the track outside my sliding glass door all the time. 

Unsupported track, no matter what is under it, will bend for sure, I agree. 

A few dabs of silicon glue as RJ said will work, and will have some "give" for expansion and contraction. 

Regards, Greg


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

I've had mine in my garage for over a year! Just step over it not on it! Problem solved!! Unless little urchins around then "let the beatings begin oh whoops instruct the little buggers how to step over it. Hah LOL Regal


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Posted By blueregal on 11 Jan 2010 07:54 PM 
I've had mine in my garage for over a year! Just step over it not on it! Problem solved!! Unless little urchins around then "let the beatings begin oh whoops instruct the little buggers how to step over it. Hah LOL Regal 

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat............................


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## Biblegrove RR (Jan 4, 2008)

Silicone makes most sense - it being kicked as walking, hence bending/loosening your rail joiners would result would most likely be the biggest problem I can imagine.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Personally, if I were attaching track to concrete, I would use screws and plastic anchors. A round head or wafer head screw is ideal. Don't drive the screws tight. Let the underside of the head remain off of the top of the tie about 1/16". This will give you the movement you may require for expansion and contraction. Silicone sealant is fine. But for true permanency you can beat mechanical fastening.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Outside I think that would not be enough "give", I have seen ties pulled and deformed. In a garage, you might get away with it if temperature extremes are not too bad. 

But if you put dabs of silicon every foot, it should help getting kinks... if you only put screws every 3 or 4 feet, then kicking the track in the "wrong" place could give you a nice kink... depends on whether people shuffle or pick up their feet I guess! 

Regards, Greg


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Your quite right Greg. The holes in the ties should be made larger. As large as can be made without breaking through the side walls of the tie. And in areas of heavy foot traffic, I would increase the number of fasteners to at least 12" on center. 

Or, post a sign; FOOT SHUFFLERS WILL BE REMOVED ON SIGHT !!


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## Blk69 (Dec 6, 2009)

I have not experence with track layouts. Driving a vechical on your track sounds like a bad idea. Can you mount the track on marine grade plywood and stack ply wood against wall when not in use? manine grade ply is water resistant. You would have to have some sorta module system with the plywood to set up and take down.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

No one was recommending driving on the track, vfra7 just mentioned having track in the garage. 

I was the one who used the example of driving the car on the track to underscore that on flat surfaces, track CAN take a lot of pressure. 

Yes, there are all kinds of ways to surround the track, plus commercial products that embed track in a surface specifically to take traffic. 

But the thread is really about securing the track to the garage floor. Most likely this is for access to storage tracks or areas. 

Regards, Greg


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## Matt Vogt (Jan 2, 2008)

It might work out better NOT attach it to the floor, or at least with silicone, as suggested. That way if it is hit or kicked it has a much better chance of survival. 

Take care, 
Matt


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## cfra7 (Jan 2, 2008)

It's interesting that this thread I started in 2010 has come back up just as I'm removing my track from the garage floor and starting on a project to make a spur onto a 30" tall table in the garage. I didn't like crawling around on the garage floor every time I wanted to do something. I also recently added another car to the garage that also prevents me from even getting to the trains unless I move the car first. I did end up just setting the tracks on the garage floor and that seemed to work fine. It just required a little tweaking now and then.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

If you must anchor your track to the floor I would do this. It is the same way I anchor my track to my concrete RR bed 

If it is straight track I would like the sides with 1/2 x 1/2 inch or 3/4 x 3/4 inch angle Iron Also anchored to the floor 

This will give you some protection from really stepping on the track. For curves I would use the same size flat iron bolted to the angle iron 


































































Remember the Marty Cozad Rule. " DO NOT STEP ON THE TRACK"


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## rpc7271 (Jan 2, 2008)

I have had track attached to concrete with silicon sealant outside in the Arizona heat for 7 years now without a single problem. It gets 115 degrees in the summer and 34 degrees in the winter. The silicone allows the track to move just a little as the rail to expands and contracts. Of coarse I laid most of my track when it was 110 outside so that the rails were already expanded to about the max they were going to get. I had to take a piece up the otherday to add a turnout and had quite a time as the track was attached just as solid as it was the day it was put down. If you are going to take it up anytime soon I would recommend getting the cheap stuff at Walmart and save money along the way. People woh say that the silicon doesnt worh have their head up their donkey. If you screw it down, when you take it up you are going to have dozens of holes in your garage floor.


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

My track is all on wood or trex. I walk on it all the time and have only had one problem. That was when I was stepping over the track once and caught my foot on it a ripped it up and put a kink in it. The lesson was, "Step on it not over it." I have a friend who has two tracks running across his drive way. He and others drive on it all the time. He now takes it up in the winter because his son-in-law plows his drive way and ripped it out twice. So now he removes the track over the driveway before the snow comes.
Bob


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