minifan Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I need some help/suggestions for adding another staircase to my Fairfield. I want to put a staircase on the 2nd floor going up to the attic...how do you make the hole in the attic floor for it? (the answer is probably the easiest thing that I haven't thought about!!!) Do you just mimick the same hole that's on the second floor? Is that all that I have to do? Do you have any suggestions for cutting the greenleaf wood so it doesn't crunch up on me? Also, because I'm upgrading my staircase in the Fairfield...do I just cut the wall that has the spindles on it? My last question, did you put wood sealer on your wood before you painted it? The warm-up sheet says to do that, and I am priming it, but do I need to seal it also? I ask though I know that some people do it, and some don't, I didn't on the Coventry and the wood warped and the primer (Gesso)turned yellowy, thus making the paint turn a different color too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 ...adding another staircase to my Fairfield. I want to put a staircase on the 2nd floor going up to the attic...how do you make the hole in the attic floor for it? (the answer is probably the easiest thing that I haven't thought about!!!) Do you just mimick the same hole that's on the second floor? Is that all that I have to do? Do you have any suggestions for cutting the greenleaf wood so it doesn't crunch up on me?I did that in the rightside out Fairfield, I used my utility knife and a steel ruler with a cork back to cut the new hole. I didn't cut it in the same place in the third floor as the hole in the second, since I put the second stairway so that it was across the hall from the first one; since it would have blocked the bathroom door, there's no bathroom on the second floor of the rightside-out Fairfield; but since it's the left half of a doubled FF bash, it doesn't matter. Also, because I'm upgrading my staircase in the Fairfield...do I just cut the wall that has the spindles on it?I did that in the inside-out Fairfield, since the stairway is going to have to end up in front of the front bedroom door, so the little person who sleeps there won't fall to the first floor into the circle of the Foucault's Pendulum in the tower. My last question, did you put wood sealer on your wood before you painted it? The warm-up sheet says to do that, and I am priming it, but do I need to seal it also?I used clear sanding sealer until I discovered that priming serves the same function, sealing the wood to prevent the natural and treatment acids & other chemicals in the wood from leaching out into the paint/ wallpaper. I'm using the stairs that came with the kit and I used them for a pattern to make the set of stairs to the attic/ third floor. I made baluster spindles from the turned toothpicks and stripwood for the banisters, and I expect to do the same thing with the iso FF's stairway, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minifan Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Thanks for all the help Holly!!! This advice is AWESOME!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Pictures! (I better get busy, too!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llilith Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Old thread I know, but I have the same issue now. The house wants stairs to the attic, but she didn't tell me til I finished the floors. I really love how they turned out and I don't know if I should just cut anyway. I suppose I could revarnish if needed. Hmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llilith Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 omgosh - check this out. You guys probably already know about it, but I LOVE this idea. Faux trap door! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 That's what I've done with the Washington 2.0 farmhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llilith Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I was hoping you'd reply Holly - you have a great ideas! I actually just bought this on eBay - it seemed like a great deal and I read on this forum that they are also a little hard to find. Dollhouse attic door & stairs for $15 shipped. I'm not entirely sure it's 1/12 scale but I hope so. Now, I'm trying to figure out how I can install this without cutting a hole in the floor. I'm not sure I can but figured I'd jump on that deal while it was there - I could always relist it. Do you have any thoughts on how to put that up without cutting a hole? I was thinking maybe just glue it on the ceiling and put some framing around the part that would normally be inserted into the hole. I really don't want to cut the finished floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I have one of those on a build. I cut the hole in order for it to become functional. Mine doesn't have a cover over the attic side, just the underside ceiling pulldown door part. I just trimmed out the attic floor with a little lip to keep people from falling down the stairs. The one in the newsletter was a faux one which i might do the next time instead. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llilith Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Selkie - if you were me and had already put a nice finish on the floor, would you cut a hole? If so, what tool would you use? I'm kinda scared about doing it. And, it is that thick mdf board. The more I work with this mdf, the more I think my next house won't have that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 To address your first question, I framed the stair hole with molding trim on both sides (2nd floor ceiling & attic floor); I did NOT cut into the wood. eventually I'll dig into my skinny stick stash and fake a folded ladder to glue atop the attic side. I did whip out the pin vise and drill a hole through the floor and threaded length of crochet cotton with a wooden bead glued to one end to hang down in the stairwell to look like the trapdoor pull. To answer your second question, no way would I cut into a beautifully finished floor! I would save the working attic stairs for a future build and whack a stair hole for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 The simpliest solution, imo, is to save the one you just ordered for another build and simply create the faux one for this one. No cutting involved and no stress about the floor finish. You'll have an attic again and you can plan ahead for the cut. That said, if you really want the working stairs, you'll have to bite the bullet and make the cut. Be sure you wear a mask to cut MDF! If the floor is not glued into the house yet, clamp it to a flat surface, drill some starter holes just inside the line you draw for size at the corners. (for these stairs you need to cut accurately to make it work). Then use a power tool like a Dremel rotary cutter or a Dremel Trio, or a jig saw to start cutting in one of the starter holes , use a straight edge clamped onto it if you want extra stability, and complete the straight lines. Sand to fit and you are good to go. If it is glued in already, I would tip the house upside-down, draw the lines on the under side ceiling so you aren't trying to cut on your installed floor, use an angled drill to make those starter holes (and I'd make more - a line of them) then with straight edge and utility knife I'd score the lines first, and then use a small hand saw to slowly cut it through. If you don't have an angled drill, you can make some nail or screw holes to start. They won't be as large or convenient but will work. You'll have to go slow and take breaks. Using blue tape on the line edges can help guide you and keep the wood on the other side from splintering. (tape both sides - good tip for any cuts you need to make.) Brae (otterine.com) has a demo of her Dremel cutting window openings in a post around a couple weeks ago. She had some nice pictures. She was cutting MDF for her Milo barn. Her pictures always explain things well. Good luck. I'm sure you'll figure out what's best for your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llilith Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 To address your first question, I framed the stair hole with molding trim on both sides (2nd floor ceiling & attic floor); I did NOT cut into the wood. eventually I'll dig into my skinny stick stash and fake a folded ladder to glue atop the attic side. I did whip out the pin vise and drill a hole through the floor and threaded length of crochet cotton with a wooden bead glued to one end to hang down in the stairwell to look like the trapdoor pull. To answer your second question, no way would I cut into a beautifully finished floor! I would save the working attic stairs for a future build and whack a stair hole for them. I could use the folded stairs I just bought to put on the top of the faux trap door and the other part of it for the faux trap door on the ceiling. Just have to take it apart and modify it I guess - that could be fun. Do you have pictures of this in your Washington 2.0? I looked in your Gallery and didn't see it there. Selkie - Thanks for the info on how to make the cut - lots of good details, scary but good LOL. It sounds like an ordeal - I might try it if I didn't love how the floors turned out so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Here's the link to Brae's page about cutting. It's actually in her Creatin Contest 2015 section. http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php/dremel-circle-cutter-and-edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 If you take it apart, watch out for the springs. They pop with enthusiasm - don't ask how I know that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Kim, if you looked at my albums you will see that I take exceedingly terrible pictures, and I have given up I started out taking pictures of the Washington, but gave it up since the drug store chain I used to use to process my film onto photo CD has gone the "loyalty card" route. I don't shop grocery stores that have gone to the card, and I don't shop other stores that do so, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llilith Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Selkie - Thanks for the warning! That's OK Holly - I think I can figure it out. I'm going to cannibalize the stair/door when it comes to make a fake out of it. I'm kinda excited about that. I reserve the right to ask more questions when it gets here LOL. I'm starting to think half the fun of this is figuring out ways to make things work outside the box. Oh btw, I hate those loyalty cards too!!! Track my shopping habits, no thanks. I am not a fan. It's almost unavoidable now, but I really don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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