Adding Colonial Jr. to Vermont Jr Farmhouse

[daddyslilgirl]

Okay so there is no bathroom in my vision of the farmhouse. But the addition doesn't have a door frame. Any ideas for a relative newbie to bash this so it works and is actually joined to house and has access from both floors? The addition would become kitchen and bathroom. Kitchen first floor and bathroom second floor. Needs access on both floors to make me happy. I will be moving wall over from instruction placement and making a dining room out of the smaller room (or it may be a foyer I don't really know my decision yet on that) I just know I want the addition but don't have a clue on how to add it where it looks right.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Karen

[havanaholly]

You can cut doorways (especially if there are already windows to do the job) to fit your component doors. I would leave the wall off of the one you're adding for the bash, and just attach it to whichever side of the bigger house you're adding it to. Dry fit everything very carefull before you cut doorways and anything else.

[chapchap73]

Karen. take a look at my Vermont Jr album http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=4825

In RL my bathroom barely has enough room for me in it, so I wanted a nice big one in mini-life

[noniem]

Just reviewed your gallery. Your house is gorgeous!! You have great taste in choosing colors and wallpapers, something which challenges me even in real life. I can't envision a pattern the way it would look on a wall. I love the dark green color of your dining room especially. I would have thought dark colors would be too much for a small dollhouse room, but it brings so much character. The accessories really make the rooms for me and you have dressed this house in a very appealing way. I am inspired!

[chapchap73]

Thanks Nora. It was my first house, so I made a lot of mistakes, but I love it more every day. Karen, I did not have any fancy power tools to cut the doorways, just a dremel tool and LOTS of patience. Trim and spackle are amazing! I did have my dad use his small reciprocating saw to cut the hole for the attic stairs, but only because I was out of exacto blades. (I was using them to scrape away the MDF little by little.) A word about power tools and MDF, it is not good to breathe; when you sand use a mask and try to go outside if you can. When I'm sanding the detail work or my 1/2 scale MDF houses, I have the vacuum on and draped over my shoulder while I'm sanding. Now that you have that mental picture add 3 basset hounds sitting at my feet waiting for something to fall so they can chew it up

[havanaholly]

Do NOT use your Dremel to cut openings (unless you have a Trio) if it isn't secured in a horizontal mounting (believe me, I know whereof I write).

[KathieB]

Do NOT use your Dremel to cut openings (unless you have a Trio) if it isn't secured in a horizontal mounting (believe me, I know whereof I write).

Holly, perhaps a bit more detail for those who aren't aware of this potential problem?

[daddyslilgirl]

add 3 basset hounds sitting at my feet waiting for something to fall so they can chew it up

I have a great dane, english bulldog and a doberman that would all be waiting also! Thanks for the suggestions. I have a barn to cut in and we wear masks for everything from spraying horses to cutting. I am going to think about this a little longer and just keep making progress on the main house. I can always go back and bash it!

[havanaholly]

Holly, perhaps a bit more detail for those who aren't aware of this potential problem?

The rpms generated by a Dremel give it some control issues when using it freehand, without securely mounting it. With the cutting wheel/ sawblade it WILL "kick" or hang, especially if it hits an imperfection in the wood, and even with goggles you have some delicate body parts that can be severely injured or detached (and in this instance, ALL body parts are delicate!) When I use my Trio I securely clamp the piece I'm using it on; for any other cutting, drilling or routing you'd better believe that Dremel is tightly mounted into a securely mounted holder/ drillpress/ router table.

I haven't had sawblades or the fiber cutting wheels shatter, but the light ones will, and the pieces fly everywhere; and the fiber ones generate dust, so wear a breathing mask.

Also remember to use a fence and pushstick on the small pieces of wood.

[chapchap73]

Holly, I used the "plunge" method that Pat described to cut openings.Lots of plunge holes along the opening lines and then exacto blades to cut in between them. It would have been better to cut the entryways before the house was built, but she had not spoken to me about the large kitchen extension and study/bathroom wing until after the main house was all together. I am always careful around ANY type of power tool, even more so since my dad ran his hand through the table saw a few years back. He still has all his fingers and they all work, but not a fun time at all.

[daddyslilgirl]

I got paint today (had primed everything already with a cheaper white paint) Today I got ValSpar (2.98 sample size), wallpapers (50% off card stocks at HL) and my son got me a level! We are painting and going to dry fit soon and mark papers. Have them on tonight and hopefully glue her up tonight before bed and let her sit until Monday (my next day off). Gotta do windows and doors too so may be glueing her together tomorrow when I get home. This build seems so much faster than my Orchid. I don't know though. I have to slow down and take some pictures today of the build or else I think I am going to miss it all together.

KA

[doc]

Here's a demo of cutting a door hole with a utility knife:

http://DollhouseWorkshop.net/plogger/index.php?level=album&id=45

... and with a jig saw:

http://DollhouseWorkshop.net/plogger/index.php?level=album&id=9

If you are cutting with a knife or a dremel, it is important to start with a gentle line and to bear down a bit more as you have a groove to follow. It's true if you are scoring a floor for stain or faux-wood finish, it's true if you are carving with a utility knife, and it is true if you are cutting with a rotary tool. As Holly pointed out, any force without a guide can turn into an un-wanted gouge (which is inconvenient or dangerous), so get a line first, and deepen it a bit at a time.

I have cut door or stair holes many times in finished houses, and it is not as easy as it is when the parts are on the workbench in front of me, but it is nothing to be afraid of either. Just do a good job of predicting where things fit and of the layout, and take it slow.

On the Farmhouse Jr, the stairs will come into the door hole on the right (from the front) so I move the stairhole forward 1" when I am cutting a door to an extension on that side.