The Garfield... just beginning

[hsouthard]

Haha I'll have to remember that

[weezah]

Using Popsicle sticks means having to cut, sand and glue a lot of extra pieces. It means that the work has to be done after the walls are placed (otherwise the walls won't fit into the slots) and it means that all of your doors will need to be cut down to accommodate for the extra thickness of the floor. The porch floor won't be level with the entry/kitchen floor (unless you use them out there too). Those sticks are going to want to warp as soon as the glue hits them so you will also need to devise a way to clamp them flat until the glue dries.

If you are dead-set on using actual strips of wood for the floor, go to Starbucks and grab a handfull of their stir sticks. They are longer, narrower (more in scale) and much thinner.

[havanaholly]

I'm cutting the iron-on wood veneer into 6" strips and splitting them lengthwise in half, 1/2", and using my iron set on "high" to iron them in place. I already have the house assembled with doors in place. It was a true PIA to do the hallways; next time I'll draw pencil lines on the floors at the bases of the walls and then remove one wall to do the floor there. I love that the veneer is thin enough to be in scale and it cuts with either utility knife or scissors.

[hsouthard]

Using Popsicle sticks means having to cut, sand and glue a lot of extra pieces. It means that the work has to be done after the walls are placed (otherwise the walls won't fit into the slots) and it means that all of your doors will need to be cut down to accommodate for the extra thickness of the floor. The porch floor won't be level with the entry/kitchen floor (unless you use them out there too). Those sticks are going to want to warp as soon as the glue hits them so you will also need to devise a way to clamp them flat until the glue dries.

If you are dead-set on using actual strips of wood for the floor, go to Starbucks and grab a handfull of their stir sticks. They are longer, narrower (more in scale) and much thinner.

Thanks for the heads up.... I didn't think about the doors having to open and accommodate the bulky floor. I'll be putting the house on hold for 6 to 8 weeks, got to get a surgery done Wednesday.

Might have to make several trips to Starbucks

[hsouthard]

I'm cutting the iron-on wood veneer into 6" strips and splitting them lengthwise in half, 1/2", and using my iron set on "high" to iron them in place. I already have the house assembled with doors in place. It was a true PIA to do the hallways; next time I'll draw pencil lines on the floors at the bases of the walls and then remove one wall to do the floor there. I love that the veneer is thin enough to be in scale and it cuts with either utility knife or scissors.

I just don't like the idea of having an iron on the thin wood. The heat hasn't worped the wood at all?

[Selkie]

I just don't like the idea of having an iron on the thin wood. The heat hasn't worped the wood at all?

This product is meant for ironing on the edges of wood cabinets and counters, etc. Professional carpenters use it on wood all the time with no problems. Don't use a steam setting if you are using a regular full size iron.

Here is a YouTube link to a carpenter's illustration of attaching veneer to wood on a full size scale. It's quite interesting. Seems like he uses a ton of glue!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxUKc4JWBaI

You can use a small craft iron which fits into tiny areas easily.

[havanaholly]

I use my regular household iron, no steam setting, and no, the heat doesn't warp the wood.

[hsouthard]

This product is meant for ironing on the edges of wood cabinets and counters, etc. Professional carpenters use it on wood all the time with no problems. Don't use a steam setting if you are using a regular full size iron.

Here is a YouTube link to a carpenter's illustration of attaching veneer to wood on a full size scale. It's quite interesting. Seems like he uses a ton of glue!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxUKc4JWBaI

You can use a small craft iron which fits into tiny areas easily.

Thanks for the information.

I'm still at a stand still of what to do about the floors. I know I want it to look like hard wood flooring just don't know how to go about it.

[hsouthard]

I currently put the flooring on the back burner for right now.

I have had the doors sitting in front of me for awhile now. I bought butt hinges and doorknobs for all the doors but am just at a loss for how I'm going to attach any of it. I'd like working doors and know someone on here has gone through this. Open for thoughts

[Inge]

I'm a little late on reading this but have been working on the Garfield. I actually taped the entire house together from foundation up to the gables to figure out how to cut it into two sections. Masking tape lasts about 10 nano seconds and then starts to come off. I then tried DUCK tape, first one came off as well. Went to Dollaram and bought DURAMAX DUCK tape for $1.25 and that actually sticks very well. Today I cut the foundation and tomorrow I will cut the kitchen floor. I am taking pictures as I go so will post them in a couple of days....you know....if it actually worked. Wish me luck.

I went thru 225 pages of the gallery and was surprised there were so many Garfields which don't come up when you type in Garfield in the search box for gallery's. The best one I found was moreminis@BlogSpot.com if that helps you.

Hope you are recovering from your surgery

[1martinimomma]

HI,

 

As far as the flooring, I put the popsicle sticks on the second floor landing of the Beacon Hill.  Don't think I will be doing those again.  The warping was horrible.  Thank goodness I had an electric sander that was small enough that could sand the floor down inside the house.  I have a lot of Dewalt wood clamps of varying sizes, and most  just wouldn't reach far enough into the space to clamp them down.  I did put heavy cans of food on top of the floor to help hold it down, but I couldn't seem to find anything heavy enough.  Maybe, someone else has a better idea on how to clamp these floors down.

 

I will say they did turn out beautifully.  But the area I did was very small.  I have a Rockwell Blade Runner, so I was able to cut the sticks to fit the room with the walls up.  I am not sure how you would be able to cut the sticks in length-wise manually. Maybe, I just don't have the right hand tool to do that. 

 

I do know how you feel.  I am also new to building dollhouses, and lost half my hair today putting the Mansard roof on the Beacon Hill.  Oh well, haircuts will be far and few between if this continues.  

[Selkie]

As far as the flooring, I put the popsicle sticks on the second floor landing of the Beacon Hill.  Don't think I will be doing those again.  The warping was horrible.  Thank goodness I had an electric sander that was small enough that could sand the floor down inside the house.  I have a lot of Dewalt wood clamps of varying sizes, and most  just wouldn't reach far enough into the space to clamp them down.  I did put heavy cans of food on top of the floor to help hold it down, but I couldn't seem to find anything heavy enough.  Maybe, someone else has a better idea on how to clamp these floors down.

 

Sometimes putting the main part of the flooring in before you build can help in the smaller areas that are hard to reach. Clamping and weighting are easier when it's apart as well.

 

It doesn't always work if you truly need the walls to measure by, but often it doesn't matter if you are that exact because we usually are adding mopboards, skirting, baseboards, or whatever you call it, so that covers any unevenness at the wall edges.

 

As to other clamping techniques, you can try laying a board, the size of your area, across the area to be clamped and then weight it or clamp it. It can give more even pressure that way.

 

Using a glue that is not water based can also help with stopping the warping issues.

[hsouthard]

I'm a little late on reading this but have been working on the Garfield.  I actually taped the entire house together from foundation up to the gables to figure out how to cut it into two sections. Masking tape lasts about 10 nano seconds and then starts to come off.  I then tried DUCK tape, first one came off as well.  Went to Dollaram and bought DURAMAX DUCK tape for $1.25 and that actually sticks very well.  Today I cut the foundation and tomorrow I will cut the kitchen floor. I am taking pictures as I go so will post them in a couple of days....you know....if it actually worked.  Wish me luck.

 

I went thru 225 pages of the gallery and was surprised there were so many Garfields which don't come up when you type in Garfield in the search box for gallery's.  The best one I found was moreminis@BlogSpot.com if that helps you.

 

Hope you are recovering from your surgery

 

Good luck on the cutting sounds like a huge job. I actually have been using that blog as a go to if I get stuck or have questions. It's great.

 

Thanks

[doll house 123]

hi heather just wanted to know if you have done anything on your doll house and have you took any photos lately of your project 

[hsouthard]

hi heather just wanted to know if you have done anything on your doll house and have you took any photos lately of your project 

Hey,

 

I actually haven't done much, I've been recovering from surgery but now that things are settled and getting back to normal, I'll be able to start again. I've got the foundation and stairs built. I started pulling the windows and doors to start sanding but again slow process

 

I'm more just slowing the process because I don't know what colors to paint, what to do with the floors and other things.

[doll house 123]

how about sending some photos

[hsouthard]

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=7128

 

Those are the only pictures I've got and really that's all I've got completed.

[Creamcheese]

Heather, there are so many wonderful books available.   I just ordered two and am anxiously awaiting their arrival.  One is Victorian Homes of San Francisco and the 2nd is Gingerbread Gems: Victorian Architecture of Cape May.   The 1st showcases exteriors which I am hoping will help me design and pick an array of colors for my Garfield's exterior.   I also have a book on Victorian decorating that I referred to often as I was building my dollhouse and deciding on how to decorate the interior.   I think I read somewhere where you do not like wallpaper but in the Victorian era they used wallpaper extensively for walls, ceilings etc. as well as lots of wood paneling.  Anyway, there is lots that you can find online to give you ideas.   Good luck and have fun!

[havanaholly]

Susan another fun book for Victorian era decorating is The Tasteful Interlude.

[Creamcheese]

Thanks, Holly!   I put this book on my wish list!

[hsouthard]

Yea I don't like wallpaper. I've decided that either the walls with be painted or a lot of rooms will be paneled. I don't think I'm going for the Victorian look, more just traditional maybe even a country feel to it being I live out in Texas.

[weezah]

HI,

 

As far as the flooring, I put the popsicle sticks on the second floor landing of the Beacon Hill.  Don't think I will be doing those again.  The warping was horrible.  Thank goodness I had an electric sander that was small enough that could sand the floor down inside the house.  I have a lot of Dewalt wood clamps of varying sizes, and most  just wouldn't reach far enough into the space to clamp them down.  I did put heavy cans of food on top of the floor to help hold it down, but I couldn't seem to find anything heavy enough.  Maybe, someone else has a better idea on how to clamp these floors down.

 

I will say they did turn out beautifully.  But the area I did was very small.  I have a Rockwell Blade Runner, so I was able to cut the sticks to fit the room with the walls up.  I am not sure how you would be able to cut the sticks in length-wise manually. Maybe, I just don't have the right hand tool to do that. 

 

I do know how you feel.  I am also new to building dollhouses, and lost half my hair today putting the Mansard roof on the Beacon Hill.  Oh well, haircuts will be far and few between if this continues.  

In the wood world, laminating (gluing wood to faces of other wood) requires balanced construction.  if you put a layer of something on one side, you need to have it on the other side (same thickness, wood species, etc).  Otherwise it will warp. This happens even with plastic laminate for countertops.  

[~morningstar~]

I too am working *slowly* on the Garfield.. (it's been on hold for 14 months due to a house guest (my son)) and now that I can work on it again, I've begun the process of wiring. This has been an odyssey for me. I don't want to put the house together entirely, but I think I might have to, just to get the wiring in the right places. This may be my task for next week. Once that is done, I can do the wallpapering and the  rest of the assembly...  I didn't think of the flooring issue with the skinny sticks and doors until after I'd already put down my first floor. Too late, I guess. What I think I will have to do on the first floor is sand down the bottom of the doors, or something. It never even occurred to me. :\

 

By the way, the pics of the floor.. FABULOUS! Great job!.

 

This house has been over 2yrs in the building, mostly because I've had my son living with me.. but also because I stumbled with the wiring issue. I think I have it sorted, but nonetheless...

 

I am sure you are faring better.

 

I hope your surgery went well and was uneventful!

 

~morningstar~

[hsouthard]

I too am working *slowly* on the Garfield.. (it's been on hold for 14 months due to a house guest (my son)) and now that I can work on it again, I've begun the process of wiring. This has been an odyssey for me. I don't want to put the house together entirely, but I think I might have to, just to get the wiring in the right places. This may be my task for next week. Once that is done, I can do the wallpapering and the  rest of the assembly...  I didn't think of the flooring issue with the skinny sticks and doors until after I'd already put down my first floor. Too late, I guess. What I think I will have to do on the first floor is sand down the bottom of the doors, or something. It never even occurred to me. :\

 

By the way, the pics of the floor.. FABULOUS! Great job!.

 

This house has been over 2yrs in the building, mostly because I've had my son living with me.. but also because I stumbled with the wiring issue. I think I have it sorted, but nonetheless...

 

I am sure you are faring better.

 

I hope your surgery went well and was uneventful!

 

~morningstar~

 

I'm at a stand still, I just don't know what to do. I want to wire the house but I don't. I have decided to not do the popsicle sticks as the floor as it seems to be more than a hassel than anything.

[weezah]

Heather, I too struggled with the wiring, but in the end it was far easier than I had imagined it would be.Since the walls and floors are so thin, there is not much room for wires.  I used the Dremel and routed grooves from the point where I wanted the light to the outside walls.  I wallpapered the living/dining/entry ceilings to make it look like tin, so I was able to paper over the wires.  If you wish to paint the ceilings, just use spackle to cover the grooves once the wiring is in place.  I recommend using spackle on any bare wood surface as a filler anyway.  It gives you a nice smooth finished look.

 

Once the wires were run to the outside wall, I drilled a small hole so the wire would go through to the exterior, then I created the same groove down the face of the outside wall to the foundation.  The wire can travel down that groove and go through a small hole in the foundation and then to whatever location you want for the power strip.  

 

I ran several wires to the exterior and down into the void that will be under the porch roof, then over to the corner where the dining room wall meets the small kitchen wall with the door.  I used small wood pieces for trim, leaving a channel large enough to run everything down below the ground floor and into the foundation.

 

I will create a small gallery and upload a couple of photos of the wiring that I did.