Omitting stairs

[Lita]

This weekend I decided I’m all in on dollhouses and will have 2 under construction at once. I dry fit and started assembly on my Orchid. (This is to put off dealing with getting the electrical done on my RGT bungalow. I have 4 out of 7 lights installed and working, but each has been a project in itself!)

i had been debating omitting the stairs on the Orchid since it’s such a small house and stairs in the kit are very basic. Well now I’m committed as I put the second floor on backwards, which would place the stairs in front of the bay window. So...how do I, or do I even need to, fill in the hole? I plan to plank the upstairs and I could wallpaper the ceiling below but I feel like I ought to stick a piece of wood in there.

[Dalesq]

Cut a piece of scrape wood to fill the hole. Use a wood white glue to glue it into place by coating the edges and then pushing it into place in the hole. You may need to use some super glue gel to get it to stay in position while the wood glue dries. Once the glue is dry use some wood filler or spackle to fill the gaps. Sand smooth when dry.

The reason to fill the hole is any paper you put over it will pucker if the hole isn’t filled. Also if you use a light weight paper, it may still show the ghost of the hole if it’s not perfectly smooth. I suggest you use a heavy card stock for your ceiling paper to avoid this. There shouldn’t be any problem with the plank floor, however, you’ll want the hole filled for support for the pieces if you are laying the planks individually.

[havanaholly]

If you still have all the pieces you punched out you can plop the piece you punched out for the stairs back in and if it needs glue Debora's is a good suggestion.  Stairs can be in the invisible back half of the house(I wish I had thought of that when building the Washington 2.0).

[MaryKate]

Hi Lita,

I had the same issue with the stairs in the Orchid I'm working on and I decided to eliminate them entirely. I didn't punch out the opening on the second floor, and I filled it in with wood spackle. The first floor ceiling is papered with cardstock weight paper, as Debora recommends. and the second floor will be covered with (I think; still deciding) wood planks.  You'd never know it was there. Since your opening was already punched out, I think Debora's advice about gluing in a wood piece is great. Best of luck with your build!

[third_hand]

I've also been working on an Orchid. I likewise decided stairs simply took up too much precious space! I custom built some faux attic doors (with 'heavy' planking) to cover the hole on either side. There's a handy tutorial on the Greenleaf website that I modified a bit. They aren't functional, but if you're going for a well-loved, well-worn antique-type style they're a nice opportunity to add some extra 'rustic' in the attic! 

There should be a photo or two in my album if you'd like a look-see :) 

[Lita]

9 hours ago, MaryKate said:

Hi Lita,

I didn't punch out the opening on the second floor, and I filled it in with wood spackle. The first floor ceiling is papered with cardstock weight paper, as Debora recommends. and the second floor will be covered with (I think; still deciding) wood planks.  You'd never know it was there. Since your opening was already punched out, I think Debora's advice about gluing in a wood piece is great. Best of luck with your build!

Thanks everyone for the advice. I didn’t have a lot choice about punching out the stairs, that piece was one of those that more or less fell out when I picked up the sheet. There’s a piece of gingerbread in that piece I’ll see if I can omit. 

I tried glueing together some popsicle sticks (too thin) and remnants from my Arthur (too thick) to fill in the hole. I am confident I can find spare wood in the Orchid kit to make a piece.

6 hours ago, third_hand said:

I've also been working on an Orchid.

There should be a photo or two in my album if you'd like a look-see :) 

I love your French doors! Thanks!