Houseworks conservatory

[Kate.Black]

Im just wondering how folks have tackled the floor on this.  The doors open inward with very little clearance so any flooring should be thin.  Im planning for a working greenhouse (meaning plants being potted, etc.).  I thought stone would be nice but there is no way the doors will clear it.

if you have a good solution i would love to see photos.

[havanaholly]

You could print a stone floor on paper and use that, you could prime your floor and spread a thin layer of spackle/ joint compound and "draw" your stones with a pointerr toothpick and paint them to look like stones when it dries (like this floor):

There are all sorts of ways to simulate a stone floor.

[Kate.Black]

Or perhaps a combination of the two.  Nice!  Thanks!

[fov]

I used tile paper in mine. But if you really want a floor with more dimension, if you have access to a disk sander you might be able to sand a bit off the top and bottom of the doors to allow for clearance.

 

[Kate.Black]

14 hours ago, fov said:

I used tile paper in mine. But if you really want a floor with more dimension, if you have access to a disk sander you might be able to sand a bit off the top and bottom of the doors to allow for clearance.

 

The bottoms of the doors are what would need to be sanded and there no access to them as the doors open in and the base is glued in place

[fov]

Ah, that's too bad. I never glued mine to the base, so the pins are accessible from underneath.

[KathieB]

6 hours ago, Kate.Black said:

the base is glued in place

Any hope of using a hair dryer or heat gun (carefully!) to soften the glue and with a palette knife or any slender blade to gentle separate the base from the structure?

[BigKahunaFL]

Another option would be to use a Dremel type rotary tool, fitted with a 90° angle attachment and an offset cutter wheel to cut off the very bottom of the doors.  Alternatively, a small oscillating tool with an offset cutter would work as well and would probably be a bit easier to handle, and safer for those less familiar with power tools. Of course, it depends on how much room you have to access the door(s) in question.

Just a thought.

  

[BigKahunaFL]

Oo, Ooo, Ooooo! Mr. Kotter!  I just thought of a much cheaper, safer, albeit manual way to do this. Grab a cheap, cardboard type emery board (nail file) and cover one side of it with tape or paper. Slip it under to door, tape side down (away from door) and file away. You can add paper or tape to the bottom side of the file, to act as shims, which will keep raising the rough side evenly. Keep adding shims until you get the clearance you need!

[KathieB]

3 hours ago, BigKahunaFL said:

cheaper, safer, albeit manual way

Gotta love the simpler methods!

[Kate.Black]

I so envy all of you with the courage and confidence to use power tools.  Im afraid im just not in that club although i so wish i were.  I can handle a dremel.  I cut one board with the circular saw… under supervision and encouragement of my husband and held my breath while i did it.  So i tend to do things the hard way.

i would love to turn my own spindles.  If anything i think that would be my first choice for gearing up power tools.  I would like to stick a dowel rod into the electric screw driver (which im not afraid of) and set it up like a mini lathe.  I have yet to jump on that project but im churning on it.

so anyway, im feeling off topic.  I dont think ill remove the base.  I imagine breaking the walls in the process.  
But thank you! Thank you!  So many good ideas!

[Kate.Black]

9 hours ago, BigKahunaFL said:

Oo, Ooo, Ooooo! Mr. Kotter!  I just thought of a much cheaper, safer, albeit manual way to do this. Grab a cheap, cardboard type emery board (nail file) and cover one side of it with tape or paper. Slip it under to door, tape side down (away from door) and file away. You can add paper or tape to the bottom side of the file, to act as shims, which will keep raising the rough side evenly. Keep adding shims until you get the clearance you need!

I might go with this maybe, but there would be a visual gap looking at the doors closed from my the front… maybe a short step attached below the doors to solve this.   Hmmm

[havanaholly]

or a threshold?

[KathieB]

1 hour ago, Kate.Black said:

a visual gap looking at the doors closed from the front

Extend the stone tiles under the door, so the floor itself forms a threshold tp fill the gap?

[BigKahunaFL]

39 minutes ago, KathieB said:

Extend the stone tiles under the door, so the floor itself forms a threshold tp fill the gap?

This may lead to problems later if the floor or walls warp, twist, or swell from humidity.  Personally, I'd go with a threshold on the opposite side of the door wing (if the door swings to the inside, the threshold should go on the outside).  The door can then close up against it.  The attached image shows a metal threshold, but I think you get the idea. You don't need anything under the door, just the piece that the door can butt up to, thus covering any gap (which is needed so you don't scratch the floor), block light as well as seal out the weather (if it were real).

[Kate.Black]

I laid in bed awake for hours last night contemplating.  I'm leaning towards working on a piece of card stock and designing fake stones.  My intention is to work as thin as possible and then deal with the doors after I see what sort of clearance issue I have to deal with.  Since I wont glue the card stock in until after I know everything fits I can just trash it if its a fail without backtracking on the conservatory.

[KathieB]

Good thinking: do what makes you happy for now and meanwhile keep thinking about possible upgrades. 

[Kate.Black]

I am brewing a plan!!  Ill take pictures in case it works.

[Kate.Black]

Well, so far my first attempt at a trial run failed.  And then I got distracted building a 1/144th scale house and some 1/12 scale stuff.   I do tend to go from one thing to the next, which is probably why my first house is still not done yet.

[fov]

I think we can all relate!

[BlueRidgePaws]

I am working on the Houseworks conservatory now, and I also have made it an aged, working greenhouse. I used paper brick with a slight bit of texture to it. There is enough clearance for the doors to open.

[havanaholly]

Ooo, pretty!

[LPCullen]

Love it!

[Mid-life madness]

Well done @BlueRidgePaws