Plan B Takes Shape

 Well, we will file that previous post either in File 13 (the wastebasket) or File for Future reference. The Wood Craft veneer is not flat; it tends to have ripples here and there, which really did not flatten out as I thought they would  when I glued them in place. The real problem with the floor, however, occurred when I realized that as I glued the planks in place, they were not level. So I tore the whole mess out and began again. I had glued the to flooring to card stock which was also glued to the floor so, I had to used my laundry softer/water solution to dissolved it and scrape out the card stock without damaging the wallpaper. 

Plan B: I purchased flooring from Hobby Lobby. And here's how that went.

With the first floor installation, I used Aleene's Tacky glue to secure my card stock "sub" floor that would protect the copper tape.

I covered the copper tape with Scotch tape to protect it, leaving a small opening where the the connections for the wire that will connect to the upper floor and where I will connect the only floor lamp in the living room. 

You can see the mess. 

And I began a new. 

This time to adhere the card stock to the floor, I used my favorite double sided tape found in the scrapbook section at Hobby Lobby. It will hold the paper secure and will remove easily should that ever happen.

The new flooring comes from Hobby Lobby, too. I've used it before. It comes adhered to a backing so I was able to use scissors to cut the shape of the floor from a template. Looks great. Fits perfectly.

I used a walnut stain to give the floor a really dark, rich look. . .  

. . .which dissolved the glue that held the boards to the backing, so now I have to install them one by one. I did a dry fit--several times, remembering to leave a 1 inch gap in the living room to wire in the lamp. In the end, I've left 2 center boards that won't be glue in so that if I ever have to repair the connection, I can. More on that later. 

  

I followed the same process in the kitchen, glued in each plank one at a time with tacky glue and pressing each plank next to the pervious one for a tight fit. For some reason the planks are not quite even at the bottom, but at this point I am not going to worry about that because I will use a trim along the edge. 

With the wall supports as they are, planks had to be sculpted to fit. This wood cuts easily with an X-action blade. Next time I will stain the sheet of plants before I cut them and then cut each separate plank as I go to fit instead trimming to fit the template. 

The floorboards will hopefully cover up any gaps. 

Here, then, is the completed living room floor. Look closely at the bottom where you will find spliced blanks. I left 3 boards unglued that will be held in place by the center baseboard and the edge trim.

I did something similar to this in my first house, the remodel which I call the Blue Farmhouse Now Pink. I don't usually run tape wire across the main floor; instead, I run it up the walls, but in this house I wallpapered the wall panels before I installed them (Won't do that again), so for my one lamp in the living room I had to create the electrical connection and hide it in the floor. In my experience over the years with renovations and new builds, the copper tape never wears out or fails, but what does fail are the connections in the tape wire. 

So FIY stay tuned for this I will be soldering my connections instead of using brads. Won't that be interesting--well I hope so. 

  

The base board will come out, and the little splices will be easily removed. Then I got the brilliant idea to move them to the top where they won't be so easily spotted. Now I will be able glue the trim at the bottom in place for tight, secure fit. 

 

And only you know my secret.

The same technique will be used in the front entry. 

The copper tape runs across the kitchen floor and securely glued in place with the electric connection on the outside. I've used card stock as a base floor which will be taped in place with access to the spot where the wire leading to upstairs will be connected. While the sub flooring will be taped down as the wood flooring, the tile piece will be left unattached. The stairs will not be glued into place permanently either and will hold the tile in place. But more one that later. 

  

Finally, after a lot of struggles, the first floor is almost complete. I have to paint and install crown moulding and it will be done. The second floor will not be as tedious for it is only 3 main pieces with two interior walls and straight lines, no bay windows to fuss with. It does have 3 windows that have to be built, painted, and installed. So stay with me. 

Thanks so much for visiting. 

Ann

Not for the Faint of Heart

 Dollhousing, (my new word for what I do in my spare time), sometimes really isn't for the faint of heart especially if you are a DYI-er. It is for the adventurous and risk takers; for those who desire to kit bash and build everything from scratch; for those who want try new things, be innovated and creative. 

I'be probably written this before: beginners benefit from building a kit and following the directions faithfully, for there are some really great kits, especially the newer laser cut kits with pieces that are precision cut and will fit perfectly. Older kits, not so much as it is with my current build, the Newbury, which I am saying now will be my last large project--oh! wait! My daughter has the San Franciscan kit, daring me to continue. I'll get back to you on that. 

Today's post will focus on flooring for the Newbury, a rather challenging project with its bay windows on the first floor.

To begin: there are so many options for dollhouse wood flooring ranging from printable flooring to commercially printed flooring to wood products. You can buy individual planks for a variety of online shops. You can purchase sheets of pre-cut planks--you have so many options. 

But what if you a risk taking adventurous DIY-er as I have been there are options, too. Some use craft sticks--I have, with fair results Or Hobby Lobby planks on a sheet. 

I began my dollhouse adventure by googling "how" and found plethora bloggers and YouTubers who taught me how to do many things on my own to create my own special unique dollhouses. The last house, the Manchester Country Home is filled with mostly with handmade, one of kind, not so perfectly engineered or made pieces. Here's the tutorial on how I made the flooring for this house using my Cricut Maker to cut Cricut veneer. https://annsdollhousedreams.blogspot.com/search?q=cricut+flooring. The Design Space creation is available free on Cricut's Design Space.

With the Newbury, I have made some pieces, but am not holding myself to that strict rule; however, I did decide to make my own flooring, so I ordered packages (2 sheets per pack) of walnut veneer from Cricut. Cut it on the Cricut and didn't have enough. I was going to buy more from Cricut, but it is now $18.00 +shipping for one pack, so I looked for options.

I searched WoodCraft's website and ordered their 12x12 veneer walnut 3 to a pack for $11 + shipping. 

The Cricut veneer is a better quality, actually. The Wood Craft veneer is a bit rippley; that is to say that it does not lie flat, but I think once I glue it in place and weight it down, the planks will dry flat.

See. This is the thing with DIY-ing: you do take risks when you go rogue and do something new. Just sayin'.

Instead of cutting this veneer out on my Cricut which does lead to a a bit of waste around the edges and takes time to lay out the cuts in Design Space, required the purple mat and deep blade with 4 passes--, I decided to cut this on my old Martha Stewart cutting board and guess what! Perfection. My original Cricut pattern has 1/4" planks, so I line up the left edge with the 1/4' line and cut away. So much easier and no waste.

I can easily vary the length of the planks, too. 

With the wood planks cut and ready to install, I am testing water based varnish. Purchased at Hobby Lobby, I originally bought the small glossy 2 oz bottle, then bought the only varnish the store had, a satin varnish. Did my test strips and realized that I really like the glossy for a nice sheen to the floor. I ordered the 8 oz glossy from Walmart, store pickup. I think $13. 😬

Which brings me another point: Is DIY more costly or less? 

 

The gloss varnish will give a deeper richer look to the wood, especially with multiple coats. I will varnish the floor after it is installed. Some will stain and varnish individual strips, but to me that is work intensive. The nice thing about this veneer is that it does not requite staining, just several coats of varnish. I don't even sand between coats.  

I've not photographed each time I've tested laying out the planks, but I began by making templates with the plan to glue the planks to the template; however, I realized that when I reinserted my card stock template, I had  to bend it to get into place properly around those windows, so I knew that a wooden floor wouldn't to be as pliable as the paper template. So I made a new template.

I need a barrier between the wood planks and the wood floor because tape wire will run across the floor, so I made new barrier template out of brown card stock that I will glue the flooring to.

DIY-ers have to be patient. While I am ready to install the flooring, I have to wait for my electrical supplies to arrive. I ordered the transformer from my favorite supplier CR2s way back in July. I love this company and the products that I'll be using. I've watched his Youtube videos which are so good, but my order was met with a screen that informed his customers that he and his twin were celebrating their 80th birthdays with a cruse (17 family members!) Happy Birthday!  and orders wouldn't be processed until Aug. 9. It's okay, for there is plenty of other things to do. 

Next time we meet, I'll have the electrical tape installed underneath a beautiful floor. 

Thanks for dropping by. If you are visiting from Facebook post, say hello in the moments. 

Best Regards,

Ann