Retrofit the Kit Tudor Dollhouse: Part 11 Button It Up- Real Good Toys Country Tudor CC15

Spoiler alert! This is the second to the last post covering the construction of my Barton Tudor. Yes, I've named it the "Barton Tudor" as it will house my English Barton Tudor 3/4 scale furniture. Just seemed the thing to do!

 

The roof goes on...

 

INSTALLATION DEVIATION: the roof installation. The roof panels were shingled first, then are installed to the home.

The roof pieces are glued and nailed on to the back body peaks where I left openings in the rows of shingles. The front roof pieces are glued and clamped, I didn't want to nail them to the front peak for fear I would break the peak off.

After gluing the top ridge to the top of the roof I finish gluing the last row of shingles on the installed roof, butting them up to the top ridge. I also shingle the roof openings I left open for nailing to the home's peak.

Here I'm gluing and clamping the decorative trim to the front roof edges. I have used scrap trim underneath these new "eaves" to achieve the spacing between the peak and the eave trim and to insure the eave trim is square to the edges.

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Hinging the Door Wall... 

 

INSTRUCTION DEVIATION: I pitched the hinges and clasps of the kit's, bought more decorative hinges and clasps and added an extra hinge as well. I also purchased little screws to attach the hinges.

I bent the tip of one side of each hinge so it curled around the trim on the outside edge of the home.

Well, I'm sorry, I was bad, I didn't take any picts of gluing the feet on, the hinge placement and the drilling of their holes and screwing in their wee screws. 

For the Door Wall attachment, I put the home on its back, set the Door Wall on, making sure to adjust it to fit properly and had at it! I did make sure the three hinges were space evenly to each other.

I then cut some trim and trimmed out the sides of the home and polyed the whole thing, even the shingles.

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Sooo..... if you haven't already guessed, I'm done!

I haven't taken the final picts yet but be sure I will. 

So the next post and last post will be the unveiling of my completed Barton Tudor!!!

Yay!!!

Retrofit the Kit Tudor Dollhouse: Part 8 Details, Details - Real Good Toys Country Tudor CC15

Finalizing those detail concepts that have been in my head:

Window and Door Glass...

 

INSTRUCTION DEVIATION: The kit has plain "glass" and mullions to suggest divided lights. Of course the 2nd floor windows were completely blown out to accommodate the bay window.

• Left pict: Checking size and placement of a diamond pattern printed from the www.
• Middle pict: Plastic window anchored to pattern and metal tape applied over pattern lines.
• Right pict: Completed windows. Trims anchor the windows in their openings.

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 ... and Finish the Door...

INSTRUCTION DEVIATION: Replaced the kit door with a Houseworks Dutch door (the kit door was used earlier to create the stair landing).

• Left pict: Purchased crossbuck Dutch door, Houseworks.
• Middle pict: Crossbuck and mullions removed, hinge side swapped and door stained.
• Right pict: Bottom Dutch fitted out with trim to cover crossbuck area.

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  Working On the Door Wall...

A piece of trim is placed under the Door Wall for needed clearance. The Door Wall will be on side hinges.

So now it's just putting into practice, once again, methods developed, to finish that fourth wall, the Door Wall. Inside and out.

I try to keep steps in order for this massive Door Wall of three floors and an outside:

1. Install 1st fl. crown with Door Wall taped on (left upper pict).
2. Mark final base molding and 2nd fl. crown lines (middle upper pict).
3. Untape Door Wall. Gather courage.
4. Glue and set in the bay (see picture at bottom of list).
5. Paper the inside walls based on marked lines and the wainscotting height.
6. Paper the outside where needed (the door and window trims should cover the raw edges when installed) with brick wallpaper using Yes glue (right upper pict).
7. Set and glue the door (it's trim will cover the wallpapers on both sides).
8. Install the wainscotting and trim of all floors on the inside wall door, overlapping the wallpapers and such.
9. Poly the entire inside.

Gluing in the bay window before trimming the inside.

Ta Da!! The finished inside of the Door Wall!

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Stairs: Finishing the Banister... 

 

INSTRUCTION DEVIATION: Replaced the kit's banister with a Houseworks banister set.

• Left pict: Measuring, creating a template, gluing and clamping.
• Right pict: Polying before installation (and a couple of extra items).
• Bottom pict: Banister installed on the outside of the stairwell with glue.

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Installing the Back (yay!)...

The back is glued and carefully nailed into the sides and floor. Finally!!


OK, good enough for now!

Retrofit the Kit Tudor Dollhouse: Part 7 Stairway To Heaven (NOT, Just the Art Studio) - Real Good Toys Country Tudor CC15

Oye!!!!!! Once I finally made the "jump" to attach the stairs, it went pretty fast! With Thanksgiving and getting my wisdom teeth pulled, it just got put off. Dolly's gonna be living in an igloo at this rate!

 

Gettin' Ready

 

Figured I'd better set the back up to get just the right position for the stairs:

 

Earlier I centered and applied the wallpaper on the 2nd floor back. After taping the back securely on, I glued the stairs to the back, not the landing or ceiling. I still want to be able to take the back off for when I work on the inside front. Having thru and thru access has proved to be a smart idea.

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Pulling the back off, I'm able to apply the paneling and chair rail to the back wall:

Left pic: Why even clamping is so important!!!!                   Right pic: Morticia Adams lent me Thing for hand "clamping".

 

Since I don't have an unobstructed back wall anymore (the stairs), I get a glass of wine and set to "clamping" each paneling piece by hand, until they they are firmly set, about 15 minutes each. OK, so I had more than one glass of wine!!! I then fitted and cut the chair rail and glued it on.

 

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Attic Art Studio

 

 

Well, I've been bad girl. I went to the local home improvement store and sampled some of the laminate flooring samples, about four matching ones of each kind that I was interested in "installing in my home". And the attic's side walls of this Tudor seem perfect for the sandwashed look of "Alpine Elm". Luckily I could get two sections out of each sample! They're easy to cut with a utility knife and straight edge, though you have to score them a few times.

 

I had enough chair rail left to use on the raw top edges of the attic's side walls. I glued and clamped them in first, then glued and clamped my "flooring" panels on, snugging them up into the chair rail bottom.

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Well, it can't be helped, I had to test the furniture pieces for the Attic Art Studio!!

Now I'm really glad I dropped the floor about an 1 1/2 ". This is fast becoming my favorite floor in the house (I say that about each of the floors I'm sure!).

 

Oh gosh! I can hardly wait, once again, to be done!!!