Dollhouse Blogs

Sunday 16 October 2011

Roof and Attic floor: part 2; Kitchen Windows and Central Heating.

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a great weekend. I worked on the Manor house all weekend and am glad to say the roof structure is done!
Last post I had just finished gluing the gable and cross beam structure out of 3/4" by 1 1/2"lumber.
I picked up the 1/4" MDF panels at the hardware store Saturday morning. The first step was figuring out where to cut holes for the dormers and the opening to allow access from one room to the next.

I penciled in where the pieces met, and I cut the opening about 1" smaller, just to make sure I didn't have any holes where I want to shingle. I cut all the pieces with a dremel. If you ever use the Dremel be warned, it is small but very powerful. The tip spins so fast it's very hard to go in a straight line without a guide. Whenever I use it this is the setup:
I use a large metal Square and metal rulers, and I clamp them to the wood or MDF I am going to cut. I use a  multipurpose cutting guide ( the round black base)  and  #561 Multipurpose Bits. Because of the rotation of the bit, it's easier to cut up to down and right to left. In the opposite direction the dremel tends to jump and make crooked lines.
When came time to attach the panels, first I covered the gable and cross beams with carpenters glue. I put the MDF panel into place and taped it down with masking tape. Next, I pre-drilled a whole for the screw. First, I used a large drill bit and went down just enough so the head of the screw would not stick out. Then, I used the smallest drill bit and went as deep as I could. All panels had 2 or 3 screws attached to the gables, and 2  screws attached to the cross beam. In the end I used 104 1" screws and 36 2" screws.
In the center section of the roof I will have an opening panel that leads to the stair and the nursery

The opening panel is one piece of MDF with 2 gables attached to it. This was a little bit trickier to figure out.
I had cut the gables and glued them to a piece of subfloor.

I then took extra lumber and cut one end to match the angle of the roof. In the picture above I just glued and screwd  2 of them to the sublfoor. I then took this and glued that anlged cut to the opening panel of MDF. In the next picture you see the entire opening panel as well as the 2 dormers.

For some reason Ozzy went right next to it, sat down and would not move.
I'm going to put up the room devisions before I attach the panel with a piano hinge. I took a few more pictures of the roof:



Any gaps where the panels meet will be covered with copper flashing before shingling.

Every once in a while I had to get away from the roof, so I worked on other little details. I finished the panneling in the entrance

I built a working window for the kitchen.

I built them the same way as past windows, exceptd I build a small seperate frame and attached it with hinges to the window frame. I used an exacto to cut into the wood so there would be no unrealistic gap between the frame and sash.
This will be the Only working window in the house. I have realized the more pieces actually move, the more people touch and break them...and it's REALLY hard for me to pretend I'm not bothered and smile and say "that's okay, it's nothing"
And finaly, I purchased some jewelry pieces that looked like old heating grates. In the late victorian times homes started having coal furnaces in the basement which heated the house using ducts. I used a black marker to draw a square on the wallpaper and glued the jewlery bit on

And that, dear friends, was my weekend. If ever my instructions are unclear please feel free to ask any questions. I usually write my posts at the end of long miniature days.
I hope evryone has a wonderful week.
Best wishes to all,
Giac

25 comments:

  1. Hi Giac!

    I can't believe how much you got accomplished! Everything looks terrific, Giac, right down to the heating grates. Great job on the roof --I have a Dremel on my X-mas List. Have a great week!

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  2. Hi john,
    Thank you so much! I'm really happy the roof is done...I think it was the project that most scared me! You'll love the Dremel...that and a table saw are the only 2 power tools I use!
    Have a great week,
    Giac

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  3. Wat een geweldige dakconstructie Giac. Ik vind alles zo mooi. Volgens mij heb ik een stopkontaktdoos gezien........
    Bedankt voor je antwoord over het schilderen. Ik vind het heel knap van je om de kleur zo 'echt' te krijgen.
    (I hope you can translate)

    groet Heleni

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  4. Hello Heleni,
    Thank you for the compliment! I'm glad you like the faux- finished wood.
    Happy Monday

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  5. I continue to be amazed. Your work is so well done...I'm stunned.

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  6. You sure got a lot done over the weekend. The roof looks great!!! Everything is always so well made and beautiful.

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  7. You were very busy over the weekend. Well Done!

    How many thousands of shingles will you need??

    Cheers,

    Tom

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  8. That is certainly a serious roof and very well constructed. I don't envy you the upcoming task of tiling it!

    Other progress is going really well and I like the little heating grates - that was an inspired idea.

    I completely agree with you regarding folk wanting to touch - to be discouraged at all costs!

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  9. Hello Keli and Catherine, thank you so much for your kind words. your encouragement is very much appreciated.

    Hi Tom and Irene, thank you both as well. I'll be honest, every time I think of the quantity of shingles I need to make I feel overwhelmed. I don't plan on shingling before the new year...but I think I will start cutting and painting a few douzain shingles each week.

    Have a great week everyone, and thank you for taking the time to comment!
    Giac

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  10. Hello Giac, you did a fantastic job! The MDF is a perfect material for dollshouse, but difficult to work if you do not have the right tools ... I do not have it ... I cut the panels (5 mm!) of my little cottage with a cutter ... madness ... What you use seems handy, but is it really so hard to use?
    A kiss
    Mely

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  11. Buongiorno Mely,
    Non è difficile, devi solo essere attenta... Pero e molto facile se si utilizza il pezzo giusto per tagliare il MDF.
    Grazie per i bei complimenti, apprezzo molto.
    baci,
    Giacomo

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  12. I am always amazed at this house. Its gorgeous. I love the work you have done to it congratulations on your fantastic work.
    Hugs Maria

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  13. Giac, your workmanship is outstanding! The roof must have been a huge task and yet you've managed it with a minimum of fuss, Bravo! It looks incredible! as do your rooms, all perfect in every detail. I can see I still have a long way to go!

    Regards
    Andy

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  14. Hello Giac, thanks for the advice, I forgot to tell you that the dog in the photo is too cute! Is yours? From stands guard as the roof of the house ... I think that has mistaken for a comfortable doghouse ... or maybe try to make you understand that it would like to build one from you! I love animals, especially dogs, I have a German Shepherd for almost 13 years ... that kennel has chosen the carpet of my room!
    a kiss
    Mely

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  15. How many days in your week-end ? ;-)
    You did a wonderful job.

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  16. What a great way to spend your weekend!
    The roof looks amazing and you even had time to do some other things on the Manor!! I really like your jewelery find, it really works.
    Thanks for shareing

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  17. Your roof is incredible! You have my respect! I'm struggling with the roof of my Schloss, I can't get the angles right. But your roof is much more complicated and it turned out most perfect! I like that you explain some historical motivation for interior details, like the jewelry finding you got. And the entrance hall of your Manor is grand and very inspiring to me!

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  18. Que maravilla de casa ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ No conocía tu blog he llegado a él a través del de una amiga, ahora seguiré los avances de tu proyecto. Saludos. Yolanda.

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  19. Hello everyone,
    Maria, Andy, Marie, Jeffry and Anneke, thank you, once again, for your kind words of encouragement! Le agradezco muchísimo Yolanda! Thank you to everyone who takes the time to leave such great comments. You really make me want to keep on going and puch myself to do better. I honestly can't tell you how much it means to me...thank you

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  20. He llegado a tu blog por casualidad de lo cual me alegro ya que tienes una casita preciosa. He pasado un rato muy agradable viendo todas las habitaciones. Es fantástica tu casa, me ha encantado.

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  21. Everything's perfectly done, Giac! What inspired you to make those doll houses? Wait, your dog also loved the roof! He even posed for the camera, huh? Cute!

    Shania Fargo

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  22. The 'heating grates' are fabulous - what an amazing idea! x

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  23. I think I want to move to Canada and be your next door neighbor. You are amazing! I started from the first post and am working to the newest. I cannot stop reading, thank you wholeheartedly for this blog.

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  24. I love the old houses that have grates directly on the floor. The heat from the lower floor would enter through these grates....

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