Dollhouse Blogs

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Attic staircase step by step, Great Room Floors and Loggia

Hello everybody,
I hope everyone is well. I have been juggling 3 projects at once and am finally making some progress.

Many miniaturists seem to be afraid of making staircases from scratch. I actually think they are quite easy, if not a little time consuming. I already put up a post about the grand staircase, but this time I thought I'd give more accurate directions and pictures for the attic staircase. It is simpler, but the directions and the style of the staircase are the same. Here is the picture of it after faux-finishing, but I still have to add the wood strips to create panels.

The first step was to cut each step in 5/8 " MDF. Mine are 3 1/8 inches wide by 1 1/2" deep. I also cut the platform where the staircase changes direction. Once these were cut and sanded, I started gluing them together using wood glue and a drop of gel superglue. The gel glue eliminates the need for clamps. I glue them so that each step wil be 3/4 of an inch deep. I made a jig to make the process go faster.



Since the staircase will eventually get panneled, I added a spacer on the side of the steps, which you can see in the picture above. Next, I used spare wood pieces to make a support for the staircase. I then cut out pieces of illustration board for the walls under the steps and glued all in place, again with gel super glue and wood glue.



Next, I apply nosing trim to the top and the sides of the steps.

Once the nosing strips are in place, glue on the corner posts and the handrails. Let them dry properly because this is the main structural support for the balustrade. When dry, cover the steps and both sides of illustration board with acrylic gesso (if you only cover one side of the illustration board it might curl a little).  When that was dry, I painted everything with a base color, in this case, antique gold.


The next step is to add the balustres. I started by painting them with the base color. Before gluing them in place they have to be adjusted to fit. I cut the top of the balustre at about the same angle as the handrail, then I cut the base shorter to fit. The handrail I used has a groove to help hold the balustres. I attach them by putting a bit of wood glue and gel super glue on the bottom and top of each, slide them into place and hold them about 25 seconds for the gel glue to set.


When all is dry, I mix a little oil paint and liquin and brush on the walnut faux-finish.



The second project I worked on was the Great Room floor. I did it the same way as all the other wood floors, finishing it with dissolved shellac flakes, then covering the whole floor with wax.

I will attach the wood floors shortly, but not the columns. I made them to support arches and linen fold panels, but the room is very deep and if I glue them now I won't be able to comfortably apply the wood panels to the back walls.


And last but not least, the Loggia. A loggia is a covered porch , usually with one acces. I made mine off the dining room with a master bedroom balcony above.

I started by cutting an mdf bottom and top pieces and some 1 1/2" by 1 1/2" columns and foundation pieces
When that was glued together, I cut out the low side walls for both levels and the castellation pieces for the top. Finally I cut out steps and arches to complete the design
It will eventually be finished like the rest of the house, in red brick and beige stone detail.
Sorry, this was a long post. I hope you all have a great day and I look forward to following your projects.
Have a great week,
Giac

12 comments:

  1. Great progress! I loved to know the step by step (literally) of the staircase. Congratulations for the job! : D
    Hugs

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  2. Giac, you have made my day with this post on stairs!!! Thanks a lot, Rosanna

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  3. The detailed guide on how you made the stairs is excellent and I love the idea of the logia.

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  4. Wonderful progress on your house. Great tutorial on the stairs. I love the idea of the loggia. Hugs Maria

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  5. Giac, I am getting ready to start my first stairway and your post really helped --thanks so much! Your house is gorgeous.
    Thanks also for the compliments you left on my blog.

    http://john-merrimanpark.blogspot.com/

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  6. Thank you all so mcuh for your comments. When I started the project I had a difficult time finding any detailed sites about how to put things together so I really wanted my blog to help give people ideas and explanations...You all made it worth it! I really appreicate the kind words from such talented people!
    Thank you,
    Giac

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  7. Gorgeous work. Love the attention to detail.

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  8. great work but i don't think i/m good enough at making miniature to tackle this so i would like to buy one do you sell them thank you
    Diane

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  9. Excellent Blog, great tutorial too!

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  10. how did you make the columns and what did you use for the arches

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  11. Magnificent work and attention to detail! I really appreciated Al of the detailed steps for making the stairs. This gave me the courage to start on some stairs for my own dollhouse project. What did you mean when you said you made a “jig” for the steps? I’ve only started learning these techniques (dollhouse) a few months ago.

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