A House in 22 days - Day 10 & 11

Day 10 was siding and stonework.  Ben tackled the MDF siding boards while I slaved away at the pasta machine.  After the clay was secured to the wall I wet it down and scrubbed the pieces of clay together.  The slick surface is easier to work with I find - and often spritz it with a plant mister to keep things moist.  The lines were pressed in with the lever on a set of nail clippers, and then the wet clay drug back up over to create raised edges / texture.

The MDF siding appears to be extremely difficult to cut, I have to say I'm quite glad i'm not working with it :)

 The sunroom tip out has been a quandary - I really didn't know how to approach this one.  I had cut out a room sized rectangle of foamcore and was prepared to do the floor on this to keep it all on one level.  This involved bringing the paper clay foundation up higher however as the foamcore was visible through the windows.  In the end I used the foamcore as a pattern for a lino tile.  I then finished off the ledge between rooms with thin slices of lino tile.


The paper clay foundation was then ready to go on, I really like the look it gives to the sunroom, it makes it look more substantial!











The paper clay stone work which went on in day 10 was painted today with layers of watercolour paints.  I filled in the lines between the stones first and then applied different layers of yellow, brown, and grey over top.

 The next segment of paper clay to be done is the front entrance.  I have glued together the planters which came with the kit (pardon the tape) - the plan is to paperclay the planters and steps into one piece which can then be glued to the deck

I really wish we had electrified this house, I think it would be one of the neater ones to see lit up!  With 2 days to go until christmas, I'm beginning to think we just may make it (as you can see the roof is going up currently)

A House in 22 Days - Day 7 & 8

I have to say this kit goes together pretty darned easy, I haven't had near the fight with it I did with the Chantilly and Glencroft.  After pulling 14 hour days on Saturday and Sunday, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The floors are down and the walls are up.  The two wings have been glued into place (this house is freaking huge) and the roof should be going on today.  The house was reinforced with corner moulding on the corners and the siding will be fitted between.  The only thing i'm not happy with is the ladder to the loft - I don't like the look of it.  I don't think I will have time to build a new ladder however.

 We also started the furniture from a Greenleaf kit as a hold over until better pieces can be found - at least christmas shopping will be easier for H for the next couple of years!

The only downfall I see to these kits is the room sizes are so strange, they are either far too big or uselessly small.  I really can't wait to start a scratch build so everything is exactly how I want it - as you can see the temporary occupant feels the same way!

A House in 22 Days - Day 6

Naturally, as tends to happen, when you have a short time frame a million things come up which eat into your time.  I got shipped off for a conference this week and last week there was a rash of people quitting!  It's now December 17th at 12:30 am and the panic is settling in firmly.  The walls are starting to go up but there's still a solarium to build, wood to be stained and windows to install!

Overall, it looks like a bit of progress is being made, that is the benefit to blogging - you can see how far you've come!  In addition to what's in the photo, i have the front door stained, baseboards are drying, and the glue is setting on all the major parts of the structure.  Tomorrow the mantles will go in and the remaining outer walls will be complete before lunch - then I start on the solarium while Ben tackles the kitchen (bathroom "tip out" in the kit).  The plan is to use the left room as a dining area if we can ever find a set for his niece.

The lino tiles are holding up well to the twisting that comes with construction, and the spackle grout hasn't chipped at all which is rather surprising.  As you can see I have the wall braced with scrap wood and a small box, four clamps, tape, and positive thoughts!

The fireplace mantles are stained and will be ready to go in tomorrow.  We picked up some beads at Walmart tonight to make a sculpture to hang over the mantle, as well as a sun plaque to hang on the other side of the chimney to break up the white a bit.  The trim work has been cut/stained and should be able to go in tomorrow as well.

Glencroft - Day 4 through 6

I've been working sporadically on Glencroft while I was sick this last week, mostly because everything I need to finish off the Chantilly is still in a box, somewhere, probably wrapped in paper and dust.

I have the second floor installed and glued.  I put white cardstock up in the living room rather than try to plaster, and I was very sure I didn't want stucco on all the walls.  I then undertook the paperclay fireplace.

First off, Paperclay is vastly superior to the DAS modelling clay I used in the Chantilly.  It has virtually no odour, isn't sticky, and takes longer to dry so it is far easier to work with.  Also it goes through the pasta machine much slicker which is again because it isn't sticky.

I rolled out numerous strips of paper clay and glued them to the bare plywood, then with a moist paper towel I smoothed the pieces together and built up some texture.  Next the stones were shaped by pressing the lines in and pulling the clay towards the centre of the stone to add depth.

After the clay dried I added black watercolours to the cracks in the stone and blocked in stone colours with the left over paint on my watercolour palette.  A few dirty washes of grey with a bit of yellow or red and the tones were evened out quite nicely.

The wiring was a touch trickier than I thought, i dug out a channel for the right wall sconce with my dremel and built the clay up over top.  the left sconce and the candles on the second floor have individual holes for the wires to run through, at this point I know the power strip is either going in the chimney or in the foundation,either way the wires are traveling through the chimney to get to their destination.

When I built the baseboard in the living room I left them high enough to accomodate hardwood flooring, they will also accommodate the roundwire should I decide to add table or floor lamps.  The dining room / kitchen will have ceiling fixtures.The hardest part of the wiring so far has been the planning by a long shot.  It's hard to know where you will want lighting when all you have built is a portion of a large box!

Chantilly - Day 22

I'm on the home stretch now!  I finished off two rooms tonight by tackling the ceilings.  I hadn't thought of them at all during the build and then about 2 weeks ago as I was examining it from the sofa I realized that I could see the tabs on the second floor ceilings!

I covered the ceilings in watercolour paper and added beams to the living room and upstairs room.  I'm still on a hunt for a medallion for the dining room as I'm not in love with the one I made .  I may go with a patterned paper... or i'll just continue with my beams throughout - who knows!  I may wake up tomorrow and hate it.

Chantilly - Day 20

The day 20 post had to wait until the glue dried and the tape could come off!  I finally got the posts and trim painted and installed, along with the door!This house is almost ready to go in to a box for moving!!

I had to trim the side pieces to accommodate the siding (next house will have a complete dry fit with pencil markings).  The door was enameled and has 1/2 scale doorknobs glued on.