Search the Community

I want to create my own structure based upon real floor plans. I anticipate editing some of the rooms out of the structure and making my ceilings higher, perhaps 14". I think turn of the century, Colonial, Federal or Georgian would be first choice, and will make an edited Victorian too. I have a Lawbre Shawdow Cliff shell that I will eventually bash or I'll bash it first; I am not decided. I joined the Greenleaf forum as I found mesp2k in this forum, and except for Dorie Krusz book, Building Miniature Houses and Furniture, and the limited information from Helen Dorsett in The Scale Cabinetmaker, Greenleef forum member mesp2k is the only person that I found that had posted about hollow wall construction, in our current time / place. (Dorie's book was published in 1977, so I'm guessing I can't talk with her and Helen Dorsett passed away in 1990.) I did cruise through mesp2k's posts / website online. When doing hollow-wall construction, I see one of the advantages is running wires for electricity, but I also think this is nice way to visually layout a structure. My plan is to finish the floors of each room first and the walls, before going to the next floor. I see that mesp2k is a sketchup fan, but of course I do everything too late, and sketchup is now subscription based or you post your files in the cloud. I'm not a cloud fan, so I would like to hear from others about your experiences with sketchup and pros/ cons of the new config. I prefer drawing software where I can store things on my computer. I do own a legal student version of Corel Draw, too. I could go to Office Depot and look at their home design drafting software - perhaps a good activity for tomorrow. Has anyone else created a scratch build house with hollow-wall construction? Will it support a slate roof? A friend introduced me to some wonderful slate from the UK. Do you build the house like you build a real house? Did you glue and nail the walls to the foundation board? What did you use for your interior walls? Did you always use mat board, or model airplane plywood? Do I need to route a space in my foundation board to give my vertical framing 2x4's more strength. About me: I am an experienced student of miniature arts for 20+ years; I have lots of equipment and tools for miniatures, so I think the only obstacle now is deciding the techniques used to build and software to create the design. I have been a member of NAME for 2+ decades and a member of IGMA for 1+ decade, and can build furniture from scratch when inspired. I am studying roof lines and staircases, and trying to decide how to duplicate spindles for my stairs. I work full-time and miniatures are my hobby, but I only work on miniatures May - September that require real concentration - the other months require real concentration at work. Thanks

So, I decided to design and build my own half scale modern house! My husband "persuaded" me to draw up plans and build it in cardboard first instead of just cutting up wood and hoping for the best...I have to admit he might have a tiny point . Building a cardboard version really helped me work out the shape of the interior walls and I'm really pleased with it so far! I'll start an album for my build soon