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Noel Thomas vs. Ray Urh


Melt

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Thank you all again.  It is Mahogony veneer.   :). The floors are all there so I don't need to match it and get more.  They are unfinished though.  Can I stain and make real wood floors? Or cover up with new flooring?

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Do they have grooves in them like planks or is it a solid sheet? MinWax works well. I would test the color on the off side of the wood first to see how it looks on the mahogany. What color are you thinking of? Dark Walnut is always my preference but if you want to bring out the red in the mahogany, use a mahogany stain. You could also just use a polyurethane if you want to keep it natural. 

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First photo, top floor, left side and ground floor, left side -- I see some spots that appear to be stains of some kind (water? glue?). You may want to sand lightly to see if they are on the surface or have soaked in. If you use a light stain, it may not cover them.

You may want to take Sable's suggestion and just use polyacrylic on them. Dab a bit of water in an inconspicuous spot. The wet spot will show you what the floor will look like with a coating of polyacrylic.

Also, the veneer appears to be smooth sheets rather than boards. You may want to use a pencil and/or micro-marker and draw in board lines to add realism. Might be a bit tricky now that the veneer is glued in place, but I think it would be worth the extra effort. 

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Are there scraps of the veneer to play with?  You could try scribing your floorboards to see if that mitigates the grain size at all, and play with the stains.  If the stains on the second floor won't come off or become less noticeable with sanding you can always invest in some iron-on veneer strips and iron on a new wood floor; stain your subfloor first, though, to match whatever stain you want to use on the new floor.

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12 hours ago, Sable said:

Personally I think the grain is too large and wouldn't be to scale. I would cover them up. But that's just my opinion. 

 

11 hours ago, havanaholly said:

You could try scribing your floorboards to see if that mitigates the grain size at all, and play with the stains.  

As is, the grain isn't at all near to scale, but if scribed, it may mitigate that somewhat. It would be a shame if you have to cover the mahogany. How many tiny houses have real mahogany flooring? I think scribing, staining, and a judicious placement of rugs and furniture could turn out very well.

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Well...I'd consider the oak flooring planked veneers from online stores - they are easy to install (you can cut with scissors), they are real wood and you can finish them however you like. But I am also a lot less industrious than the folks on this forum.

I left mine unfinished and I was always impressed with how easy it was for real wood:

gallery_932_657_26167.jpg

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Thank you all so much for all of your advice!!  Sorry it took so long to respond. Between working full time, my daughter entering highschool cheer and my son coming home from college, it's been busy lately.  I honestly appreciate the advice.  I am a total amature but will try to pencil in and stain (no idea how to pencil) as I too love the mahogany floors.   If all else fails, I will cover them up with something of real wood I hope.  

Edited by Melt
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17 minutes ago, Melt said:

will try to pencil in and stain (no idea how to pencil) as I too love the mahogany floors.    

Decide how wide the floorboards should be. 1/4 inch = 3 inches in real life, which is a good choice. You could make them a bit wider or of varying widths.

Use a ruler or other straight edge to mark the lines with a pencil -- or I have used a micro-tip marking pen -- and you may want to score them with the back of a utility knife/box cutter blade for a little depth. Again, use a ruler to guide the pencil and utility knife to keep the lines straight. The best is a metal ruler with a cork backing, although you'll be working in some places the ruler won't fit. Maybe a piece of heavy cardboard would work as a guide.

Every 6 inches or so, make a line across, to show the end of the board. 6 inches = 6 feet in real life, could be a little longer, little shorter -- but stagger the cross lines, don't make them line up.

If you score the lines, the stain will be a tad bit thicker there and help delineate the individual boards. 

Use a small piece of a soft cloth (old tee shirt is good) just dampened with stain to rub it on. Don't flood it with stain. Better to do several light coats and let dry in between to get a color that you like.

Once the stain is thoroughly dry, give it a couple of light coats of polyacrylic to give it a finished appearance. I like the satin finish. Gloss will highlight the imperfections. 

If the staining raises the grain, which it may, knock it back with a very light sanding -- even a crumpled up bit of paper bag will work.

Keep in mind that once the rooms are furnished, the floors won't be the main focus any more. Don't worry if some areas don't turn out exactly according to plan. :) 

Take your time with it. This isn't a project you should start when you're tired or rushed. 

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you!!!!  Great advice!!!   I've been focused on furniture lol and starting floors today.  Also had a custom house built for me (well 2 kits put together with a ton of alterations).  I'll post pics on another thread if anyone is interested.  Loving my miniatures. I'm obsessed.

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12 minutes ago, Melt said:

...a custom house built for me (well 2 kits put together with a ton of alterations).  I'll post pics on another thread if anyone is interested...

Well, duh!, of course we're interested!

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Okay. I guess I should start a new thread.  It's a RGT Queen Anne bashed with the Newport.  Lots of alterations though.  It's interesting and has a few weird things when it came together, but I love it.  It's giant!!!  90x36x38!!!!

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  • 5 months later...

Sorry I had to drop off for so long. I had urgent issues in my family.  Anyway, I bought all the stain and all that that entails, and the long story short is, it’s a no-go. Not to mention, I can’t cover up some of the electrical tape (due to placing) with rugs or furniture. 

Anyway, I’m going with flooring.  Trying to find real hardwood that I can easily install as I have no clue how I’m going to cut it for some of the weird-shaped and hard to reach rooms.  No idea where to even start.  How do you trace the rooms?  Anyone?  Miss this forum and all the helpful people for my extreme novice skills. 

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Take copy paper, and cut out pieces and tape them together inside the room until you have the entire floor covered. Then you have a template of the room shape to work on outside of the house. 

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