BigC Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 Some people would call me sad if they knew what I was up to on an evening, hiding away in my man cave (garage) but I've set myself a task of cutting 100+ cork briquette shapes every evening, just because I think the upper front will look amazing once finished so far I'm sticking to the task... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 2 minutes ago, BigC said: Some people would call me sad Others would be envious! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debsrand56 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 5 minutes ago, KathieB said: Others would be envious! Yep. And I agree--the front will look amazing when finished. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keifer Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 12 minutes ago, BigC said: Some people would call me sad I believe passionate is the operative word here. You go big guy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Hmmm, I'm really liking the look of those cork bricks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 Encouraging words guys, thank you.. Yes this will be a long process cutting the circa 500+ briquettes for the frontage alone, not to mention the sides. (which incidentally I'll be treating as separate entities as they will require windows (3, per side, towards the rear to all levels) and dressing akin to the front of the building to blend in) On the Dremel Router Attachment...I had a look at it on Youtube and thoroughly agree that it would be a very good investment for this hobby seeing as I already have a Dremel..so I will acquire this also in the passing of time. This weekend should see a marked step forward as I have set out my plans...I wish to get the front prepared for painting and have it all sealed. Then maybe get a first top coat of paint on certain areas...This evening I will go to the DIY store and pick out some complementing colours (flat matt period style emulsions)..I will post later what purchases I have made...I also need some brushes. Lots of work to be getting on with 9 hours ago, havanaholly said: Hmmm, I'm really liking the look of those cork bricks! They sure look the part Holly, great texture and feel, try them and see, you wont be disappointed. Regards C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 I really love the thought of using cork as bricks, I will be following this topic. What kind of glue do you plan to use, BigC? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 6 hours ago, Sweet said: I really love the thought of using cork as bricks, I will be following this topic. What kind of glue do you plan to use, BigC? Thank you for following Dutchie..I wish you well with your new build also. The glue I will be using will be a normal PVA based adhesive that dries clear..I do have wood glue but it dries white and is no good for this job, Likewise Gorilla Glue (which I bought on a whim after a massive UK advertising campaign) but it seems to bubble and leech out the edges and dry in a mound of a horrible brownish colour so again not fit for this purpose...no it's just the common PVA I'll be using for the brick work. Today I managed to have a look around the Design Studio where I work and picked out a few neutral colours from the Zoffany Range for the stone work, I also made my way to the DIY Store and purchased some paint for the bricks...For the grout I will just go with a grey coloured tilling powder mix. Hopefully I've got my colour scheme correct...Lots of prep work to be done before the real house shows itself. Regards C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 Thinking well ahead and to the eventual colour of the front door..High Gloss Black just screams Class I thought...then I remembered a house in Jersey (Channel Is.) I had the pleasure of working on in 2017, They had a little annex room off the main kitchen area with double glass paneled doors and a huge window facing, plenty of light entered this small space but the internal wood work was a very very dark green, almost into black you would say (Studio Green to give it it's correct name)...I knew they were using Farrow and Ball paints throughout this large stately home (as do most rich and famous aristocracy in this part of the world, 5l can set you back £80) anyhow I loved this colour when the light hit it...So I purchased a small tester pot (£4,50 GBP) with a view to using it on the dolls house...Granted it is matt emulsion but the plan is to give it a few coats of ultra high gloss and add some brass fittings... Am I getting into this hobby a little too deeply? Farrow and Ball - Studio Green .....and yes....I'm still cutting bricks lol (circa 1000...19x7x3mm)..As you can see I've laid out around 80 or so. very roughly, to gauge some semblance of what they will look like..the texture is fantastic so long as I dont clog it with heavy paint...I may have to build it up gradually with thin layers of thinned paint and rub back...that remains to be seen and I will practice the technique before actually going ahead, but I'm pleased with the situation in hand....Rushing never solved anything and I know I must curb my enthusiasm to forge ahead Regards C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Coin, you don't really want to use high gloss anything on a dolls' house, trust me on this. Semi-gloss or satin is more in scale and will look lovely with the brass fittings. When I clicked on your link, were the two areas of solid color supposed to be the Studio Green color? I hope it was the green on the walls in the small photo and not the rather blah shade of grey in the solid color areas. I noticed what they want in USD for that sample pot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 15 minutes ago, havanaholly said: Coin, you don't really want to use high gloss anything on a dolls' house, trust me on this. Semi-gloss or satin is more in scale and will look lovely with the brass fittings. When I clicked on your link, were the two areas of solid color supposed to be the Studio Green color? I hope it was the green on the walls in the small photo and not the rather blah shade of grey in the solid color areas. I noticed what they want in USD for that sample pot! Point taken on the Gloss Holly, many thanks...and yes Studio Green is on the wall its very dark....Trust me it looks well in real life IMO. Click on the video in the link for further info..The USD quotation may be linked to where your dialing in from on your computer to their site....Big Brother knows everything about us hahahaha Regards C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 Today I found it a little hard to get motivated...The roof capping and hip tiles were giving me a headache so I walked away from the project to have a think...Thankfully I returned later in the afternoon and put things right...I'm much more happy with the overall appearance now although nothing is fixed down as yet. Do you ever get days like that, whereby is best to just walk away? I also managed to get the first rough coat of MDF sealant to the front facade, this will need a light rubbing down before I apply another coat. Whilst the front section was removed from the structure, I began to think about the size of the entrance hall stroke staircase and its still bugging me. Thinking whilst painting, I have decided to not have any stairs and open up the whole bottom floor entirely to include pillars where the walls are presently, and put two fake doors in the rear, similar to included image....I made a mistake from the get go in the width of the building and now I have to pay the price, so lesson learnt for next time and all is not lost. Upstairs will be fine, 2 rooms and a hallway and the same on the 3rd floor again with false doors and more floor space to play with....Do you think this will work...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Sounds like a great plan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 2 hours ago, BigC said: I have decided to not have any stairs and open up the whole bottom floor entirely to include pillars where the walls are presently, and put two fake doors in the rear, Great idea! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 The stairs are through those fake doors on the rear wall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 1 hour ago, havanaholly said: The stairs are through those fake doors on the rear wall. Well thats the perception Holly or even deception I could even have a new inner rear wall brought forward and create a bluff hallway with the bottom few treads of the stairwell visible if the door were left ajar....overthinking again..lol Regards C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Colin, it's all smoke & mirrors, and if a granddaughter is going to play with it she will imagine the stairs wherever she wants them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 hours ago, BigC said: I could even have a new inner rear wall brought forward and create a bluff hallway with the bottom few treads of the stairwell visible if the door were left ajar....overthinking again..lol Actually, that's not overthinking. It is a viable option. MikeUK did this very successfully in one of his builds, and others have done similar sleights of hand. Keep in mind that you are not trying to replicate a real building in miniature ... you are trying to make a miniature building LOOK real. Smoke and mirrors ... that's the mantra. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 19 hours ago, havanaholly said: Colin, it's all smoke & mirrors, and if a granddaughter is going to play with it she will imagine the stairs wherever she wants them. I'm getting it Holly, slowly but surely lol... Maybe I'm trying too hard as Kathie states above, trying to carbon copy a real building instead of making a small Dolls House look real...those are true words indeed... Tonight I made a start marking out one side of the building for the bricks..trying in vain not to be a millimeter out easier said than done....Anyhow I managed to get there in the end even though it took a while....I dont know why I was doing this as I've a ton of jobs still to finish on the roof area...but anyhow. it was fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 You will thank yourself for tracing around your windows whilst they were in the openings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 1 hour ago, BigC said: Tonight I made a start marking out one side of the building for the bricks..trying in vain not to be a millimeter out easier said than done....Anyhow I managed to get there in the end even though it took a while. Do your lines allow space for grout? Consider this to eliminate the tedious line drawing: use a piece of strip wood the thickness of the scale grout lines and lay the bricks the way a tile setter works, one line at a time, using the wood as a spacer. Eyeball the distance between the bricks to match. There will be slight deviations, but you'll find those in real brick walls as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keifer Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 hours ago, BigC said: I dont know why I was doing this as I've a ton of jobs still to finish on the roof area I rarely start an area or piece and finish it all the way through. I’ll get about half way through it and then go to something, come back for a little bit, start another area and then finally come back and finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 5 hours ago, havanaholly said: You will thank yourself for tracing around your windows whilst they were in the openings. Hahaha you noticed that Holly...took a tip from earlier in this thread...yes its a good call and will save a lot of hassle if its done now and the window carcasses will slot straight in. 4 hours ago, KathieB said: Do your lines allow space for grout? Yes! Kathie they do, circa 1mm, but as you say there will always be deviations and this will be no different. My pencil drawn lines are or will only serve as guides and I'll be using a 1mm piece of stiff card for the spacing's...I have already had a look at my own house brickwork to see how the pattern goes around the windows and into the reveals and sure enough if you look closely, the brickwork isn't totally straight with the odd brick slip here and there, its only when you scrutinize these things that they become more apparent. 2 hours ago, Keifer said: I rarely start an area or piece and finish it all the way through. I’ll get about half way through it and then go to something, come back for a little bit, start another area and then finally come back and finish it. It seems to be the pattern with me also Keith, Perhaps everyone for that matter..I tend to leave a problematic area and go on to something else whilst thinking all the while how to make a certain area better or adapt using better materials to suit a particular situation, this happened with the brickwork....There's probably a million and one ways to replicate brickwork metaphorically speaking but in the end I settled on cork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellBell Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 I have noticed your guidelines are so much better than mine have been for the roofs I've done . For me the hardest part has been measuring accurately and drawing the lines for the shingles . I'm wondering if I should do all the measuring / lines when the roof is off and flat? ALSO this house is so wonderful looking forward to more pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 6 hours ago, NellBell said: ..do all the measuring / lines when the roof is off and flat... It's lots easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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