Chapter 89 - The Awnings to the Left Side Porch Second Floor, Attachment of Porches

2nd August - 9th August 2014

Shingle time.  Not too pleased but, like the last chapter, these will be the last time of doing  something tedious.  So, I really can’t complain.

I started out by having to dry fit the awnings and sand down one of them to fit between the left and right awning.  The last porch they fit without much trouble.  This one was very much off and required quite a bit of sanding.  Anyhow, with that done, I measured out the underbeams, glued them in place and trimmed the corner beams to fit the larger diagonal beams - just like last time.  I then painted the awnings and beams plus half of another sheet of shingle and left them to dry.  I decided to paint the top of the awning a little too since sometimes the shingle peels off a bit and you can see underneath.  Since that was where the shingles would be applied, I had to be sure the awnings were bone dry before I started to apply any shingles.  So I left them for quite a while before embarking upon the dreaded shingling.  Courage. The last ones.

I cut up another sheet of wood into shingles and began application on a Sunday night. Just this first row on the longest piece takes approx. 15 minutes.  I completed the shingling on Tuesday morning.  I then mounted the awnings over the porch (the one side I trimmed had a pretty massive space but it would be covered with more shingles anyway so I wasn’t too stressed about it) and left the pieces to set for a while.  Once they were well set, I added the underside beams and the top corner shingles to finish the porch. Now on to the next big hurdle - attaching the porches!

This row took me 15 minutes to create.

Finished awnings.

Finished (and final) porch.

The first thing I had to do was to empty the second floor rooms of all non fixed objects (objects not glued in place).  Then I had to fix the hinges to the two porch sections.  The pre-made spaces were not wide enough (which was strange since all the other porches the hinges fit into the space without problems - as far as I remember anyway) so I had to find a way to sand down the inside edges without damaging the rest of the internal porch walls.  I ended up scratching one a bit but I suppose it was minimal.  I then retouched up the surfaces that were sanded and installed the hinges.  I drilled holes first with my dremel type drill (as I remembered from experience that the wood screws provided with the kit were crap so pre-drilling was a necessity if I wanted to be able to screw into the wood without much effort) and attached the hinges.  It took me around 15 minutes since, for some reason, my hands were shaking more than usual that morning and I had a tough time lining up the tiny screws into the holes (when will someone make a tiny magnetic screw driver?! They make full size ones dammit!). 
The next step was to clear off my table so I could remove the second floor and place it there for easier attachment.  I used my cutting matt to even out the bottom (since the underside of the floor had the insertion pieces attached which accounted for a few mm difference between the actual flat edge of the floor and how it sat on my table) and checked the edges with the hinges.  The left porch seemed to match up better than the right.  I applied some double edged tape to the facing side of the hinge, lined it up with the left room’s left edge beam and made some marking with the drill bit.  I then removed the porch and drilled the holes.  The only mishap was that the vibrations from the drill caused the left room awning to detach, the back wall to detach (along with the pit support beam) and the “glass” in the bathroom to detach.  So, I got hung up reglueing and leaving things to set before I embarked on the actual porch attachment.

Sanding the hinge space to fit.

Drilling the porch holes.

Screwing in the hinge.

Adding a bit of double sided tape to help line up the floor with the porch

Drilling the holes in the fire pit side for the porch attachment.

Damage and repair caused by drilling vibrations for the holes in the side beam

More repairs and waiting for glue to dry.

In the meantime, I worked out how many LEDs I had left.  I wanted an extra one in case I couldn’t get the 12v LED in the outside area to work and I ended up with two extras.  I needed to drill some holes in the hallway ceiling (contemplating putting two LEDs in there together as it’s supposed to illuminate the entire stair well) and a hole for the fire pit room’s ceiling lamp.  The down time also gave me a moment to cut out a small lamp to put in the buddha room (behind the screen - I just didn’t like the naked LED behind there).
Once things were dried, I attached the left porch.  I used some wooden pieces placed under the porch to help match up the drilled holes.  Then, with a ton of patience, I screwed in the screws.  While I was doing that, the right hand wall of the buddha room unattached.  So, I had to reglue that wall and wait for it to set too.  The porch attachment was turning into a two day job.  The next day, I attached the right hand side porch with a lot more difficulty.  The double sided tape to help the hinge attach and give me an idea of where to drill was not working out that well.  But since the entire floor was on the work table, I was able to estimate where to drill.  The last time vibrations caused a lot of damage so I drilled these four holes with the floor actually sitting on a pillow.  Nothing came unattached.  Now to place the floor onto the dollhouse!

My husband had come up to see what I was doing and gave me a hand in getting the floor onto the first floor and trying to level it out.  No matter what I did, the floor wouldn’t lay flat.  There were large spaces that just weren’t there when I attached the first floor to the ground floor.  I blamed it on the mm pieces that the kit had me attach under the buddha room and the fire pit room.  I think the ceilings from the floor underneath should have fitted a few mm into the actual space but they tended to be flush.  Since they weren’t going to go in any further, I decided to move the floor (and porches) back to the table and try to remove those slats from underneath when....

DISASTER!!!

Holy crap on a cracker!!!

That’s what you get from moving the entire floor structure too often.  It wasn’t meant to be moved as a whole piece so having manipulated it as much as I did it was only inevitable that the whole center piece would give way.  My husband was there and thank god because had he not been there, the buddha room and the attached porch would have fallen on the floor.  As it was, the porches were unscathed and I just had to reglue again where walls and sections had come away.  I also had to rebuild the bathroom.  But this gave me the opportunity to reglue the landing section which had become warped a bit, cut off the mm slats on both the left and right sides (leaving the ones in the middle) and to test fit just a room to see where the actual problem was and why the floor was not lying flush.  Needless to say, I lost more time in completing the final phase of the build.  Best laid plans.....
In the afternoon, I managed to glue the fire pit room into place, re-attached the remaining small door awning and attach the second floor landing to the buddha room.  While that was drying, I finished drilling holes and installing the LEDs in the fire pit room ceiling, the bathroom and the stair well ceiling (which I did in fact end up doubling up on).  I also cut out a another small paper lantern to attach to the bathroom light fixture.  I then (carefully) added the landing and buddha room with ample glue and weights and clamps.... ho hum. Lots of spaces which will have to be “filled” somehow later.  And again left that to set up sufficiently. 

Working on removing the slats the inhibit the floor from laying flat.

Repair work.....

Gluing the landing and the buddha room in place.

Next was to re-attach the bathroom.  The back wall had moved a bit so the bathroom front wall didn’t quite match up flush to the right side buddha room entrance wall.  That meant I had to add some small strips of leftover laminate (from the shingles) to cover the gaps.  I really didn’t want so much light to show through when the light is on inside. 

Positioning the bathroom.

Hiding a gap...will be my legacy.

I think the biggest problem I had with this build was what I noticed from the start.  I purchased the kit and put everything in plastic bins but the heat from my attic and the attic room caused a lot of pieces to warp.  I just don’t have all the tools to fix pieces that aren’t going together smoothly.  One thing I have learned tho is that kits are nice but I suspect very few of them fit together like a perfect puzzle.  I still don’t think the house is too shabby for a first time project!!

Anyway with the bathroom done, the attachment of the second floor was pretty much complete.  I put lots of the objects back into the house keeping the landing free as the next hurdle was getting back to the finishing the steps!!

Opened.  Ceiling pieces will be installed once I install the hanging lamps.

Closed.  Still need to make the bamboo shades for these porches.

Chapter 84 - The Walls, Floor and Shōji to the Second Floor Left Side Porch

 July 22nd - July 23rd 2014

After checking to be sure I had all the parts, I put together the shōji doors.  I added some extra vertical pieces on the bottom panel because honestly they were a bit boring.  I then cut four shōji panels (as I knew I’d need two more later anyway) and glued them to the back.  I put them aside for when they would be installed.

In the meantime, I had to paint all the beam and timber decoration pieces with burnt umber and the outside walls Buttermilk and let them dry.  Once that was done, I applied some oriental style paper I had found.  It’s like lightweight wrapping paper.  I don’t think it’s washi but I can’t remember if I bought it at Ajisai or not.  Anyway, I like the cream color (hence I had painted everything in the irori pit room buttermilk) and the little pots and symbols floating around.  It reminded me of kitschy 50’s wallpaper.  I think it’s very appropriate.

Painting the outside wooden decorations and the walls.  Finished shōji.

Wallpapered internal walls.

Once those pieces were papered, I could install them onto the porch back.  As usual, sanding was required, mostly on the right side as the piece needed to be sanding practically down to 2mm (you can still see a bit where the edge is not clean). 

Area which was difficult to insert (power sanding)

I then had to position the front porch piece and clamp it into place to be sure the bottom was square.  I had to do the same for the top front panel as well since the left side was slightly warped inward.  So, just time lost for glue drying and reclamping.  Later I was able to glue on the decorative external pieces and the internal ones that cover up the edges.  This porch has two tatami for a floor so there was a small ledge as well that needed installing.  I actually like it as I may use the area with pillows and what not for a resting.  Even if there is a fire pit in the room, I would still need a sleeping space. 

Angle shows the different pieces that cover the walls and corners

Finished shōji and the tatami in place.

Porch section added and finished shōji.

Chapter 83 - The Back Wall and Sliding Windows to the Left Second Floor Porch

July 17 - 22nd 2014

I haven’t been building the kit following the instructions per each chapter as sometimes things can get repetitive and I end up creating other objects (like the sake barrels or the outside areas) to keep things interesting.  But since I am still out of work, I feel like I really need to finish the build by the end of this year.  I feel like I need to accomplish something to keep my brain challenged and maintain my sanity.  I always have lots of projects but rarely ever complete them.  The last time I was not working (14 months I stayed out of work to get myself healthy) I completed so many things.  And that was before I even started on this house!  I was so proud of myself.  I want to complete this project if only to be able to say it will be my “capo lavoro”.  I have put a lot of my heart and soul into this.  Someone said once that miniature creation is a small version of what you cannot have in real life.  I think this is true for me.  I actually imagine myself as the ryokan owner planning and running the everyday function of the inn.  There was a time when I dreamt of owning a shop or a tea room.  Things that will never come true given my situation and what is available to me.  So, this house is truly my dream house.  Just like Barbie! 
I wonder sometimes what will happen to it when I am gone. 
I had started writing this last week with my reflections on what remains when we are gone and then the air tragedy over the Ukraine occurred.  I hope that the families will find something that can so poetically embody their loved ones like this dollhouse will me.  I could disappear before I finish it, but still you will see me in it.  In a way, our artistic creations make us immortal. And each of has (or had) the capacity of creating art around us.  Some in being simply mothers or fathers, sisters or brothers.  Others in their scientific research.  Our actions now, and how they touch others, are what will make us immortal.  Their effects will be passed down from generation to generation.  Just like this house.  Hopefully.

Anyway, back to the build.
This chapter covered the back wall and windows to the remaining porch. I didn’t document every step as it has already been done previously.  Needless to say, it went together quickly and without fitting problems like I had with this same section on the last porch.  The only thing was to pay attention to the painted panels (Buttermilk on the outside, white on the inside) and making sure that the notched pieces for the shōji were on the right side this time (to avoid having to install the shōji thru the front porch windows like last time).  Otherwise, it came together smoothly.  Course I was busy this weekend so I didn’t do anything for two days.  But I made up for it on the Monday and am posting this on a Tuesday morning. 

Painting and preparing.

Finished back section to the porch.

And the build continues....

Chapter 76b - The Walls and Floor to the Right Side Porch

February 26th - 2nd March 2014

This chapter is the support pieces and flooring to the right side porch which connects to the shōji I had already constructed in a previous chapter.  So, I had to paint the porch pieces (both external and internal) before proceeding with the construction.  I decided to use red on one wall to match up with the room wall with red in it.  I had already imagined which scroll I was going to hang on that wall anyway so it was just a matter of figuring out which piece was the one that fit on the right side of the porch.  As usual, painting and waiting for paint to dry is never fun.  But once done, I started on constructing the porch.

Painting and drying....BOOORING!

 I also had to make the “wood floor” which I’ve done previously so I won’t explain how here again.  Suffice to say that I did make the boards broader (7mm instead of 5mm) also because I had already made them broader in the other porch too.  I figured the landings would have finer boards, but the porches would be a little more “rustic”.  Anyway, it was easier to paint them too since I have a 4mm flat brush which fits perfectly into the board widths for painting differing colors of brown.  That done I could now proceed in assembling the porch.

7mm boards ready for varnishing.

As usual, there were some fitting issues but overall I managed to compensate and fit everything in where it needed to go.  Some areas do show gaps.  I’m not sure why this side was such a lousy fit.  I’m a bit of a perfectionist but not to the point of ruining my fun so I just pretty much left the gaps as is.  I don’t think they will compromise the stability of the porch anyway. At least I hope not. 

Gluing and clamping the sides.

The one red wall on the porch. The floor "fitted".

The weird gap.  I have no idea why this piece was so reluctant to fit.

 The next step will be fitting the last two shōji, the outside windows and the roof.  Should the spaces not be stable enough for that work, it will show (when the whole thing just comes apart! haha!).

Finished porch. Just needs the last shōji, external windows and the roof.

Chapter 75 - Back Wall to the Right Front Porch - Second Floor

 December 21st - 27th 2013

I had already opened the blister pack for this chapter to fish out a few pieces to install the bathroom previously so I had to pretty much remember what I had removed (I forgot to mark them). Anyway, I figured out which pieces were left over and installed some wooden slats on the underside of the two rooms.  If I remember, this will help in making the entire second floor fit onto the floor below it with some stability.

Slats to add stability to the entire floor.

Went thru the usual sanding and cleaning of the pieces then started painting the various parts.  Brown for the wooden beams and support, Buttermilk for the outside and white for the inside pieces. 
Next was weaving the small wooden sticks into what will eventually be the ranma or architectural wall above the shōji doors to the front porch.  These need to be glued and left overnite for drying. I then assembled the remaining pieces to create the back wall of the porch.  Some pieces needed lots of coaxing as usual since they don’t fit in well to the prefabricated slots but after some sanding and force fitting, it went fine.

Gluing the woven sticks.

Fitting the ranma

I decided to leave some pieces out since I preferred at this point to jump ahead and install both the sliding windows and the shōji before proceeding with the actual porch area.  Having done these porches before, it just seemed easier.  Onwards...

Leaving out pieces to better fit the windows and shōji.

Intermediate Work - Porch Repair, MiniaturItalia Minis Show

February 8-13 2013

First of all, many apologies for not having posted any news here for some time.  I had so many Halloween decorations (and houses) to build. Then we got into Thanksgiving which, believe it or not, I do here in Italy (my Italian friends have come to expect it - this year I even did a Gordon Ramsay turkey which was fab), then we got into Christmas.  Given it takes me a full two days just to put up my tree, well, suffice to say that I lost my concentration on the ryokan house project.  Not to say that I haven’t been mini-ing in the meantime.

I’ve made a few purchases during my “vacation”.  I found a lovely Coca-cola cooler for the front foyer (which I aged a bit and then stuck a few Japanese Coke adverts on and around it), plus a few purchases such as eggs and baskets and wooden serving trays.  All objects that will be used in the service and cooking for my ryokan guests. But more to be added later.

Open coke cooler with lots of ice and bottles

Few adverts attached.

 I finally removed the right front porch which had been annoying me since I had actually installed it.  I filled the holes with some wood putty and then redrilled and repositioned in the hopes of diminishing the large listing difference to the left hand porch.  Altho it’s not perfect, it’s better than it was.  So, it’ll have to do.

Filled in the holes with some wood putty

Re-positioned and drilled. 

Reduced list - matches somewhat better

I also attended my first miniature fair.  It was held in Milan, Italy this past weekend.  It was great to get away and fun to spend a few hours walking around the fair.  Since my needs are very specific, I only ended up spending around €60 which isn’t much I admit.  But if I feel I can make something myself, then I just can’t bring myself to buy it.  I did end up spending on a vintage Baseball Board Game (another project I have in mind) and a dyecast cash register which was very nice.  For the ryokan, I found a perfectly tiny hand brush to be used for cleaning up coal and carbon dust in the kitchen.  The other brush was a 1/12 scale and much too large.  Not to worry.  I cut it and sanded and glued a skewer on it and made myself a broom for the house.  Perfect !  

1/12 hand brush before reuse

Cut hand broom, sanded and attached a skewer for a handle

Finished broom and hand brush on the coal bucket

I found some beautiful raku style pottery which will fit in the Japanese style.  The pieces were extra special and really well priced.  I also located a wonderful marble cutting board/platter from a vendor who makes gorgeous marble minitaures.  And the final purchase which was just too cute to pass up was a miniature posable Panda bear.  Simply fabulous!!!

My mini purchases.

Little panda bear on the bed

Hopefully I am now back into the groove of building and things will begin to progress once again.  I have long since passed my 1st year anniversary of the build and considering I’ve neglected the build for a good 3 months, things are not so bad as they may seem.  So many ideas have formed in these months, I can assure you.  Lots to follow !