Continuing work on the entrance and front steps. The side walls will be covered with egg carton stones. I printed guidelines, with the top section measuring 1/2″ and the subsequent sections measuring 9/16″. I will be stacking the stones very close but wanted to give myself a little room. I taped the guidelines to the foam core assembly, trying to make it as square as possible.
I used a tracing wheel (sewing tool) to transfer the lines to the foam core board.
I then used a pen to enhance the lines.
Since I will lose my staircase placement lines when the stones are put in place, I transferred the markings to the foam edges with a Sharpie.
To finish the back of the staircase, I added a scrap of plywood behind the top vertical step piece.
I then added a cardboard liner to the back of the angled section to have a uniform surface for applying skinny sticks.
I save my scraps of foam core board to use as glue spreaders. They are inflexible and have a good straight edge for moving the glue around uniformly.
I cut the sticks and glued them in place, taping the boards down until glue set.
I finished the bottom edge with 3/8″ basswood. Now I have a nice clean, finished surface.
