Here is how the insert wall looked when I left it last. I’m planning to modify the trim one more time, which I’ll get to later….
With the side and porch walls glued in place, I could continue on the insert wall. First, I traced the outer portion onto drawing paper to have a good wallpaper template.
No dollhouse is square no matter how hard you try (regular houses aren’t either, for that matter) and my hand cut wall is not precise by any means. To that end, the outer portion of the insert wall is snug in one place and loose in another. It’s also not tall enough on one side, but that’s the beauty of wallpaper covering! To make gluing the outer portion more stable, I added strip wood guides on the side that will not be seen.
The planned trim around the inner portion will keep it from falling into the open space in front, but I still added some wood stops for good measure.
I primed both parts and tested the fit with the door, which will serve as the handle to remove the inner portion. So far, so good. :]
A major/minor setback: I didn’t leave myself enough room behind the removable wall. :\ So, I chiseled out the wall frame. Yeah, it’s as scary as it sounds.
I didn’t have the wallpaper glued in, which was why I opted for demolition. The other solution would have been to make the front wall removable, which I thought was much harder to do with the brick bottom and planned landscaping. It came out relatively easily without damage. I had to cut away the flooring as well…also scary.
I put the wall back in and stabilized it. I didn’t bother removing the first stabilizing columns; I just glued in additional ones.
Like it never happened. Whew. The lesson here is don’t panic! Go ahead and swear, but don’t panic. :D
The insert fits a little tighter than it did before, but I’ll take it. Just need to shave a bit off the top. :]
