Table of Contents
- 1Preface
- 2Introduction
- 3The wood and the size of the dolls house
- 4Steps 1 to 3. The eave soffit, the frieze board and preparing for the roof
- 5Step 4. Cutting the roof pieces
- 6Step 5. Putting the roof together
- 7Step 6. Fitting the dormer front wall
- 8Steps 7 to 8: Cutting the wall, floor and door pieces and cutting the arched internal doorways
- 9Steps 9 to 10 Fixing the vertical side strips and assembling the walls, floors and doors
- 10Step 10 continued... Assembling the walls, floors, and doors
- 11Step 11. Making the spiral staircase
- 12Step 12. A bit of paint and that's that
Step 4. Cutting the roof pieces
Ft and inch version:
The roof pieces that sit on top of the eaves are all cut from 1/2″ MDF board.
Metric version:
The roof pieces that sit on top of the eaves are all cut from 12mm MDF board.
Below are the drawings of all the individual pieces with both the measurements and the angles.
Note that most of the cuts are compound angle cuts. You will have to set the blade on your circular power saw or bench saw to the required angle for most of the cuts. The angles are given in the drawings below.
There are three different angle cuts required to cut all the roof pieces. They are – a square cut (normal), a 35° of square cut, and a 45° of square cut.
What this means is where it says “angle cut 35° back” in the drawings below, you will need to make that cut with the saw blade on your circular or bench saw tilted 35°. Likewise with the cut that says “angle cut 45° back”: you will need to make that cut with the saw blade on your circular or bench saw tilted 45°.
Ft and inch version
Metric version
On page 8 of the purchased plans it states to cut both pieces 1a and 1b to an overall length of 29 inches. I think this length should be 26 inches to correspond with the 26 inches used to cut the long side of the eave soffit on page 7. After I got all of the roof pieces cut out I started to put it together and saw that pieces 1a and 1b were too long. Assuming I am correct and 1a and 1b should be 26 inches then my next question is, does the 14 3/4 measurement at the top of 1a and 1b have to be shortend by the same amount or does it stay the same? I am enjoying this project and will be able to not make silly mistakes when I build my second one as soon as I finish this one. I certainly am learning how to cut the 35 and 45 degree angles. The secret when using a skill saw is to always be able to see where the blade is cutting and not rely on the guide on the saw.
Buildeazy reply:
Thank you for pointing that out. There was a measurement error in Step 1. The long side of the eave soffit in Step 1 should be 29 inches (not 26 inches).
It has now been rectified.
Les Kenny
Here a some pictures of my finished doll house. As you can see I added some shutters to the windows. I want to give you some feedback of my experience doing this build.
1. When I had finished the build, the roof did not fit. I had to saw away part of the frieze board to make it fit. The reason for this was that in placing the frieze board in 2 inches from the outside edge of the frame only leaves 10 1/4 inch of space (14.25 minus 4 equals 10.25). The doll house is 9 inches wide plus the back (1/2 inch) plus the board added across the top front for stability (3/4 inch) which totals 10.25. To solve this problem as I build my second doll house, I am putting the frieze boards in by only 1 3/4 inches. This will allow plenty of clearance for the roof to fit.
2. If the two piece 3 pieces are cut as shown on page 6 of the plans they will not work since they are identical. I plan to move the lower piece 3 to the upper right hand corner of the board as a mirror image and I think it will work fine.
3. This one you are already aware of. That is the incorrect length ( 26 vs 29) on the first board I cut on page 7 of the plans.
4. On page 9 of the plans you show the inside of the dormer being trimmed for readiness for the front wall. This would be much easier if you marked the dormer on the front of the roof and trimmed out what is necessary prior to gluing the dormer in place.
Started my second doll house today and hope to have an easier time based on my experience of building my first one.
E. Stevens