Tudor Market Hall Part 2 - Build the Ground Floor of this Magnificent Miniature Hall

For those of you that are new to this project, the full materials list and tools list are included in Part 1 of this feature.

The Tudor Market Hall has 6 rooms. On the ground floor there is the inn and market square. The first floor has the kitchen to the left and music room to the right. The second floor left hand room is the great hall, and to the right is the master bedroom. Ther servants quarters are on the top floor.

PLEASE NOTE: Since completing this project the CD42 twisted rope moulding by Richard Burbridge is no longer available. As an alternative I recommend that you use their FB200.

The Fireplace - Step 1

• Cut a piece of FB366 and a piece of FB407 stripwood and glue tightly between the two verical timbers on the either side of the fire opening, so you have a flush horizontal beam of 30mm.
• Use any offcut of timber, cut a piece measuring the length between the outside edges of the two vertical timbers.
• Sand this, round off the two front edges, wire brush it and then apply stain.
• When dry, glue and clamp into place centrally on the 30mm flush beam above the fire opening.
• There should be about 6mm of the flush beam showing above and below the mantle.
• Not cut a piece of 6mm MDF so that it fits nicely into the fireplace recess, whilst protruding approximately 4mm into the room to form the hearth. (first photo below)
• Use a knife randomly distress the front edge and two side edges, then lightly sand them.
• Drill a 2mm hole in the back left corner of the hearth.
• paint black immediately dab almost dry with a cloth to give a textured finish. Leave to dry.

Step 2

• Glue 2 pieces of 4mm timber onto the floor inside the chimney recess to keep the hearth level.
• Take the plug off one of the DE071 extension plugs and thread the wire through the top of the hole in the hearth.
• Drill a hole through the right hand side of the chimney as low down as possible.
• Easier to do this from the outside.
• Thread the end of the extension wire throught the hole in the chimney from the inside, and carefully glue the hearth in place taking care not to trap the wire beneath it.

• To protect the cable until you are ready to connect it, tape it to the outside wall and mark it up so you know what it belongs to. (see 1st photo below)

Step 2

• Cut 2 pieces of FB189 stripwood to fit vertically between the hearth and the underside of the mantle.
• Glue in place on either side of the fireplace opening.
• Cut 2 12mm pieces of the FB464 decorative moulding and sand and stain them.
• When dry glue in place as decorative suppoort brackets under either end of the mantle.
• Cover the exposed edge of MDF on either side with a piece off FB200 astragal moulding. (Please see 2nd photo below)

Brick Plinth - Step 4

• The house sits on a brick plinth 20mm smaller all the way round than the floor of the house above it.
• Use 12mm MDF cut 6MM wide strips, two at 380 mm long and three at 356mm long.
• Glue and pin these together to make a square with the two longer pieces forming the front and  back, and the three shorter pieces forming the two sides and a central brace.
• Use small pieces of FB189 glued to the internal corners to strengthen the structure.

Step 5

• The plinth is positioned on the overal base of the house.
• Use 12mm MDF to cut a base 550mm deep x 1018mm wide.
• Position the plinth on the base so that the face of it at the back of the house is approximately 20mm from the edge of the base, and approximately 70mm in from the left hand side where the chimney will be.
• Do not fix at this point, but tack a few veneer pins against the inside face to stop it moving.
• Turn the ground floor room box upside down and mark a line 20mm in from the edge all the way round.
• Partially tack a few veneer pins onto the line at the back and right hand side, then use these to positoin the room onto the plinth.
• You should now have a 20mm overhang all the way round.

Step 6

• To cut an additional piece of plinth to sit the chimney on, accurately mark the position of the chimney onto the base and the plinth. (1st photo below)
• Lift the room box off and using 60mm high x 12mm MDF construct the plinth for the chimney gluing and clamping it into place.
• There should be no overhang.
• Now place the chimney plinth back onto the base and draw an outline of the inside of the plinth.
• Use off cuts of 12mm MDF, glue and tack these in place to help you position the plinth and house later. (2nd photo below)
• Turn the room box upside down again, and repeat this with the plinth.

Step 7

• Now glue FB407 stirpwood vertically to all four outer corners of the plinth (two to each corner) 8 pieces in total.
• Plus a piece either side of the chimney plinth, set about 6mm away from the chimney to allow for plastering later.
• Then cut 5 lengths of the same stripwood (one for the front and each side, and 2 for either side of the chimney) to fit horizontally between the verticals.
• Glue and clamp these in place flush with the top edge. These can just be seen in the photo below.

Step 8

• Divide the front, rear and righthand side of the plinth into three equal sections for the brickwork.
• Cut 2 lenghts of FB407 stripwood per side and glue vertically to divide up each of the sections.
• The plinth should now have 11 individual panels ready to receive brickwork.
• Following the same procedure used for the brickwork on the back of the chimney (Part 1 Step 10) fix all the bricks into place between the sections.
• This time you will have to cut some of the bricks with a knife to stagger the brickwork between courses.

Step 9

• Use plenty of glue, stick the plinth onto the base and the ground floor room box onto the plinth.
• Put plenty of weight onto the room box to ensure that it bonds really well.

Go back to Part 1

Go forward to Part 3

For more information on Tudor bespoke properties go to www.kjdollshouses.co.uk, or contact Kevin Jackson at [email protected] and make sure you mention Dolls House and Miniature Scene.

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