I need to prepare the floors before installing the walls. The staircases will make it challenging to paint the ceiling after the floors are in place. I designed the floorboards for the second and third floors just like I did for the first. After staining them, I flipped them over and painted them white, as this side will serve as the ceilings.
Once they dried, I started putting up the walls. It’s important to follow the instructions carefully to ensure you install the walls in the correct order, or you may encounter problems later. This part is quite difficult. The walls are large and have limited areas to hold onto, making them prone to falling over. Since your glue will be wet, it won’t adhere immediately. Each wall you install puts pressure on the previous one, increasing the risk of toppling or misalignment. Use masking tape to clamp them as you go along to help prevent this. Keep an eye on all joints, tabs, and slots so you can fix any shifts in position as you build. You want to avoid letting your glue dry on misaligned parts. Although the instructions say to glue only when instructed, you can apply glue to all joints since you’re not using hot melt glue. This way, you’ll have some flexibility while building, as it takes time for the glue to dry. Continue building until I tell you to stop. You need to keep adding parts before the glue dries and restricts movement in the structure. As you build, apply wood glue to your floor joints but leave the wall joints for later.
This process requires patience. If any walls shift due to pressure or tapping from other walls, reposition them as needed with a hammer. Ensure all joints are tight and that all tabs fit fully into their slots. Since I’m modifying the tower top, I cut all my tower sides at the third-floor mark. The third floor will not have tower walls because it will be a gazebo instead. It's clear where to mark for the front panels of the tower, but it’s less obvious for the side panels without windows. I had to dry fit them first to determine where to cut for the third floor. I’m unsure how the slots will align at this level, but we’ll see what challenges arise later. For now, everything looks good. I didn’t discard any cut pieces; they might be useful if I make a mistake. One lesson I've learned about dollhouse building is to keep everything until the project is complete.
After installing the back section of the third floor and before adding the second/third floor stairwell partition, you must stop. If you continue, you won’t be able to wallpaper the dollhouse. This creates a dilemma - stopping allows your glue to dry and makes it hard for parts to move into place later. If you don’t stop, you can’t decorate the interior. Attempting to wallpaper while wet glue is still in place risks collapsing your structure. Dollhouse builders often find themselves in this tough situation, where they must let everything dry first so they can wallpaper effectively. Unfortunately, finishing touches are more important than dealing with a rigid structure. The lack of flexibility will complicate adding remaining walls and staircases later, but it’s unavoidable at this stage. If all tabs and slots are correctly aligned and tightly fitted, your dollhouse should withstand any pressure without too much trouble down the line.
Mistakes
I made a few mistakes during this process that needed fixing. I forgot to install the kitchen/dining room corner wall. It wasn’t a big deal; I managed to slip it into place through the third floor even after all other walls were up. I tapped it down until it reached the first floor and fit into its slot. This happened because it's easy to skip steps during such a lengthy assembly process. Be sure not to overlook anything as you work; take your time and double-check that you've followed all steps correctly.
I also cut the wrong end of the right tower side since it has no windows. I accidentally cut it at the wrong end and had to mend it before cutting it correctly. This mistake occurred because I didn’t dry fit it first as recommended.
Additionally, the top riser of the staircase fell out while fitting it into place, so I had to glue it back in position. The pressure from fitting pieces can cause breaks, so ensure your staircase is sturdy and well-glued before inserting it into place. If that riser had fallen inside, I would have needed to create a new one since it cannot be removed easily once installed.
