I took a break from the staircase today to let it dry thoroughly before installation and focused on the front wall and door instead.
The door will have traditional hinges rather than chamois. Die-cut doors are challenging to hinge due to their multi-layered construction, which makes them thick, heavy, and difficult to work with. The door casing is similarly complex, complicating the process of creating a smoothly operating door with tiny hinges. This is why I often recommend the chamois strip method, which, while not perfect, offers a simpler solution for door movement.
To begin, lay the fully finished door and exterior casing on a flat surface. Ensure both components are completely assembled and finished beforehand. Place the casing down first, then fit the door inside as it would hang in the dollhouse. Extensive sanding is necessary to achieve proper fit and movement. You may need to use masking tape on the hinge corners to test the door's movement when upright. For multi-layered doors, you can remove some layers to create a thinner, more manageable door, though this may affect its architectural details.
Larger hinges generally work better but may not be to scale. Consider the trade-off between ease of installation and aesthetic accuracy. I opted for L-shaped hinges for added strength, choosing true-to-scale sizes despite the additional challenge. You'll need a spotlight, tweezers, glue, a finishing nail, hammer, and a nail setter (or substitute) for installation. Two crucial steps for successful hinging are:
- Create starter holes with a thumb tack.
- Dip all tiny hinge nails in glue before tapping them into place.
If you don't make a starter hole, your hinge nails may bend or break because they aren't strong enough to penetrate hard plywood. Without glue, the hinges may eventually pull off or fall off due to door movement. You can attach hinges to either the interior or exterior of your door, but the standard practice is to place them on the exterior for an outward-opening door in order to conserve space on the interior. This also makes the hinges visible from the outside of the dollhouse, which looks cleaner and more attractive.
This dollhouse features a double door, making it more challenging to install hinges. Each door requires two hinges, one at the top and one at the bottom. Once you've ensured that the door moves freely in its casing after sanding, position your hinge and mark where the tiny holes will go. Make sure the hinges are aligned correctly for opening and closing. I recommend starting with the casing side before moving on to the door side. Trying to do both simultaneously may cause misalignment of the holes. These hinges are small, so using a refillable pencil lead is best for marking, as it fits into the tiny holes better than a regular pencil.
After marking the holes, set the hinge aside and use a hammer and a finishing nail to create starter holes at your markings. Choose the thinnest finishing nail available. When creating starter holes, be careful not to hammer too deeply or you risk splitting the wood; a small indentation is all that's needed for the tiny hinge nails.
Once your starter holes are ready, align your hinge holes over them. Using tweezers, which are better suited for handling these small nails, dip a hinge nail in glue and place it in the hinge hole. It should fit snugly in the starter hole. Use a nail setter to tap it in completely. After finishing one side of the casing, open the hinge to mark where it goes on the door side. Close it to make starter holes and then open again to insert the hinge nails. For double doors, repeat this process four times—once for each corner.
Installing hinges might slightly affect how your door fits in its casing, potentially causing it to snag when opening or closing. Test it by dry fitting it into your dollhouse. If it catches on the casing, continue sanding until it moves smoothly. Hold the door firmly while sanding to avoid putting pressure on the hinges.
Next, paint the edges of your door that will be visible when it opens. You also need to consider how your dollhouse floor could snag your door when it's in place. Sand the bottoms of the doors again until they open and close easily. Do not glue down your casing and hinged door until you are sure everything works correctly.
Keep in mind that while you want your door to move freely within its casing without snagging, it should not be too loose. If you sand too much, your door may swing open even when closed. Aim for a balance that allows free movement while ensuring it stays closed when needed. This balance requires careful sanding and frequent dry fitting with masking tape used as temporary hinges.
Be gentle with your door! Avoid pressing it while closed as this could pull out the hinges. Open and close it gently without applying pressure in either direction. Allow it to sit naturally in either position without forcing it. After practicing opening and closing a few times, you'll find an easy way to operate it since each door hangs differently due to hand installation. For double doors like those on this dollhouse, open one at a time rather than both together. When one door is open, the other will swing open slightly as they touch each other when closed. In this dollhouse setup, I gently press in on the left door so that the right one swings open. To close them, I first close the left door followed by the right so they align properly. If you're building this dollhouse as a gift, consider including instructions for operating these specific doors with your shipment.
Finally, install your doorknobs once the doors are attached; this ensures they are at equal heights. While working on your dollhouse, you can use masking tape to keep doors from swinging open as you move it around.
