Parlor Floor Construction:

Parlor Floor Construction:

After building the shell of the parlor floor I headed off on vacation. In the hope that work would proceed without me, I left the workmen on site:

Unfortunately, they did't get much done.

I spotted this wonderful figure at the Philadelphia Miniatura Show, though I foolishly didn't write down the name of the maker. If anyone recognizes this, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

Parlor Floor Learning Curve:

The first thing I learned is that as tempting as it is to go straight for the main rooms, it is much better to start with a less important one so beginner mistakes are less visible.

Tips when using "self adhesive" wood flooring sheets:

Self adhesive wood flooring sheets are not really self adhesive. Sticky, yes. Adhesive, no. I learned to peel off the backing, exposing the adhesive then coating with wood glue. Weigh it down until the glue dries to prevent this from happening:

I also learned (too late) to give the subfloor a coat of paint/stain the color of the flooring so that the inevitable spaces between pieced bits are less obvious.

I ordered fabulous wood inlay from Inlay Product World. They came very fast and were just perfect for the inset strip to run around the floor in each room. Figuring out how to make the designs meet up well at the corners took some experimenting. One pattern required trimming ends leaving the very fine edging attached to one strip and removing the edging from the one that would join it. Others were simple miters. The finished effect was very pleasing.