As always I am truly winging this project. I have no idea how to make a room box or why that should create more or less issues. I did the usual Google around and again as ever swiftly retreated from being overwhelmed by conflicting and sometimes confusing ideas. I had already decided I didn't want to use wood, although I would have liked to. It would be beyond my tools and skills to cut perfectly squared edges. Other than wood it would seem cardboard was the next best option. I know this will irritate successful users of foam board and there are some fabulous things being made from it but it seems I am incapable of cutting it neatly. Skill or tools? Not sure. So the decision was stiff card....... and, yes, I can foresee a lot of issues.
- could I cut the boards easily and accurately
- could they be fastened together in a durable way
- would the finished box feel sturdy enough for all its future iterations
- would the card take paint and wallpapering without distorting or weakening in any way
- is there anyway to neaten the fronts and outside when they are finished
A trip to Hobbycraft ensued and I came away with eight pieces of A1 stiff grey card. I think it is probably book board. £2.25 each from the artist paper section.
I measured the space in the cabinet carefully and reduced the numbers a little to allow for getting the box in and out and for the wiring etc. The formal Georgian style rooms will need four boxes the same size and the two modern ones will be a little shorter in height. I decided to start with the library. I spent a lot of time working out how many pieces of which size I would need for all four boxes and how to get them out of the sheets with least waste. I then marked up the sheets for cutting.
I spaced the shapes around the edges so at least four of them would get the benefit of an already well cut right-angled corner piece.
I was about to meet the first of my imagined stumbling blocks - cutting.
I absolutely can not cut the card. Scissors won't do it and using a knife would just take me an eternity to cut through by which time I think the accuracy would have waned considerably. I was momentarily pleased when I tried a saw only to discover when I turned the test piece over it looked as though it had been through a shredder on the other side. The solution was simple (if annoying) one broad-shouldered husband and a box knife. It still took him a couple of passes for each cut but I soon had the five pieces ready for box one. Now to do battle with how they could be fastened together.
I bought some self-adhesive Kraft paper tape and set off. It is not especially easy and requires concentration on which piece 'stands' on which or butts up to which. Midway through I realised it was easier if I used a couple of small pieces of tape horizontally across the joins. They pull the pieces together in the way I wanted, allowing me to then just focus on taping as neatly and tightly as possible. I cut and wrapped round the excess tape at the bottom of each join to strengthen the corners. So far so good.
This is an interior shot of a join. On the whole they are no worse or better than an MDF kit built house. I always wrap wallpaper around the corners which conceals them just fine.
There is more of a challenge if I want to paint a room. Right now I think I will see how that turns out in the modern rooms and if it doesn't work out I will have to find a wallpaper for them.
I tested it in its space and am very pleased. There is just enough slack to get the box in and out comfortably and to allow for wiring without a problem.
I have to get the paint in a couple of days and am planning on painting the ceiling and papering the walls and see if all my joy, and the box, falls apart at that point. Meanwhile I have also ordered the self-adhesive reinforced Kraft paper tape as I think the plain one is pretty weak. Wish me luck.
