Need help making linoleum floor for Dick Van Dyke Show replica

[MissyBoling]

I'm making a 1:12 replica of the Dick Van Dyke Show set, and need some suggestions for making a linoleum floor for the kitchen.  Ideas, anyone?

[miniarquitect]

There are so many kinds of linoleum as floors you can imagine, because you can imitate many finishes (wood, granite, marble..)

What is always the same is that the final floor is absolutely flat, no joints (or almost invisible) continuous and shiny (when is worn by use is matt)

So I recommend you look for  a  manufacturer's catalogue (in the web there are many) and copy the image of that you want.

then decide the cutting ( long rolls of 80 cms wide or 120 cms, or squares of 80x80  cms..) and according to that, repeat the image as many times you need to cover the surface or your miniature floor.

Then print it at a print shop, well, if your floor is A4 or A3 size maybe you can do it at home, but professional printer and inks are quite better. Use photographic paper, if possible matt, if not, it is too, too shiny. Check before if it is necessary to modify the color, less black or magenta or.. (what you see in your PC screen and the final colour in paper sometimes is not the same)

I suggest you varnish the surface with a clear acrilyc varnish, semi-glossy or matt (in spray), it depends on what are you searching for your floor.

finally if you want, you can slighly suggest these pavement cuttings, use a ultrafine ballpen that does no work, without too much pressure. You should not cut it just mark.

I enclose some photos

I hope it can be useful!

[ElgaKoster]

Missy, something I have used for a scullery floor is vinyl wallpaper, I can't remember anymore where I got it, I think it dates from the 1980's, it is two huge sample books with sheets of the paper, it looks really good once in the house or room box. I completely forgot about it, there are some really nice in scale papers in there, LOL, now the brain is working overtime! Maybe you could see if there is something similar on eBay, I don't know if they still make wallpaper like this.

Some samples of what I have.

And the paper in my Victorian scullery.

[MissyBoling]

Thank you miniarquitect and Elga for the input.  Elga, I would never have thought of wallpaper - I'll keep that in mind for future use!  The photopaper method is what I used for this floor 12-14 years ago, but it hasn't held up well.  It is very easily chipped and scraped.  I should have said that when I first posted.  What I really need is hints for how to make it more durable.  I think the spray finish I used was probably Krylon matte, several coats.  I can't imagine how it got so dinged up since it's been stored away most of those years and was never even finished.

[ElgaKoster]

Missy, my floor has been in there for more than ten years and it hasn't given any issues. The vinyl wall paper has a layer of vinyl on that makes it washable and scrubbable. I googled and see that it is still available.

I can't really help with any sealers, but my favorite glue for any paper in dollhouses are wallpaper paste, it hasn't failed me yet.

[MissyBoling]

I imagine the wallpaper is a lot more durable than the photopaper, but I've never seen wallpaper in a pattern that looks like linoleum.  (There's a modern version of linoleum made by Marmoleum.)  I tried printing a few of their patterns and miniaturizing them, but most end up looking tiled because the samples don't have a full repeat.  I tried some light and dark tiles which look very nice, but they don't look like the floor in the show.  I didn't have any matte photo paper to experiment with, so this is glossy.  I'll have to get some matte and experiment with different finishes.

[GiseleH]

I am making a room box of a 1925-1930 kitchen. I used smooth matboard for the floor. I sprayed gray board with white Bin held up to create the splatters. The dark tiles were streaked with white pastels chalk, the marks almost disappeared when I sprayed with the clear finish. The most difficult part was to cut the tiles perfectly 3/4" squares with a paper cutter. I used white glue and kept some weigh on the section glued to make sure it was perfectly flat. After all was glued, I sprayed with a satin finish. I make my room boxes the way I learned from Peter Kendall's class in Castine, all can be taken apart, allowing working in walls and floors laid flat.

One suggestion for the floor in question, I would experiment with a gray matboard, making streaks using whiite pastel, lightly spray it, reapply if necessary, then adding darker bluish streaks, again with pastels, sealing between each application of pastels as they seem to melt with the sealer. The matboard is good and sturdy to work with, just make sure to get the smooth kind, some have like a linen finish.

[MissyBoling]

Thank you, Gisele!  Your floor and tilework is beautiful!  I'm not sure what you mean by "white Bin."  Is there a certain brand of sealer that you like?  I also like the way you built the cabinets under the sink.  I'll be doing something similar with another house I'm building.  Lucky you to get to take a class from Peter Kendall!

[GiseleH]

Bin is a brand name for a white shellac that also come in a spray can. The splatters is something I fount accidently, usually undesirable but in this case, it was what I needed. The sink is one manufactured with metal legs. I cut the legs and put it in a cabinet. I have a book "Small Houses of the Twenties" Sears Roebuck, it gives good details of what was available then. My favorite sealer is spray Deft lacquer, I have not work up to setting up a spray booth etc. yet.

I also often use a good wood paste wax.Glue does not usually stick to wax which can be good or bad.

PS: Splattering may be caused by not shaking the can enough.

[MissyBoling]

Thanks, Gisele, I get it now.  This is a temporary display using a sink similar to the one that will eventually have a cabinet around it for my '20s-'30s house.  The cabinet has linoleum for the countertop with metal banding, the same linoleum that will be on the floor.  It's a replica of my aunt's house.  This is the prototype cabinet which I plan to make a few changes on before I build all the cabinets for the kitchen.  (And the wallpaper is intended for the Dick Van Dyke house - not my aunt's house.)

[Wm. R. Robertson]

Many years ago I made a 1930's kitchen for the American Girl exhibit at the the Toy & Miniature Museum…… I used some items from their collection like the stove and fridge. The rest I built very quick. The floor was simple, I went to the local builders supply and bought a black and a white tile, then simply cut them into squares on my table saw. I do not remember what type of glue I used to stick them down. I was quick, cheap and looked just like real floor…. because it was.

 

The wall tile was styrene plastic scored and then paint with gloss spray enamel…..

[ElgaKoster]

Nice kitchen Bill, I have looked at the tiles often with the same thought, but most of the patterns available here right now in the shops are patterned and way out of scale.

[MissyBoling]

Love it Bill!  I've had the same problem that Elga had in looking for tiles, finding the patterns out of scale, and no solid colors available here.  Also, the floors I'm replicating for the DVD Show and my aunt's kitchen are not checked, but I may use a checked floor in my NY '40s farmhouse.  I did order some laminate counter samples yesterday, which are available in gloss, semi-gloss, or matte.  Not much available even online, but a few possibilities.  If any of those samples look promising, the next challenge will be finding pieces big enough, but not 10 ft long.

[Wm. R. Robertson]

One thing about Formica, etc..... They have the little sample chips they give away and then there are big chips, maybe 6 x 8" that commercial architects use. Not sure if the buy them or how they get them. So if you have a friendly architect, preferably one working in a large firm which often a person who's job it is to source samples, try that. I know when I have worked on big museum jobs we had big pieces on our sample boards.

BTW, you mentioned Marmoleum, that is what my full size kitchen floor is.... It is very nice but not cheap. I love it.

[MissyBoling]

Great idea, Bill.  Lucky you!  I want to do Marmoleum in my kitchen, but it's going to be a while.

[Althea]

What a fun project Missy--you're doing a great job!

[lostcreekstationminiatures]

Hello Missy,

I just recently completed a roombox that depicts the Munster's Kitchen, from the television series.

The entire room was scratchbuilt and I created a  linoleum floor for the kitchen. I did an online search for vintage flooring and found a design that "looked right". The series was filmed in black and white and no color photos were ever published, so I resorted to the use of my artistic license for the color scheme.

 

Once I choose a design I saved it to my lap top as a jpeg photo. I then used my photo software to reduce the design to 1/12th scale. I then made many copies of it onto an 8-1/2" by 11" acid free paper and printed the result. I ended up with squares that measured 7 inches by 10 inches, that I fit and glued to a sub-floor. In this case the kitchen was to appear aged and dirty so I sealed the floor with Krylon flat clear spray. You can see photos of the room box on my Shutterfly page at:

https://lostcreekstationminiatures.shutterfly.com

Hope this helps.

Lloyd Cooper

[MissyBoling]

Thanks Lloyd.  I've been watching your Munster kitchen progress, and I'm very impressed with the final result.  I was wondering how you did the floor, so thanks for the info!