Point of no return.........

I can no longer vacillate about the external staircase.

This is because PP, in a fit of boredom and bravado, decided to take matters into her own hands and cut off the offending bits.

With my mini Proxxon table saw.

I have to say I was ambivalent, not to say adamant, that she should, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES attempt to cut 6mm MDF with my little table saw, but, as she pointed out, she wouldn't be cutting through 6mm, due to the pre-routed grooves, which cut down the thickness to a mere 3mm.

It took a fair bit of ridicule persuasion but I did eventually see the sense in this, and agreed to nervously standby while she experimented with the top floor exterior landing piece.

Oh, me of little faith.

The Proxxon cut though it like a knife through butter.

The top floor was a slightly different kettle of fish, purely due to the length of the cut, but we did succeed, so my shop is now minus the ground floor exterior base support to the staircase and the top floor exterior landing.

Thereby rendering my staircase redundant so if anyone is in desperate need of a wooden staircase let me know.

So.

There only remains the top floor windows and French doors, plus the more thorny problem of the French-style dormer windows in the mansard roof.

Michelle, bless her, has suggested loads of alternatives for all of the above, ranging from cheap and cheerful through to more expensive.  I'll be checking them all out over the next few days.

Jane took more of a 'make do and mend approach' and has suggested that I use cardboard tubes for the dormers and 'franglaise' them with small fancy frames.  I have to admit I hadn't thought of that, mainly because the thought of mixing angles and curves is enough to give me the heebie-jeebies but it does have merit, and I'll check out Ebay's finest later.

Irene, thinking along exactly the same lines as Michelle, sent me THIS.  Who'd have thought there would be more than one eedjit out there trying to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse?

I have to admit I'd never heard of an Oeil-de-Bouef Dormer Window but it's spot on.


You could almost call it a "bullseye".


*cough*

I suppose there are probably people out there who are asking themselves why,  if I wanted to build a French town house style shop,  didn't I just BUY a French town house style shop and be done with it.

But those people, no matter how 'sensible' and 'right' they might be, just don't get it.

It's all about the challenge..........

EDIT - Michelle pointed out that DHE make a kit (Le Chateau) which uses exactly this style of dormer window, and on closer inspection they would be just perfect.  I'm waiting to find our whether I can purchase them separately from the kit and I'm keeping everything crossed that DHE say that it's possible.