Dollhouse Building Tips - Removable Stairs

I needed a way to remove the staircase so I could clean them and get to the wallpaper behind them.  After some head scratching, I found a way using an overhanging top step and molding on the floor.

I was able to add a lip on the very top stair because my stairs ended at the back of the house where the top stair would not be very noticeable.  I glued a piece of bass to the top step so it ‘overhung’ catching on the upper level floor.  This prevented the staircase from falling down.

On the lower step of the stairs, I glued molding to the floor where the bottom step touched the floor.  The molding was glued around the bottom step (but not glued to the step – glued to the floor only).  This kept the bottom of the staircase in place so the staircase itself didn’t need to be glued to the floor. 

Molding cut to fit around bottom of stairs

To remove the staircase, I just gently lift the entire thing up about an inch to loosen it from the molding and twist and pull it out without hitting the chandelier.  I plan to stain the upper overhang a little so it blends in better with the upstairs flooring.

Upper floor (way back) you can see the overhang

Bottom floor - molding is only glued to the floor, not the stairs.

Hope this helps someone else with the same problem!  I plan to do it with my 2nd floor staircase also because on that level I plan to have a light fixture behind the stairs (those stairs will be see-through – hopefully in an upcoming blog).