April Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Hi everyone, New member here, after 4 months of lurking (and taking much of your good advice). I am currently in the midst of building a Lily for my 5 year old daughter -- this is my first dollhouse build. It's a Christmas present, and of course will be nowhere near completion. I have accepted that fact and am planning on showing her the house before Christmas, and letting her "help" me later. Here is my dilemma: I'm at the point where the instructions tell me to assemble the porch. I would rather start the mansard roof, thinking this will make the house look a little more completed to show it to my daughter. Can anyone tell me if this would be a bad decision? Would that negatively effect the porch construction or future siding? Thanks in advance -- I really appreciate your help! April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_the_haunted Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Hi and April! Are you talking about the porch railing or the porch foundation? If you're talking about the porch railing then, you can wait til the very end if you like but, if you are talking about the foundation, I would do it 1st so that the house is straight an unwarped. Little things like tat actually make a difference! Good luck, and show us some pics! Monica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalygirl Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Hello and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Hi April and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wenlaine Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 April, I must say that I have never built the Lily but on the Beacon Hill and all the other houses I've done that have siding, I assembled the porch (in fact, I assemble everything) before the siding. I consider siding part of the decorating so that's one of the things that is done last for me. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hello & Welcome to the neighborhood! I added the porch Roof before I started on the house roof. I did not add the porch railing until the very end though. You can see my blog if you like and Congratulations on deciding to build memories with your daughter!! I used to let me daughter paint some parts as I assembled the house when she was your daughters age and then started giving her birdhouses to paint while I worked on my houses. Now that she is 10 she is building her own houses LOL !! You are building dreams together and teaching her to use her creative side. That's wonderful in todays world!! Here is the link: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/b...p?showentry=791 I do think you can bypass that porch roof & railings until later though I did seem to me that the roof add more sturdiness to the house though (But I can not remember eaxctly now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 April, hello and welcome! What I would do if I were in your shoes, is to take the box and empty it, and then gift wrap it and put it under the tree. Then come Christmas morn, give her the box to open...... Inside of course you would have left a note that says maybe: "Good morning! Santa has left your present in the ____________! Let's go and look! Mom I think that would be fun to do! I would have done it with my own daughter. Wolfie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April Posted December 12, 2007 Author Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hello again, and thank you all for the warm welcomes! I appreciate it, and I have to say that if I had not been able to lurk on some of your Lily blogs during the past few months I don't think I would have gotten to the point I'm at now! OK, I will go ahead with the porch foundation and porch roof before attempting the main roof. I can see the point that the porch foundation will affect the sturdiness of the house -- and I've had some warping issues already, so it could probably use any help it can get. Here's a picture of where I'm at right now (please excuse my messy basement): Oh, and I am not building the stair hand rails and balusters (interior) -- daughter's little fingers aren't all that nimble, and I know she'd be upset if they accidentally broke off. I bought a little nursery furniture play set, and I think I will put a picture of the Lily with it for her to open on Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_the_haunted Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hi April, The house will un-warp as you attach more of the structural pieces. The more we put on, the better it looked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Hi April, The house will un-warp as you attach more of the structural pieces. The more we put on, the better it looked! Oh yes it does, and I know your daughter will be thrilled with this lovley house! You are making great progress! Hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hello again! Just wanted to thank all of you for your great advice and encouragement last month. I got the Lily to a nice stopping point just before Christmas, and gave my daughter some dollhouse furniture (with pictures of the house) for Christmas. She was quite speechless, which is pretty unusual for her! So it was a success, but I haven't been able to work on the house since -- and it will probably be mid-March before I have time to really get back into it. I am hoping to actually finish it in time for her June birthday! So I am heading back into lurkdom, but I will be keeping an eye on some of your projects! April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Just keep us up to date with posts & pictures as you work on it. So far it looks great! I want to build mine, but have a couple of projects ahead of it in line... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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