mfranco Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi Everyone, I recently purchased a Beacon Hill and I am anxiously awaiting it to arrive at my home. Ever since I was a child I wanted a doll house, but my family was too poor to afford one. Now that I am modestly successful in my career, I decided to buy one of my own that I could build up and use my imagination to create. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions regarding my project, and I look forward to hearing each and every one of your suggestions. I have been absorbing as much as I can of this board and I must say you all are very helpful!!! Although I am intimidated by the massive scope of this project, at the same time I am very excited!! One major question I have is; do you prime your house before or after you build it?? :wicked: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Welcome, Milla, to our "little" family online! You have chosen a beautiful kit for your first build (it needn't be your last, you know; what's the point of acquiring all these skills and solving all sorts of building issues for ONE house?lol) and if you do it in baby steps it need not intimidate you too much. I'm a little bit less new and have built a couple of kits (not the Beacon Hill, alas; perhaps some day!) and I still get that "sinking" sensation of "what have I gotten into?" whenever I open a new kit box. There's a lot of information for getting started and basic tools (as well as things that are nice to have or helpful but NOT necessary) in several postings about the forum that can be found using the "Search" button, but in the end you can ask any questions and someone will have "been there & done that" to answer you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Day Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Welcome Milla! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyJudi Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Welcome Milla. Although I haven't built one, I think the Beacon Hill is a beautiful house. Just take your time. It is, after all, supposed to be fun and relaxing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Welcome to the community, Milla! To answer your question, each of us works in a different way when it some to the order we do things in, but some common sense will help to guide you. It's a good idea to dry fit the house -- put it together with tape -- before you start gluing. When you do that, you'll see the areas that may be difficult to reach after it's glued. You may decide to prime and put the final paint or wallpaper on those sections before you build. If you prime ahead of time, remember NOT to prime anything you may want to stain, such as the floors, window trim, etc. Once it's primed, it can't be stained. It's a good idea to prime areas that will be painted or wallpapered; it provides a barrier between the acids in the wood and whatever covering used as well as reducing the number of coats of paint required. Priming one side of a sheet may cause it to warp a bit. If you prime both sides, this isn't such a problem. I've had success painting one side, then turning it paint side down on several pieces of uncooked spaghetti to paint the other side. Gets it done without waiting for the paint to dry and reduces warping. One suggestion: if you are doing a wholesale priming, try not to get paint on the tabs or in the slots. Even a little paint will make a precise fit too tight, which means you'll spend a good bit of time sanding. The BH is a beautiful house --- enjoy! :wicked: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJEP Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi and :wicked:!! You can prime either before or after building. It is easier to prime before if you are sure where you need to prime. Remember not to prime where you are using stain. Enjoy your house and remember you are the only one who needs to be happy with it!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 :wicked: :lol: Hello Milla! Nice to have you with us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_the_haunted Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi and :wicked: to the group! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakyshaky Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovecats Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi and welcome to the forum! congrats on the beautiful house kit! I personally don't prime most of my houses, but there are good reasons for doing it. :wicked: My only advice with this house is make sure you wallpaper the two walls that your staircases will fit up against BEFORE you install the staircases, or it will be a pain in the backside to do afterward, plus you won't be happy with how it looks. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfranco Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Thanks all so much for the warm welcomes and advice! Looks like I'll be trying the "dry build" idea and then see whether or not the house "whispers" to me whether it wants a good priming before or after. I'm fairly certain most of my house is going to either be painted, wallpapered, or covered in tile or stone.. so I don't think I have to worry to much about staining any part of the frame. I'm going for an "Adam's Family" look to my house.... I'm very excited about the whole thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hello and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallowell Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hi! I always prime after I've got the house all glued together. Mainly it's because I also decorate after the house is together too, and the poor house seems to end up on it's side or its top or some silly position (it's me or the house) and after two coats of primer, the house seems to be a little sturdier. My biggest problem is I always slosh the primer on and it runs - well, that's me working too fast again. Don't forget, you will probably want to use wood filler in some of those uneven places before you prime, so make sure it's completely dry before you prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahnaylor Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Welcome!!! The Beacon Hill was my first build, you'll be fine! I wish I had known about this site before I built mine, so you're already off to a good start Sarah By the way, I didn't prime, I hope I'm not sorry years from now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hello and welcome to the forum. I received the BH last week but haven't decided what it wants to be. I am currently working on the Chantilly and I decided to prime and now I'm glad I did. Before the primer was even dry, the wood started to leach out what ever was in it and turned the primer a yellow color. Horrors--thinking what it would have done to the wallpaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfranco Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 Still no dollhouse.... supposed to arrive on Friday. I am so anxious!!! How do you do it when you're anxiously waiting to build up your house and decorate, but you have to actually wait for the thing to get to you!!!! Ahhhhhh!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I either sculpt & dress the dolls to live in it or build some of the furniture or fixtures for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfranco Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 I either sculpt & dress the dolls to live in it or build some of the furniture or fixtures for it. That's actually not a bad idea.... but I'm no doll maker.... I should've probably thought about getting some furniture to put together, but at this point the house would probably get here before the furniture does. *sigh* I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Welcome to the neighborhood!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfieldzoo Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 You should be here - looking at pics of Beacons and getting lots of ideas while you wait. I can't think of a better way to pass the time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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