Thinking about going electric

[woodinville guy]

I'm building a house "Magnolia" for my daughter and I'm thinking about wiring it for lighting. What would I need to build to wire it? Should I just wait to wire up her next house? I have a local person trying to sell me a wiring kit and lighting fixtures for $100. They said the prices add up to $160 from the original tags. Seems pretty pricey.

-Dave

[madhatter]

It is pricy to electrify your house, all the little things you need to buy add up. If you want to save some money you can make some of the light fixtures yourself, with a simple blub and wire. I have a book around here somewhere that gives insturctions. I will look for it. Im pretty sure it shows side table lamps, etc, but it could all be adapted.

Check out ebay, you can find some great deals, but you need to exactly what you need.

Are you considering doing tapewire or round wire?

You can always electrify the house and then add the light fixtures later, to save money.

Im sure the board will have lots of suggestions for you, good luck in your endevor.

Jenn

[hydroped]

Hi Dave,

Wiring kits - and especially the light fixtures can be pretty pricey. It doesn't sound like too bad a deal - depending on what's included in that price and how good the fixtures are and if they're ones that you want. You can always check out Ebay to see what lighting kits are going for there or maybe at HBS. The transformers themselves can be fairly expensive depending on how many light bulbs they'll be running. I started with a small house for my first lighting project (I've only done one so far) but I'm so impressed with the results that I'm determined to wire the rest now.

I'd be curious if the kit this guy is trying to sell you comes with tape wire or hard wire. Those are two options you may want to think about. I've heard that hard wire is more durable. I used tape wire on my little house but I soldered the connections instead of pinning them.

Darrell has a great electrical tutorial on the site! It's located Here

Hope this helps some,

David

[woodinville guy]

Hi Dave,

Wiring kits - and especially the light fixtures can be pretty pricey. It doesn't sound like too bad a deal - depending on what's included in that price and how good the fixtures are and if they're ones that you want. You can always check out Ebay to see what lighting kits are going for there or maybe at HBS. The transformers themselves can be fairly expensive depending on how many light bulbs they'll be running. I started with a small house for my first lighting project (I've only done one so far) but I'm so impressed with the results that I'm determined to wire the rest now.

I'd be curious if the kit this guy is trying to sell you comes with tape wire or hard wire. Those are two options you may want to think about. I've heard that hard wire is more durable. I used tape wire on my little house but I soldered the connections instead of pinning them.

Darrell has a great electrical tutorial on the site! It's located Here

Hope this helps some,

David

It is tape wire. The lot pictures are attached. What is HBS?

-Dave

[darrellandmelissa]

I think it is a deal. Not a great deal, but a good deal. I did notice it does not have a transformer. You will need one of those as well.

Melissa

[havanaholly]

you can make some of the light fixtures yourself, with a simple blub and wire.

February 06 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures has a how-to article to make Mission-style floor & table lamps.

What is HBS?

Hobby Builders Supply, the website is www.miniatures.com .

[Starfire]

Hi David (Hydroped)

Exactly how did you soder the stuff to your tape wire?. ;)

[woodinville guy]

More info from the seller:

included for $100 is:

1- 3 bulb brass chandelier (This was $25.00) 6-ceiling light fixtures 3 globe style, and 3 tulip style. Still in packaging

1- table lamp style tulip light.

1- tulip style wall sconce.

1-roll of electrical brass/copper tape.

5- ceiling canopy New in packages

1-sconce adapter, hex. new in package

1-package 1/8" brass brads approx. 300

2-packages junction splice new in packages

1- transformer lead-in wire w/ switch & fuse holder. New in package 2-packages of double splices (4 per package)

1- Pilot hole punch w/ 2 needles.

[molmrath]

You can look up the retail prices on some of those items at http://cir-kitconcepts.com/

[hydroped]

I hate to say it Dave, but that seems awefully pricey for what you're getting. Then again everyone here knows I"m Cheap! but still you're getting only part of what you need and for 100$ I'd want to see lights actually turned on! You definintely need a transformer, your tape wire, a tester, your lead in wire and junction splice.. the rest is stuff you can get or don't have to get if you want to save some money. For instance I started out meaning to use the copper brads but decided to solder instead. I used to have a link to a tutorial that showed where someone soldered their tapewire and it looked like a simple solution (I sadly have lost the link but maybe I can do a google search and find it again. Anyway remembering that I saw it months ago I tried it on a piece of scrap wood and a couple inches of tapewire - the test worked so I used that method on my first house. It worked for me but the house I used the wires are hidden. I will want more practice before I try soldering on a wall that is inside the house (mine is underneath). But you can't really even test your connections unless you have a transformer. And I'm still trying to figure out if the fuseholder is really needed or not.

Darrell is the real guy to ask about all this stuff - he knows A LOT about dollhouse wiring. The thing is that you can pick up lights as you go and get the ones you want but you need a transformer before you can even check to make sure you have good connections and power to everyplace you want your lights. Oh and Dave - check out the Cirkit kits - they have several prices and all but the cheapest one comes with a transformer so you should have everything you need in the kit - except the fixtures.

Starfire-

What I did was cut the sleeve that covers the copper wire then instead of pinning them together I just applied solderbetween the copper strips. As with the normal way of doing it, I just made sure that the copper was exposed where it needed to be so there was no cross connection where there shouldn't be... can you tell I'm still new at this? Bascally red strip to red strip, blue strip to blue strip.

-David

[heidiiiii]

It is good in the sense you get all the fixtures but you dont have the transformer there. For the amount of lights you are going to want, you will be looking at adding another $30-40 for it retail. If you are lucky to have a store like Michael`s or AC Moore you can use a 40-50% off coupon on it. I didnt see a tester on your list.

I used a coupon and bought 2 rolls of tape (i always am prepared), brads, a cir-kit starter kit, a transformer, 1 sconce, and 1 hanging fixture. I spent about $80.

I would do what everybody else has been saying. Check online and weigh the pros and cons. Looks like some of the light packages are open. Do you know if they all work?

Oh and definitely check out Darrell`s tips on wiring! I wired my dh (my very first dh!) all by my wittle self. I also have a book called Dollhouse Lighting Electrification in Miniature by Barbara Warner. Helped alot! I saw ppl selling it on Ebay. I bought my copy at used bookstore for $1.

Good Luck!

Will love to see your progress!