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Shout out to Beacon Hill builders!


WyckedWood

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The instructions that recommend sealing with shellac and using hot glue to assemble were written about 40 years ago. If you prime you needn't seal. I use Deft clear sanding sealer (turps to clean the brush) when I must seal, which any more is nearly never.

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LOL Holly I think I actually got one of the first BHs,made back in 1983, the wood on mine is so brittle and the box it came in looked like an antique. Primer is what Ive used Gayle (my Moms name is Gayle,spelled like yours:)I actually tried a sanding sealer first and I swear it made the wood even more dried out. I did do something(finally)Ive never done b4, I was getting so frustrated by looking for a certain parts sheet and not being able to see that faint, brail type sheet # stamped into the plywood, that I took the time to go over all the sheet #s with a sharpie so I could actually see the numbers. Saved some time!

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Forgot to say I just did my first window,Im working in the small blue bedroom today,I figure from now on Im just going to concentrate on one rm. at a time...anyways,the real glass I had cut worked awesome and it looks so nice.. I'll take a picture asap,right now I have a sleeping babe in my arms:)

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I'd love to use the real glass too! I'm saving these ideas!

When I was growing up it bothered me that people always assumed I was a 'Gail'. By the time I got married I was just happy to drop my first name 'Virginia'. The kids in grade school had figured a cleverly irritating nickname for Virginia Gayle...'Ginger Ale'!

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Its not very common to have it spelled that way is it?

This is the only window I have done so far...no glare! Love that. Well,theres glare,but not the way it would glare with regular plastic windows if the sun were shining like this.

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the BH is out of the box (take note, Terri M!!!). I cleaned the upstairs work table off and hauled the big gal up there and started labeling parts.

I would love to do many of the changes that HBMini has posted in gallery photos. I like the idea of centering or putting in a bigger front door and adding width to the upper portion over the 'kitchen'. Youngest son likes the idea of the dumbwaiter, but I really love that hidden staircase up to the tower. What an inspiration! Probably will forgo electricity, but Kellan always offers to do it (then grumbles when it comes time to put it in) so you never know.

I spent some time today just studying the BH box picture and imagining the changes I'd want to make. I've gotten lot's of inspiration from all of you. I can see real glass in the windows! My Ernie order arrived that included the stuffed chair for the tower room. Guess it needs a house built around it!

Okay, so I'm waaaay behind most of ya'll, but I'm startin' to move.... :hug:

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Right on! Im glad you are starting the process,even if its just studying the box! Well,I thought the roof was hard,but it has taken me ALL day to finish just one dormer window,the most frustrated I have ever been in all my mini days. I know its me,not the kit,I just dont have the patience for it today I guess. Now Ive lost the top half circle with the arrow point,it has DISAPPEARED into thin air apparently! :hug:

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hmmm yes the dormer windows........i remember reading the destructions..... looking at all the bits and thinking whaaaaaaaaaattttttt!!! you have to be joking!!! what goes where...how does that bit fit... arrrrrrrghhhhhhhhh i cant do it....walk away mumbling.....have caffeine....stare at it..... :hug: ....oooooooooooooooooooo yesssssssssss thats how it goes....away we go again :)

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Gayle I just got my HBS catalogue today and noticed the stuffed chair! I love it! Thats a great reason to start building.

I found the piece I was missing,it was hidden under the house (imagine)...and I finished the window,have to admit it was hard,but worth it,those windows are very special. But I had to trim a lot of the pieces,nothing was fitting right. At least Ill be prepared and the next one wont take as long (hopefully!)

Isnt it funny how you can study the directions,dry fit a thousand different ways and you think there must be some mistake...but then all of a sudden the clouds part and you understand what to do! Most of my problem is I dont take the instructions literally enough,I always try to make it harder than it is.

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okay, the foundation and walls are started. I sidetracked to cut a new opening for the kitchen door, cut an extra width for the front door, and remove the second story wall above the kitchen bay so I can extend it out and add windows and width in that upper room. I'm trying to be patient while the glue dries. I hate drippy wood glue, so might take a run to the hardware store and see if I can find the extra thick Elmers wood glue that I had once. My small table saw is up in the attic right now and it's a gazillion degrees too hot up there, so I managed to cut the new kitchen and front door openings with an x-acto knife. Youngest son is home right now and has his learner's permit, so I figured if I cut fingers off he could get me to the emergency room. No blood, at this stage.

I'm thinking about how I'll rework the stairs to go in this different space. I'm not in love with the tiny fireplaces in the kit and have two nice metal 'coal' ones I picked up as kits on sale last year that I'll use instead.

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Geez Gayle,when you get going you really get going! I wouldnt dare do any of those things.

Lets see,I spent the first part of the morning making mistakes,and the second part of the morning fixing them...note:if your going to use those vertical pieces of trim up the sides of the house,they have to go on BEFORE siding...Im sure anyone else would have figured that out on their own. Also im realizing that I should do the siding b4 the windows.Ive only done one window that is near siding (the other is a dormer).I figure I can cover most of these errors with some strategic moss,vine,spackle,decay...or all of the above:) I painted the roof in prep for paperclay tiles. Im on a break :wave:

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This is 'day 3' of my 4 days off from work, so I'm driven. I'm not afraid to make changes after building several houses. As Holly says, instructions are a guide, not written in stone.

However: road block/ bloody knuckle...that third floor 'floor' is not playing well with the others. I've wrestled/sworn/mashed/trimmed the tabs. I think it will be fine except the tab right in the middle front won't go in the slot. If I glue and clamp firmly, it should be solid enough, but it was a dirty fight we engaged in.

I've come downstairs for a band aid, and a medicinal glass of chardonnay and bowl of 'Moose Tracks' ice cream...I need REAL comfort!

Karin, I always do the siding before the windows. Others may disagree, but in my experience the windows cover the cut ends of the siding pieces and look more finished. Siding can be trimmed with a straight edge before sliding the window frames in. I don't think I'm going to use the thin siding included in my kit. I save every scrap of siding/trim/flooring from previous projects. I know I don't have enough 1:12 to do the whole outside, but I do have enough to cut the cost considerably in an order for more of the type I like to work with.

here are photos of the work in progress, the new Charleston chair, and coal fireplaces. My workspace is pretty tight and in the corner of our bedroom.

post-2290-1243713495_thumb.jpg

post-2290-1243713528_thumb.jpg

post-2290-1243713544_thumb.jpg

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What a coinsidence,I bled all over my dormer window just now. Cutting the tabs off with an extremely sharp exacto. (Shake it off,shake it off)...then I got shavings in the cut,so pretty sure it'll be infected soon! Im cutting the tabs from the tower top as well.

So, I see your waiting to do the stairway Gayle? Did you say youre putting it somewhere different?

I wasnt going to use the kit siding either,but I put little spacers (scrap wood) in between the layers and got a nice dimension,since Im going for an old look,I figure it will do,once its painted.

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I use a Stanley utility knife/ box-cutter with a retractable blade that I change frequently (except the one time before DH's reunion I didn't and sliced two right fingers to the BONE). I'm trying to wrap my mind around Chardonnay & "Moose Tracks" ice cream ( I drink Yeungling with my Lindt 70% coca DARK chocolate).

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Ouch Holly! yikes!

I love Moosetracks ice cream...Im dieting though so I can only daydream about it...ever notice that diet has the word 'die' in it? The best I can do is sugar free Jello and ice water,which Im really getting sick of.

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ooooo my love that sewing basket!!! its yummy :p and have had that fireplace on my ebay watch list on numerous occasions...nice to see it 'in the flesh' as it were....i like it :D

all these bashing ideas are fuelling me up to the 2 beacon bash i hope to do once i can afford the 2nd kit (after christmas i fear :p ) but alot to plan as its a big undertaking so i'll be stuck like glue to this thread now seeking ideas and trying to be helpful :p

Karin love the roof so far its going to look spectacular!!! :wave:

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Holly, I'm not a beer drinker. Grape and chocolate go fine together for dessert or as medicine for bloody knuckles and frayed temper on a weekend.

I have adjusted the ceiling so the stair will be 'code' for two floors. Karin, I'll try to do a taped 'mock up' of this tomorrow. I'm still too pumped to think it won't work, and have inspiration from HBMini's gallery BH. I'm still searching for some medium sized clamps I know we own...somewhere in the basement...or attic..or the family business store.... I really need those clamps!

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The only clamps Ive used is masking tape. Everything seems to be very solid,I used a LOT of wood glue on the main structure. Im sure with a bash its more complicated as far as clamping things.

Linda,I cant wait to see what you can come up with for two BHs together, its just crazy enough to be fabulous.

Gayle have you visited Ginas blog? She blogged the build in a lot of detail. http://moreminis.blogspot.com/

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This is a great thread :giggle:

Currently my BH is sitting in my family room...which is now "storage" for the rest of our lower level which had floor damage last fall. I haven't been able to work on it since last September, and I'm pretty sad about it....I can "get" to it, it's just that it's not a very good work area--everytime I start on something, I look around at the "renovation" and see all the stuff I should be doing,lol.

In the meantime, I build a Primrose, and completed the Spring Fling,and am currently working on the HBS gazebo contest....The only good thing, is once my lower level is complete, I will have my own craft room ....I'm sure I'll be able to be very productive there....lol

Anyhow, mine is about 80% complete....the interior is basically done...just a few touch ups here and there. The siding is done, but the roof needs to be shingled. (I think the roof was easier than I thought it would be---be brave, you can do it ! :D

I'm ready for those crazy windows! The thing is, I could bring them upstairs, do all the sanding and priming....and even paint everything.....BUT, I"m still not completely convinced on my color scheme for the windows....I think that's one of the main reasons I'm procrastinating....

I've learned a lot from this build...I hope to finish soon...I've been working on it, on and off for 2 yrs now...I'm not worried though...it'll be there ;)

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Karin, I have seen the rows of patterned shingles on RL Victorian-era houses both in SF and old towns in the Eastern US, and I don't think it's possible to overdo the BH (or any large house). I've mixed square with fishscale, but not with pointed, and I'll be interested to see how it looks finished on the mansard.

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Cathy, how nice to have a BH at that stage! I looked through your pictures and got inspired again! I'd forgotten I have a Lawbre conservatory kit! I even know where it is right now (saw it as I was searching for the clamps). I could attach that to the kitchen bay opening and use the kitchen windows in the room above (where I was going to duplicate the kitchen windows in). I even have an extra glass door. Now if I could just come across enough wood flooring to do the house (nope, not gonna happen)!

Karin, I'll check Gina's blog next.

Haven't had my coffee this morning, so can't go near saws and x-acto blades for a little while.

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