siding is next...

[lilpyrogirl]

Hey ya'll,

Ok, so it's day two of being a mini-homeowner...well, okay so I've OWNED it for a very long time, just day two of my attempt to make it puuurty.

Ok, so I have questions...

I bought some pretty clapboard siding and I think I have more than enough to cover the entire house but even so, would like to eliminate as many mistakes as possible before I start so I'm not searching the net for more of the same. It's clapboard siding.

1. Does it need to be sealed with a wood sealer? I did seal the parts of the exterior that weren't going to be covered with siding or shingles (ie. that would be painted) before I painted them. and, if yes, do I seal before applying to the house? This would be preferable but I'm worried it might warp.

2. Can I paint the siding before I put it on? I would much rather do this because it's going to butt up against some pieces of exterior trim that I already painted and I'm all for making life as easy as possible. If I can do this, should I paint all of it and then cut it or cut it all out and then paint it? Or does it not matter?

3. I wanted to put coach lights on the sides of the front door but in 'shopping' online I noticed the dimensions seem to be rediculous. Like one with replacable bulbs was 2" which just seems HUGE for a porch. Anyway, I'm going to have to go to the dollhouse store (which is a drive for me) to buy some lights but I wanted to go ahead and add siding. It would have been ideal to put the tapewire on the inside of the house for exterior coach lamps but the inside wall placement meant they either had to be too close to the door or they had to be too far away so my question is...are there any suggestions out there for ways to install the siding but leave a way to install an exterior wall mounted light if the tape is on the exterior? I did run the tape to the porch roof too so I can just put up a hanging porch light but I was really hoping for a fancy coach lamp. But, it is just seeming like too much trouble at this point...

4. I've read that you should cut out your window/door openings in the siding first and i've read that you should side over them and come back with a razor saw and cut them out. Preferences? I kind of like option 2 and I can see easily doing the up and down cuts this way but how do you turn the saw to do the bottom/top cuts?

Anyway, any tips/suggestions ya'll may have is greatly appreciated.

I also wrote a blog on a different site detailing day one's ordeals/lessons/trials/tribulations and if anyone is interested, the link is http://minimeshideaway.blogspot.com/

[Peggi]

Read your blog, roflmao--too funny. You can order the coach lights from minatures.com like I did or hope the nearest Hobby Lobby has them in stock.

The way I wired my lights in for the front door was after the siding was place on, I drilled little holes thru siding and wall and run the wires thru, then solder the wires to the tape. You could also run the wires along side your door. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the inside after we run this. But here is one before the wire was run Don't be afraid to turn the house upside down or sideways to work on it.

[lilpyrogirl]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed my blog. I have quite the sarcastic streak in my writing style. I wanted to upload the pictures to the blog but blogger isn't working right. I went to the help pages and there are tons of messages from people having the same problem so at least it's not user error.

yeah, I think my house is about to spend some time on its side. I really wanted to paint the siding before putting it on. So far i've only sealed it and it warped some but not very much and I used a lot of sealer so I doubt it'll warp anymore from paint. Even so, I'll glue it on there and then stack all my grad school books on top to flatten it out...they'd be more useful that way(the books that is).

The more I think about it the more i'm convincing myself to go ceiling mounted porch light.

[ilovecats]

*snicker*

I loved reading your blog. Looking forward to reading more about your progress (and seeing pic's..hint..hint) of your house. <_<

[havanaholly]

The first time I sided I applied the siding, painted it and then installed the window trim (already painted). Since your windows are apparently already IN, you could cover them with masking tape. You can try the painting first method, I can't think of why it mightn't work (well, I CAN) but if you're careful & do some experimenting with scrap wood & glues toget what you want first, you should prevail.

[lilpyrogirl]

Actually, the windows aren't in....the trim is the trim that is painted are the pieces on the edge of the house. I'll post a pic I took before I painted them. I thought about installing the siding before I painted anything but the probelm is that with clapboard siding I just didn't see being able to get a clean line where the clapboard meets the edge trim. Did I mention that i'm kind of obsessive compulsive? I mean, who else takes 2 hours to sketch their wiring diagram onto paper for future reference? Anyway, I just finished putting the second coat on the siding for the ends of the house. I'm really happy with the color and painting actually fixed some of the warping from the sealer. The warping is sooo slight that it won't be a problem getting it to straighten out when i glue it on I don't think. I can turn the house up on its ends and stack books and to do the front I have lots of places I can attach clamps.

However, do ya'll put some sort of urethane on after painting? The color is great but it's a flat color (didn't think to get glossy) so i was thinking I might put some shellac (sp?) or urethane on it to give it less of a matte look.

Ok, below are the pictures of the house. I got her as a shell on ebay pretty much as you see here but sans wiring. I've let her sit for about 5 years before this weekend when I FINALLY started working on her. I know, so sad I waited this long.

Also, do I need to prime the inside before I do wallpaper/carpet? I was reading a post earlier and someone mentioned probelms because they didn't prime. Never thought of that.

[LPCullen]

PSSTTTT!!!

April! Is this it?

http://www.realgoodtoys.com/index.php?PATH...&type=dollhouse

[lilpyrogirl]

That's it!!! Yay! And I can buy an addition for it according to the link you sent! Woo hoo, my dolls can have a bathroom or a sewing room or something...I"m sure I can come up with lots of uses. I could even put one on both sides and have even more choices... For now I'll stick with the main house and we'll see how we do before we go too far overboard.

[havanaholly]

the trim that is painted are the pieces on the edge of the house

Hmm. The first house I ever sided was the Westville. I traced around ALL the trim pieces onto the house first, then applied the siding. I had read on another forum to apply the trim over the siding, which I did for the edge trim & wound up applying most of the trim on top of the siding. It looked neat, but took up enough room I had to do surgery to fit the gingerbread trim. I would normally have omitted if the house had been for me, but it was for a customer. The pictures are in the Team Westville blog.

do ya'll put some sort of urethane on after painting? The color is great but it's a flat color... give it less of a matte look.

You're working in 1:12 scale, you decide how shiny you want it. You could spray an acrylic sealer over it before putting in the windows, I believe it comes in different finishes (semi-gloss, glossy).

do I need to prime the inside before I do wallpaper/carpet?

Since many of the glues we use are water-soluble, the bare wood will soak it up and leave bubbles or whatever in your paper. A bigger problem people may not think about until years later they notice their papers & fabrics becoming brown & brittle is that the acids in bare wood are oxidizing whatever's in direct contact with it. You don't have to prime if you use sanding sealer, although under wallpaper the primer covers knots & other grain colorations that might show through, as well as a smoother surface on which to hang paper.

I didn't mean to write a book here You asked some excellent questions

[heidiiiii]

ROFLMAO lilpyro!!!!

OMG! You have the paint brush thingy too?

If those brush strokes dont look just right I have to re-do it. Reminds me of ppl who have to have vacuum cleaner marks in the carpet.

I keep reminding myself that if I dont stop being so anal about everything, I will be 73yrs old and still painting the outside of the Marquam!! (im 29.999999)

Keep up the good work and I will love reading your progress.

My cats are minifreaks too!

[lilpyrogirl]

writing books is not only appreciated, but preferred. First dollhouse, playing sponge over here trying to 'soak up' all the info. Anyway, luckily my office has a historical preservation department so right now (since I don't have any projects to work on) I"m going through victorian period restoration and furnishing guides. Too bad she doesn't have one for paint colors but oh well. I saw something that I really like but I'm a long way from being ready to do it and by then I'd probably rather gouge an eye out but there is a picture of some ornate crown molding and it's all painted so each surface is a different color. Talk about a situation where some OCD would be a nightmare. But, probably impossible in mini-scale unless your other hobby is doing those paintings on grains of rice I see at flea markets and such. Anyway, thanks for the info on primer. I may do a spray on glossy sealer but I don't have to decide right away.

Opinions on porch floor color? The house is going to be settler's blue which is a bluish grey and reminds me of williamsburg blue. The trim is buttercream which looks like buttercream icing (sort of a yellowish beige). I haven't decided on door/shutter color but the question is should I go ahead and do the porch floor in buttercream or do it the same color as the front door? I've seen examples going both ways. AND if you have suggestions for door/shutter color, i'm all ears. I know, easier to suggest when you can see pictures of hte colors and I will try to post some today. Just keep in mind that I can't do baby pink colors. Coral is okay and burgundys are good but I'm not a pepto bismol fan.

I also have to buy trim for edges of the roof and porch roof. Some was included when I bought it but it's only enough to do the front and not the sides and I'd like trim all the way around. Plus, it's a weird design that I don't care for particularly.

[heidiiiii]

I am lucky on the victorian color front. I live in a very old city (New London, CT) and my dh is being painted the color of my FAVORITE victorian in the whole town!

And the house is actually polyed so shiny you could go blind looking at it.

[Charlene]

You're making great progress!

I don't use siding sheets anymore -- use the individual wood planks which I find much easier to work with. But, since you're using siding sheets & the windows are already in, if you're unsure of using the saw, make a paper template of the side you're doing, then trace the pattern onto your siding & cut. Takes the uncertainty out of it. And I'd definitely paint the siding first.

As to your coach lamps. Generally, these things come with really long wires so your tapewire does not need to be directly behind the lamp on the inside. Just place the hole where you want it (thru the siding), pull the wire through, keep it close to (or under) the interior trim work so that it's hidden and run it to the available tapewire in the closest area & wire it in. I do this all the time since I don't like having tapewire under the exterior finishes.

[havanaholly]

I'm not a pepto bismol fan.

Quick, someone link April to the Pepto Palace pictures! lol

Sorry, April, I'd assumed you were using the individual siding strips, not the sheets. I use the strips, much better control for lap distances, etc.

Unless you just MUST paint the porsch, and don't want "wood", what about doing it "sealed concrete" gray?

[Minis On The Edge]

Here you go! One Pepto palace coming up :

Just click on the picture to go to her album

[havanaholly]

Thanks, Tracy, that is just awesomely PANK!

[Minis On The Edge]

I think that was why she called it Pepto Palace (Pepto Bismo stomach stuff is "Pank" (pink) )

[lilpyrogirl]

WOW...that is....wow. The inside is beautiful though...and I'm sure a pink lover can appreciate all that...PANK (said with souther drawl)!!!!

Update for tonight, The house is on it's side with siding up one side now! Woo hoo! I didn't get both sides done because i decided to go with a 3rd coat of paint (reference: ocd) and hello, that was the most exciting 3rd period of a hockey game...how could I multi-task while jumping up and down on teh couch screaming? but, I did get the siding for the front cut and sealed. Ran out of siding before I got to the gables and uh...what's 'gable' called on the sides...uh...think think think... Anyway, won't have enough so I'll etiher be buying more siding or shingling the gables.

decisions decisions....

[havanaholly]

Actually I think shingling the gables would look really lovely, especially the "fish scale" type or other shaped shingles (OK, everyone, three time fast in unison..).

[ilovecats]

Here you go! One Pepto palace coming up :

Just click on the picture to go to her album

wow! gorgeous house!

[Charlene]

Actually I think shingling the gables would look really lovely, especially the "fish scale" type or other shaped shingles (OK, everyone, three time fast in unison..).

Oh yes, definitely fish scale -- seen them in 'reality' and they add just the perfect touch.

(By the way, I couldn't say it once without trippin' over my tongue!!! Have I had too much coffee?)

[cjack]

April, I just read your blog. Too funny! You have a real talent for writing. The comments about the cats is soooooo true. I am building my first little house and I have four of the little darlings always ready to help out. Keep up the good work!