macduff Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I just picked up a partially completed Artply Barrington on CL. The house was put together using hot glue, and I'm wondering if I should take it apart and re-glue it with wood glue. What do you think? I was thinking maybe I could use a hair dryer to melt the glue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Andrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DorothyB Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Why take it apart? Is it poorly put together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audra Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 From what I have heard here, is that hot glue won't hold long term on wood. Might as well take it apart and redo it before it falls apart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macduff Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 I had heard bad things about hot glue as well. I think it has been quite a few years since the house was originally put together, so I was worried about the hot glue not holding. I haven't really inspected it closely to see how well it's put together. I'm trying to clear some space in my workroom, and in the meantime the house is sitting in the corner of the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHGranny Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Hummm,I took my hot glued one apart.Basically the pieces popped apart easily,then you just pull the glue off.If I came to a piece that was still firmly glued,I just found some areas on those pieces where there was no hot glue and just loaded the crack between with carpenters glue.So.if the pieces are loose,take it apart,if they are firm just find a place to squeeze in some good glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHGranny Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 One more thing,on mine the hot glue didn't seem to hold on painted areas,they were really falling apart.The places where both pieces of wood were unpainted were not so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 If the house was built with the old, high-temp melt hot glue it might be OK, unless there are lots of drips & globs. If it's coming loose or pieces have begun to drop off, I would recommend removing the rest of the hot glue (a hairdryer is probably OK, for the houses I've rehabbed a heat gun worked out best to get the places that had been painted over) and rebuilding it properly with wood glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caseymini Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 My first Harrison was a floor model from a craft store here in town. The crazy people had put it together with hot glue. Luckily, it was not painted. The store stopped carrying dollhouse things and I got it for very little money. When I got it home, it was already coming apart. All I had to do was tap it here and there and it literally fell to pieces. I wouldn't use hot glue if someone paid me to do so. It just isn't meant for this kind of application. Go for heavy bodied white glue or wood glue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 This one I bought to rehab is done a little differently. gobs of glue in some places, none in others. Old yellow carpenter's glue, too. It looks like she glued down the corner posts on the house, but not the bottom siding panels. It is literally only stuck to the foundation at the corners of the house. Tons of glue on the stair case, but again, the roof is only glued down to the corners pieces. The roof pretty much popped right off and the house is off the foundation. But you couldn't get the stairs out, without a demolition crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Sounds like the first house I attempted to rehab, I really needed to disassemble it to do what it seemed to want, but there was no way without destroying it, so I gave it a repaint. Give me a hot-glued house to rehab every time! It may take a while to take apart and will definitely destroy the windows & trims; but windows built with hot glue are already a lost cause and VERY easy to make better ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennywren Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Congrats on your find! I would love to find a Barrington someday, it's a beautiful house :thumb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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