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I got the kitchen terra cotta floor glued on today. Working with the Romney tiles has been a good experience. I will seal them this week, and cut down to the template. I hope that part goes well, I'm kinda nervous about it. They say to glue on things that extend beyond your template, then use a saw/hacksaw to cut to template. I'm hoping the tiles are easy to cut down that way. I would normally have cut each tile to size on the sides and then glued them but we shall see. I will grout them as well. 

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I primed the Arthur today - first coat. Next week will be the second coat and then I can start electrifying it.

I also figured out what I'm going to do with Bramble.

To begin with, I'm going to use large beams in the basement the same way I used the beam in the Glencroft. I'll saw a couple of openings for the beams in the side walls and through the divider, insert them, and let them distribute the weight of the house on top. I'll also extend them about 8" out from the side of the house and then make a porch on top of them (remember, my door is floating 9" up in the air now). I'm adding one small closed-in area to be the entry, and here's where it gets fun (or weird, take your pick).

I decided to set the entry facing towards the open back, which means the front door faces the open back. Well, it's a house on a hill, as I told Lisa. In fact, the little people park above the house and walk down, so I may even take a couple of steps and build them down and attach them to the porch that way. Instead of a stairway leading up to the porch, I'll have a couple steps of a stairway leading down to the porch and the front door.

I guess I'm not exactly going to have a living room downstairs after all. That will be the library and office. However, I am going to saw an opening for double French doors under the stairs so that the little people can go outside onto the stone porch which is underneath the porch upstairs. Making that a porch as well allows me to put some large posts in to further support the porch on top.

I'll be working on the basement in the next week or so and when my wood arrives and after I get the beams, I'll start working on the porch/entry. The worst is taking out the lower wall in Bramble and moving it back - for that I have to take off the porch roof. So fun.

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1 hour ago, miniaddicted said:

I got the kitchen terra cotta floor glued on today. Working with the Romney tiles has been a good experience. I will seal them this week, and cut down to the template. I hope that part goes well, I'm kinda nervous about it. They say to glue on things that extend beyond your template, then use a saw/hacksaw to cut to template. I'm hoping the tiles are easy to cut down that way. I would normally have cut each tile to size on the sides and then glued them but we shall see. I will grout them as well. 

Maybe the directions already tell you, but I like to cover the tile I'm cutting with masking tape. It seems like I get cleaner cuts that way. Maybe you could try it with a spare tile and see if it works well for you. Also, changing the blade every few tiles also seems to make quicker and cleaner work of the job. Good luck! It's going to look wonderful!

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So, the art studio is going to have a shingled exterior. I'm going to install the door and windows first, and I'm thinking that I should also install the edge and corner trim as well? Yes? For the back edge, I think it would look neater to have the shingles butt up against it, rather than lay something on top. Same thing for the front corners. Any arguments against that?  

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I finally opened the box with my Fairfield!!!!   Messed around for a while labeling parts etc.   Its Sooooooooooo  teeny tiny!   This really hit me when I started gluing the foundation pieces.   Also,  I 've not done a house with so many pieces so I am sure you will hear from me yelling " HELP"!!!     :rolleyes:

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10 minutes ago, Roxxie2 said:

I finally opened the box with my Fairfield!!!!   Messed around for a while labeling parts etc.   Its Sooooooooooo  teeny tiny!   This really hit me when I started gluing the foundation pieces.   Also,  I 've not done a house with so many pieces so I am sure you will hear from me yelling " HELP"!!!     :rolleyes:

I  wasn't blowing smoke when I said I dry fit each of mine at least three times.

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3 hours ago, Roxxie2 said:

I finally opened the box with my Fairfield!!!!   Messed around for a while labeling parts etc.   Its Sooooooooooo  teeny tiny!   This really hit me when I started gluing the foundation pieces.   Also,  I 've not done a house with so many pieces so I am sure you will hear from me yelling " HELP"!!!     :rolleyes:

I really want to get this house. I always read  that it's small.  Never quite get the image in my head.lol  I have been wanting to make a house to keep. This one being smaller in size might just work. Greenleaf describes...detailed ½" scale dollhouse no bigger than a placemat. :eek: 

So I'm working on the doors for my colonial rehab. I need to buy knobs this weekend for my doors. Then I'm going to finish painting the outside of house. I also need to get windows and the trim inside. Think I'm get a notebook so I can make a "to do list". The more I think, the more I realize I need to redo this or that. I'm so hyped! Lol.  

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3 hours ago, Roxxie2 said:

I finally opened the box with my Fairfield!!!!   Messed around for a while labeling parts etc.   Its Sooooooooooo  teeny tiny!   This really hit me when I started gluing the foundation pieces.   Also,  I 've not done a house with so many pieces so I am sure you will hear from me yelling " HELP"!!!     :rolleyes:

Roxy I'm currently building the Fairfield as my first house build. There are soon many pieces! I'm currently on my second dry fit while I make adjustments. I'm thinking about removing the chimney piece on the attic level as I want to divide that level into several rooms. Holly is so right! Dry fit! Dry fit! Dry fit!

 

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Sadly, instead of mini-ing, I've been dealing with health crapola, homeschooling, trucking the hobbit everywhere, and... hosting a princess party. With dollhouses. They were a hit. :) My wee beastie is the one in the foreground. 

2017-01-28_13.47.25.jpg

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You can say that again Scott!   I am a bit intimidated and this isn't my first build by any stretch..   I just started and looking at the directions for that chimney and center wall with the fireplaces makes me want to put it all back in the box!    I do have some pictures of Gina's build that ishould help me but moving anything around from its assigned place at the moment would do me in.  LOL   I might be asking you for help!  
As for its size,  its very tiny.  I was shocked when I got out the first floor and really looked at the size of the footprint and how small the rooms really are.   I will have to be very careful to dryfit before I glue!  

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On 1/22/2017, 9:24:22, Its_a_sm_world_after_all said:

 

On 1/22/2017, 8:09:03, miniaddicted said:

I got the kitchen terra cotta floor glued on today. Working with the Romney tiles has been a good experience. I will seal them this week, and cut down to the template. I hope that part goes well, I'm kinda nervous about it. They say to glue on things that extend beyond your template, then use a saw/hacksaw to cut to template. I'm hoping the tiles are easy to cut down that way. I would normally have cut each tile to size on the sides and then glued them but we shall see. I will grout them as well. 

Maybe the directions already tell you, but I like to cover the tile I'm cutting with masking tape. It seems like I get cleaner cuts that way. Maybe you could try it with a spare tile and see if it works well for you. Also, changing the blade every few tiles also seems to make quicker and cleaner work of the job. Good luck! It's going to look wonderful!

The directions actually said to use a saw, not a knife. So I grabbed my miter saw and flipped the floor over, so I could see the overlap and just started sawing. It actually went better than I expected, and the cuts were fairly clean. They will be covered by baseboard but I had visions of the entire tile coming off while trying to cut. That wasn't the case at all.  I grouted it and here's the finished floor:

 cuttingtile.thumb.jpg.e1dc6c442603515380    large.Kitchen_floor_finished.jpg.72a2da4

 

 

 

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22 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Ah, yes, that center wall!  Now you see why I dry fit mine so many times.

Now you have me worried!    :cry:You know how dyslexic I am!   
I just started staining the floors.  I just stain the wood I like how the color looks so far. 

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3 hours ago, LadyGunn said:

Sadly, instead of mini-ing, I've been dealing with health crapola, homeschooling, trucking the hobbit everywhere, and... hosting a princess party. With dollhouses. They were a hit. :) My wee beastie is the one in the foreground. 

2017-01-28_13.47.25.jpg

Sorry you're dealing with health issues.  I hope you're better soon.

I love that you hosted a princess party with dollhouses and that the kids enjoyed it! 

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Roxy, I think you'll do just fine!  Do dry fit, I found a few places doing that center wall that I got head of myself.  The instructions confused me, which is why I dry fit so much.  I'm not really dyslectic, but I'm a tactile learner.

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I have been lurking while things calm down around here.... after doing too much  with Wedding/cruise I  had a major flair up of  now diagnosed osteoporosis  in my hips after the cruise followed immediately with biting celery and it going directly to my nerve thus sending me to the dentist for the removal of 3 teeth...sigh and since it doesnt rain but pour we've had another issue with the house which has pushed our move to NOW...and I am in the midst of packing our house up...tomorrow the niche...the Queen is almost empty for the move but is still decorated for the holidays... we havent found our new place but I will be ready to go when we do...until then I shall be lurking:batman:

 

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The floor looks amazing, Heidi! Now I want to do a southwest build just so I can work with those tiles! Love them!

Linda - I love the shingle exterior idea! Can't wait to see it! I think that you are right about having the shingles butt up to the trim. Maybe just paint the shingle color/tone in a strip next to the trim in case something can be seen under it?

Roxy - have fun with the build! You'll do great with the half scale and I bet you are ready for a new challenge to conquer! 

Nutti - When it rains it really does poor, right? What a lot of giant challenges you've been given for several months now. I am sending prayers for quick healing of the hip flare up and that you'll find a perfect home situation.

Holly - Your son is so lucky to have such caring and helpful parents. We can handle the worst so much better when we have that kind of love around us. My prayers are sent for all of you, as well.

Kelly - you are crazy but I love how big your dreams are! Can't wait to see the whole build! It sounds wonderful!

Maria - just the best thing I've read in a long time! Those girls are going to treasure that memory all their lives!

If I missed you, I apologize - life has been absolutely challenging and full for us too since right before Thanksgiving. I'm lurking when possible, and now that I have the new computer set up and running (long story) I should be able to participate more often.

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13 hours ago, Roxxie2 said:

You can say that again Scott!   I am a bit intimidated and this isn't my first build by any stretch..   I just started and looking at the directions for that chimney and center wall with the fireplaces makes me want to put it all back in the box!    I do have some pictures of Gina's build that ishould help me but moving anything around from its assigned place at the moment would do me in.  LOL   I might be asking you for help!  
As for its size,  its very tiny.  I was shocked when I got out the first floor and really looked at the size of the footprint and how small the rooms really are.   I will have to be very careful to dryfit before I glue!  

The instructions are full on! And the chimney and stairs are fiddley : - p Although not as difficult as the instructions make them out to be! I would recommend getting some tape and trying to put them together. Once you have the pieces out on the table it's easy to slot together and hold with tape! Give it a go! Don't be scared! : - ) 

 I've decided today that I'm NOT going to use that fire place section! Rather I'm going to rebuild it myself (out of 3mm balsa wood) as I'm only going to do fire places in the lounge n maybe the room directly above it. So it's going to be half the width it currently is - well that's the plan! I might change my mind by tomorrow ha!

Happy to help  any time : - ) 

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Well, Lynette, you sure don't fool around!  I guess it's better to get all this "stuff" over with at once.  We are dealing with DS coughing & generally feeling crappy, and I suspect in addition to ceiling insulation and God knows how many years of dust he got to breathe in a few black mold spores before we got his message and brought him out of that mess.

I had to use all those fireplaces in both the houses I built, since it was what they wanted; along with the built in shelves.  I managed to find two resin chimneybreasts that were lovely, and I made a couple from foamcore, but I also found that HO scale culverts worked nicely, too.  Roxy, remember that I bashed the bejeezis out of both kits, plus built the second one inside out so it would be a mirror image, so I rather set myself up for a hard time...

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5 hours ago, aussieguy84 said:

 I've decided today that I'm NOT going to use that fire place section! Rather I'm going to rebuild it myself (out of 3mm balsa wood) as I'm only going to do fire places in the lounge n maybe the room directly above it. So it's going to be half the width it currently is - well that's the plan! I might change my mind by tomorrow ha!

I had thought a similar thing of not using the fireplaces because I have a couple of small standing fireplaces that are so cute I want to use them....I think!   Then, I am not using the rooms exactly as designated.   I have a grand piano I want to use for the music room.  So no dining room, an music room instead ( I almost always have a piano or other instruments in my houses).    Anyway,  I am glad you are that much ahead of me I might be picking your brain for help.  
I stained the first floor and already broke my own rule to not use real wood stain.  The odor kills me!    So the other floors will be paint stain instead.  That's as far as I have gone!
I am wondering at the moment how you leave out the fireplaces anyway?  I haven't gotten that far into the build yet to picture how it goes together let alone leaving something out!   :rolleyes:

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Question:   Can you actually see the inside of the tower when the house is assembled?  I looked at a bunch of photos and I don't see that view in any of them.   Can you actually put furnishings into the tower? 

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41 minutes ago, Roxxie2 said:

Question:   Can you actually see the inside of the tower when the house is assembled?...

No.  I opened up the tower room in one of my Fairfields, since servants' quarters and a nursery are in the attic, and I needed a utility bathroom (the doorway is covered by a curtain, and when DS took the pictures I had left it down):

utility bathroom.JPG

I hung a Foucault's Pendulum from under the roof of the other tower, so I had to cut away the prt of the second floor tht was underneath the tower:

inside out interior 2.JPG

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3 hours ago, Roxxie2 said:

Question:   Can you actually see the inside of the tower when the house is assembled?  I looked at a bunch of photos and I don't see that view in any of them.   Can you actually put furnishings into the tower? 

You can sort of see in through the windows.  Some people create a door into the room.  I would have had to change the roof line, and that was more than I felt comfortable doing, so I  didn't go that route.  Instead, I left the tower roof removable.  Yes, you can definitely put furnishings inside.  I turned mine into a little steampunk wizard's room.

588e5eee2f3c5_FairfieldTower.jpg.20d8d43

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