Building my Orchid

[dorn27]

And no, I haven't taken any pictures yet.

I will. But there has been so much sanding and painting I didn't want to drag my camera into the mess. (Maybe I should charge up the big chunky old one...)

So far, it's been going very well. I did have a few moments of "OMG this is a lot of stuff!", but one by one I've sorted it out as it's called for and haven't had any more panic.

I've completed my windows. I didn't glue them in as the instructions said, I want to put up siding and then put in the windows. I plan to trace the windows, trim and frames once all those parts are complete. But how do you temporarily attach them to trace with accuracy?

The only complaint I have is the plastic glass. While it's nice, functional and cheap for a beginner house, I do not like that the 'edges' will have to show in the house. It seems 'raw' to me that the kit calls for all this careful outside trim and some inside trim to make them look like real windows... and yet I've got a piece of plastic stuck to a frame that is going to show inside my home.

I've sort of got my door done. It doesn't fit inside the doorframe. It needs major sanding and wood putty on the edges I guess. I'm saving that for a nice fall day and my knock off dremel type tool.

I've also sanded my floors and main walls.

But now I've come to an issue.

My life... is controlled by birds. Parrots. Two (currently screaming) parrots. Who I love dearly, have raised from babies for the last 10 years and have controlled every aspect of our life for years. I actually evacuated them to my mothers to paint my living room (even though I bought no VOC paint). I can absolutely NOT varnish or fumes in this house. Fumes from most anything are toxic to birds. I figured I'd take the floors outside to seal and paint the house (a lovely green from my leftover living room job). It's satin paint, very high quality with primer and paint in one. I only needed one coat in my living room... and they're textured walls!

I've used acrylic craft paints for the trim and windows so far but I've used them around the birds for years and they are non-toxic. Thats the only thing I've painted... but now I'm wondering.... should I be spray sealing or varnishing these pieces? And if so, what about my windows that I've not assembled but already secured the glass panes in? Should I pop them out and spray those? Should I cover the glass and spray them?

The instructions (maybe I just missed it or skipped it since I'm quite crafty) didn't mention anything about varnishing/coating painted surfaces. But, now I'm wondering.

Thanks for reading all that! Should I spray/seal/vanish trim, windows, ect and how do I trace the windows for siding prep?

[sparklepuppies]

Hi Kristi!

Can't wait to see pictures of your progress! Sounds like you're having lots of fun.

I have never sprayed/sealed/varnished any of my window trim. And as far as I know, they're fine.

I've heard of people attaching their window trims temporarily with wax or poster putty while they trace around them or even while they are installing siding.

Good luck!

[havanaholly]

I don't seal/ varnish anything, especially once it's painted; stain depends on the finish I'm going for.

To trace around trim for siding I hold the trim securely in place with the hand not holding the pencil.

I don't understand your issue with the acetate inserts; are you saying it extends out beyond the outer edges of the frames? I've never built a GL or CC kit that I had that issue. When I make windows from "scratch" trace the inner opening of the frame onto the acetate I'm going to insert, using a black sharpie pen, and then cut around the outside of the marker line. I run a very thin glue bead around the inside of the back of the frame and lay it over the piece of acetate (I use white tacky glue to attach the clear acetate). If I had a too-large piece of acetate for a window, first I'd make sure it was the correct piece for that window. I guess I'm OCD, I dry fit everything!

[dorn27]

The window 'glass' is actually smaller than the widow frame (but not smaller than the window hole), so the plastic doesn't come flush to the outer edge. Basically, on the backside of the window I've got a rim of wood that is not covered by plastic, so there is a less shiny edge that I feel looks raw and unfinished. Does the make more sense? The wood window frame is bigger than the plastic piece. I'm considering painting the part of the plastic that overlaps on the wood, so that area looks like paint rather than shiny from the plastic.

I am having a ton of fun and watching a show on Netflix while I do it.

[LindaC]

you sound like me moving birds out for this or that. I have 8 here from tiny zebra finch up to quaker parrot so all small ones. Their tiny systems just can't take the fumes so you are right there.

Anything I am in doubt about I take outside. I put newspaper down on picnic table and waxed paper over that so things don't stick and go to it.

good luck,

LindaC

[KathieB]

The only complaint I have is the plastic glass. While it's nice, functional and cheap for a beginner house, I do not like that the 'edges' will have to show in the house. It seems 'raw' to me that the kit calls for all this careful outside trim and some inside trim to make them look like real windows... and yet I've got a piece of plastic stuck to a frame that is going to show inside my home.

Kristi, did you glue the plastic between the wall and the trim or on the outside of the trim? I've made a couple of Orchids and have not experienced what you are describing. It is designed so that the plastic is sandwiched between the wall and trim, so the edges of the plastic are completely enclosed, not visible at all. If you glued the entire window unit together, you're going to have to try to pop off the inside trim before installing it in the house.

But now I've come to an issue.

I've used acrylic craft paints for the trim and windows so far but I've used them around the birds for years and they are non-toxic. Thats the only thing I've painted... but now I'm wondering.... should I be spray sealing or varnishing these pieces? And if so, what about my windows that I've not assembled but already secured the glass panes in? Should I pop them out and spray those? Should I cover the glass and spray them?

As for sealing: it is recommended to put some kind of seal on the raw wood before applying paint or wallpaper in order to prevent the chemicals in the wood from eventually migrating through to discolor the paint or wallpaper. It can be sealed with a latex paint, anything you have at hand. At the moment, I'm working on a can of white, flat-finish, latex ceiling paint left over from a real house painting project. No fumes. Sometimes I use gesso to seal. Also no fumes. Very few folks use the alcohol/shellac mixture recommended in the instruction sheet.

There is no need to seal or coat a finished surface, such as your already painted window frames. If you wish to add a clear coat to change the finish of a detail, you can use a waterbased polyacrylic product. No fumes. Mine happens to be made by Minwax, but there are other brands as well. It is painted on, not sprayed.

The instructions (maybe I just missed it or skipped it since I'm quite crafty) didn't mention anything about varnishing/coating painted surfaces. But, now I'm wondering.

I sometimes get ahead of myself, too. I've learned to read the instructions several times to get the feel of the build before jumping in. While some of the construction is fairly obvious and one can jump around a bit, often there are steps that must be followed in order for a satisfactory conclusion.

Thanks for reading all that! Should I spray/seal/vanish trim, windows, ect and how do I trace the windows for siding prep?

As Holly mentioned above, you can just hold the window frame in place while you trace around it. I wouldn't use tacky wax or anything to hold it in place. The residue from it may be troublesome when you get around to gluing the frames in.

[havanaholly]

I guess I should have mentioned that I do my tracing before I actually glue the house together, either before or after the dry fit.

[dorn27]

I haven't glued anything in place other than attaching the clear plastic to the 8 sashes (for 4 double hung windows). If I understand right (and I'm off to check), the house wall will cover up the raw edge? That makes me happy... I should have figured that.

Also, for the record, standard latex paint for homes does have fumes. Even low odor paints have an odor... and if you can smell it, it's a fume that is probably toxic to birds/parrots. There are actually a lot of fumes people can't smell that are toxic to birds too. Non-stick pans can kill parrots when heated, it was once thought it was only bad if they were super heated (or burned on) but now we've found thats not true. Febreeze spray, most cleaning chemicals, any burning candle, new fire places... have all been known to kill parrots or entire 'flocks' at home. My plumber used some sort of very stinky sealant, that sent me into hysterics over the summer and had me propping up two box fans and shutting off my AC so it wouldn't circulate. Makes me sound like a looney, but a friend of mine lost 14 parrots from one new fireplace as it burned off a protective coating that did not smell dangerous and had no warnings about ventilation. It was very very sad.

My parrots were out for 4 days from no VOC, low odor paint because I could still smell it.

I do use bleach in the laundry for towels and I have one type of 'green' cleaner I have deamed safe... and we use laundry soap and dish soaps, but otherwise everything here is chemical free.

My husband also had cancer 6 years ago. I bring this up because many oncologists now recommend discontinuing the use of non-stick pans. One by one, things we've discovered kill birds are being linked to cancer. We have happily eliminated everything, double benefit in my eyes.

I won't use anything in the house that sprays from a can (other than cooking spray that is 100% olive oil)... I can't remember my last nonstick pan. But I've learned a lot of trick for cleaning SS pans!!

[havanaholly]

Kristi, dry fitting has helped me muddle through mini "duh" moments!

[amyole]

I have done the windows in my Orchid, also without this issue. Are you sure that you have the correct plastic for the window (i.e. not a piece for the bay window because they are a little smaller)? That's my only thought. I will admit that I have sometimes had to trim the plastic because it has protruded beyond the trim (I'm far from an expert in this hobby), but that is easily corrected with the xacto knife.

[dorn27]

I figured it all out, the edge I was concerned about showing will indeed be completely covered by 'wall'. I did take a picture on the macro setting of my camera (and blew it up very large... it doesn't look this rough in real life!). Just so you could see what I was concerned about, the plastic didn't fall completely to the edge and I was thinking when I placed it that would show. But lining it up on the house front has shown me it will indeed be covered, clean and finished.

[havanaholly]

Hurrah!