Beacon Hill Builders: The Next Generation

[wytchy]

So, I finally blew the dust of my Beacon Hill today and decided it was high time to put the front bay and side bay windows in. However... from reading the descriptions it sounds like you need to put the sills in layer by layer. I've test-tried it but I don't like the way it fits the window, especially if you have to paint layer by layer as well. Has anybody tried gluing small, medium, large together, painting it and then fitting it into the bays?

Some help and advice would be appreciated....

 

rgds,

[clairevc]

Actually I just started to paint each layer after dry-fitting the sills in. Some fit tight and others are ok. As far as glueing them, I haven't. I'm going to try the direction method first, putting an exterior then the interior in, layer by layer. Now if for some reason that doesn't work then I will glue small, medium, & large together and sand/cut ends to fit. Like I said, I did dry fit them first and it seemed to work.

[dkumpula]

On mine, I glued the three layers of the sills first.  This allowed me to get the set-back of each progressive layer just the way I wanted them.  My gluing method for the layered sills was wood glue in the middle and tiny dots of hot glue on each end.  After the hot glue had set, I sanded the notches so that the three pieces fit correctly into the window opening and then glued that in place with just wood glue.  I could have painted the three joined sills before inserting them into the window, but I didn't have a paint/stain scheme worked out yet.  It wasn't too hard to stain at a later point, though.

 

-David

[clairevc]

David I love your house. You did an amazing job with it. I'm away in Williamsburg, VA right now so I'm away from my BH. Getting withdrawals bad. I work on the house most days for hours at a clip. My next step will be to paint the main color to the siding. I did read your post about it warping. Also I bought the copper for the bays, too. Someone made ridges with small sticks/dowels under the copper and it really looks nice. I have to find a stick that will bend easily on the bays roofs. Thanks for all of your posts and advice along the way...

[wytchy]

thnx david and claire. think i will go for davids approach and glue and paint the sills together first and then fit them into the bays...

[Selkie]

BBQ skewers are flexible and available for the supermarket cheap.

[dkumpula]

Someone made ridges with small sticks/dowels under the copper and it really looks nice. I have to find a stick that will bend easily on the bays roofs. Thanks for all of your posts and advice along the way...

 

That's something I wish I had done, Claire!  In fact, there are several things I would do differently if I built another, but I suppose that's the joy of learning.  Oh, on a related note, if you plan on 'aging' the copper, be sure to keep the exposed side completely free of glue.  I had a tiny bit that I wiped off on the edges (I thought completely) and it was still enough to not take the aging correctly.

 

As always, have fun!

 

-David

[dkumpula]

So its almost my little one's third birthday, so I decided to invest some time in her BH again starting with lighting.  I'm competent with electrical / electronics work and planned on hand wiring the house myself, but I changed my mind last week and purchased a Cir-kit system.  I hoped to save time and effort cutting slots in the walls.  I've completed about a fifth of the house's electrical in a couple hours this morning and I'm glad I went with the tapewire approach thus far.  It is incredibly easy to install just by cutting small slots between the floors with my trusty rotary tool.

 

Now I'm looking at lighting fixtures and thinking I may just go with bare bulbs in many locations for now as the light fixtures are delicate and in some cases very expensive.  (I have crystal chandeliers in my 1:1 house that cost less than the higher end 1:12 fixtures!)  My three year old has kept damage down to a minimum thus far (minor damage to some furnishings), but I still think she's too young for proper light fixtures.

[Selkie]

Agreed. Even one of some of those mini lights is way more than the sum total of all my RL hand-me-down lamps!!

Beads and jewelry findings can be glued together for inexpensive lamps. Thread the wires up through, add a handmade paper shade, and if they break you lost a dollar or so instead of mega bucks.

[KathieB]

Just because you have the wiring in place doesn't mean you have to install the lights. A three-year-old is going to be more into hands-on playing with the house and not so much in awe of lights. You can always install them in a few years, when having the house light up really means something. And don't forget, she's not the only one who will be playing with it. Her young playmates will probably not be as careful as she is. In fact, I'd almost guarantee it.

[clairevc]

OK I'm trying to find blogs on assembling the exterior brackets that are made up of three individual pieces??? I understand the directions, however they look a little funny. The larger one in the middle doesn't line up???Can't get the backs flush. Suggestions, please.

[dkumpula]

OK I'm trying to find blogs on assembling the exterior brackets that are made up of three individual pieces??? I understand the directions, however they look a little funny. The larger one in the middle doesn't line up???Can't get the backs flush. Suggestions, please.

 

Sorry for the delayed response, Clair, but the middle piece isn't supposed to be flush with the other two.  (I spent forever looking at pics myself.)  Sandwich it in the middle or do whatever you think looks good.  I've seen several of the builds by the folks here missing the brackets, installing them upside down as well as other variations.

 

Those little pieces probably caused me the most effort of the entire build as mine were in pretty bad shape and required lots of wood-fill and what seemed like an eternity of sanding.  I'm hoping you have better luck!

 

-David

[dkumpula]

 

And don't forget, she's not the only one who will be playing with it. Her young playmates will probably not be as careful as she is. In fact, I'd almost guarantee it.

 

Would it be wrong to ban other children from playing with it?? ;)

[KathieB]

Would it be wrong to ban other children from playing with it?? ;)

 

Good luck with that. Kids will be kids, eh?

[clairevc]

OK Beacon Hill builders...I'm going to start to shingle!!!! Need some advice. I read somewhere that you turn the bottom row upside down first then apply second row??? Also I decided to shingle first then stain them. Probably easier that way. All suggestion would be helpful...Thanks in advance for your experiences

[havanaholly]

OK Beacon Hill builders...I'm going to start to shingle!!!! Need some advice. I read somewhere that you turn the bottom row upside down first then apply second row??? Also I decided to shingle first then stain them. Probably easier that way. All suggestion would be helpful...Thanks in advance for your experiences

I'm not a Beacon Hill builder but I have shingled a build or two.  To achieve an initial angle on the bottom row you can either lay a narrow length of stripwood or a row of half-shingles along the roof edge and then lay your courses of shingles over that.  I haven't done it, since I have watched roofers roofing the houses I've lived in and I don't recall seeing them do that.  On occasion I have waited until the shingles were on to stain them.  Between the missed glue drips that resist stain and the places where stain would not thoroughly cover the overlap, I will never do it again.  The roof just looks better if the shingles are stained first and on a Beacon Hill I wouldn't mess around.  Of course that is just my opinion and it's your build.

[KathieB]

Claire, I'm with Holly on the staining. The stain won't get into all of the spaces between shingles or cover any spots of glue (even if you've wiped them off, enough residue is left to repel the stain). It's going to look like a hot mess unless you spend oodles of hours with a three-hair brush poking stain into all of the nooks and crannies -- and even then you'll miss some. It will take a lot less time to stain the shingles first.

 

And while the shingles are drying, paint the roof a color similar to the shingle color (or stain it) to prevent bits of the raw wood from peeking through spaces where the shingles don't butt exactly.

[clairevc]

Thanks Holly and Kathy. You both convinced me to stain the shingles before I apply them to the roof. Also I idea of painting the roof the same color as the shingles is a great tip. However I'm concerned about warping??? The siding warped in places. Had to re-glue the siding and it wasn't easy.

[KathieB]

The roof won't warp. The shingles might warp a bit but usually straighten out again when they're dry. Even if some are warped a little bit, go ahead and use them. If you look at real roofs, there are often some shingles that raise up a bit. The slightly wonky ones will add to the realism.

 

(By the way, don't ask me how I know this. I will admit to wearing out a 3-hair brush once upon a time. )

[pin1056]

Well hello everyone..haven't looked at this thread or this site for that matter for eons.....

A question.....did anyone ever work out how to make their Beacon Hill front opening yet?

I'm pondering it...roof is the problem I think...I'm bored with my 2 again need another challenge and revamp

Linda xx

[Selkie]

Well hello everyone..haven't looked at this thread or this site for that matter for eons.....

A question.....did anyone ever work out how to make their Beacon Hill front opening yet?

I'm pondering it...roof is the problem I think...I'm bored with my 2 again need another challenge and revamp

Linda xx

Linda, Welcome to the party. It's been ages since I've seen you. Thanks for stopping by. I have always adored your double BH. I remember watching you build it back to back and being in total awe.

 

Didn't you alter it significantly a while later so it wasn't set up in the reverse views of each other any more? My old brain is having trouble remembering if there was a "life" reason you changed it or if it was a new creative stroke of genius that you changed it.

 

Are you creating anything new and exotic these days? I'd love it if you update your albums with lovely pieces. You've always had a special knack for  discovering unique ways of getting from A to Z.

Hugs ....

[KathieB]

A question.....did anyone ever work out how to make their Beacon Hill front opening yet?

I'm pondering it...roof is the problem I think...I'm bored with my 2 again need another challenge and revamp

Linda xx

 

Welcome back, Linda! I finally gave up trying to make my BH front opening. The irregular front & roof lines are too complex to accommodate a free-swinging wall or walls.

[Blondie]

I agree with KathieB -- the front opening would be difficult. I can't really see how it would work. But I bet you COULD do it if really want to and put your mind to it! ;)

[Debra from Olde Cape Cod]

You could probably make the left wall minus the roof swing left. Then you could use the porch post as the handle to swing the whole right side to the right.  The roof parts would be tricky, might have to swing up........thinking........

[Mimajo]

ok, this is a question I haven't seen yet.

 

I have been doing the Front and Side Bay Windows.  Already finished the left side.  Thing is, the sill trim.  I have three pieces to go under the window on the inside.  But I have 3 others that are marked sill trim also.  Do they go on the outside?  Where?  Doesn't seem to go under the window on the outside like the single windows.  So where?