Beacon Hill Builders: The Next Generation

[Blondie]

Oh dear. I haven't gotten to the window sills yet, so I can't help. Hmmm. Perhaps another BH builder will be able to help you. In the meantime, my suggestion is to go with your gut. Does it look right? Does it look the way you like it? If so, it's perfect. ;)

[Selkie]

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?

Not too long ago, I remember someone asking about this. I've not built it so I don't have the answer. I'm thinking it was a few pages/posts back in this thread.

Moreminis website is a place to check out. She's built it a couple times and chronicles her builds in detail.

There is also a gentleman that recently built it too that had great ideas. I'll see if I can find his name.

[Selkie]

Not sure if this is the question but here is the fellow I was talking about and his response to someone in this thread. You could PM him or Gina (more minis) for specific questions.

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dkumpula

07 Apr 2015

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

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[dkumpula]

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?

 

Hi Mimajo.  I'm not sure which three pieces you are referring to without a picture, but I posted the interior or my bay windows and one of the outside kitchen window in my gallary just now.  I believe all were done according to the instructions.  I did add one long trim piece under the kitchen window interior as I recall that I did not see in my parts for consistencies sake.

 

If this doesn't help, if you can post a picture of the pieces in question or your windows in progress, I'm sure one of us can point you in the correct direction.  All of this said, you DON'T have to do what the instructions tell you to.  I'm busy ripping out some interior walls as we speak just because I think it will look better. ;)

 

-David

[Mimajo]

Thanks for the help guys. I kept looking at pictures and finally realized they are the trim that go at the base of the bay window walls, just above the "foundation". Not mentioned in the instructions and not in any blogs, but thanks for trying. I will post pictures soon, have some spackling to do first.

[clairevc]

All the trim pieces are a nightmare! I'm back from my home in Williamsburg, VA and will start-up again on the house. Looking forward to finish up the exterior of the house. Although it still is going to take some time. Ordered stone for the foundation and I still need to finish kitchen wall with french doors into the conservatory.  However, I do need to do some garden work at my real house!!! 

[Bullish35]

First house - Beacon Hill!

I'm not sure if this the right place to post this, so members, please feel free to re-direct me! I read through all of the hints and instructions - a bit overwhelming in itself! - and got the impression that each piece should be 'finished' before assembling. But it seems that I would want to see the house put together prior to deciding on paint, flooring, and decor.

I'd like to construct the house generally, without permanently affixing anything, then deconstruct it for painting, etc. before final construction. Is that possible? Any ideas, suggestions, or warnings would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Selkie]

Yes, thats called dryfitting. Use painters tape, clamps, and/or string to assemble the main pieces. It helps to get the visual of sizes and placements in case you want to move walls or add on (called kit bashing).

[dkumpula]

Hi Bullish,

 

I think it depends in part on personal preference.  My first (and only) house thus far is the Beacon Hill and although I've finished the exterior, the interior remains a work in process.  I didn't try to finish anything before assembly with a few exceptions like patching and sanding some of the small trim pieces that would be difficult to get to later and an important one - the stairs.  You really don't have good access to the stairs after assembly, so I would get those just the way you want them before installation.

 

Some other thoughts as you start your build include any kit-bashing (customization) you may want to do.  I pretty much just tried to follow the instructions initially and as I started the interior I started to rethink some things and started reworking some sections like removing the separation between the entry and the parlor/living room area on the first floor.  That makes for some cutting and sanding way in the inside of the house that I wish I had done before-hand.  I also started 'bashing' the roof section.  I saw lots of pics of people that turned that generally wasted space into an attic and started pulling mine partially apart this week to do something similar.  There are lots of other things you can do that are easier to do earlier rather than later, so I'd look at lots of pics on google images and the beautiful work displayed in the galleries in this forum.

 

One thing that could be argued both ways are floors.  The experienced builders seem to do at least the complicated floors (e.g. parkay floors) in advance.  It isn't necessary as you can make templates of the space or just do them in place after the fact, but I can definitely see the advantage of doing it prior to final assembly.

 

Another topic that you see pop up frequently are shingles.  The general consensus is to finish them before gluing them on, although many hours with a tiny paintbrush after the fact works too with some patience.

 

Personally, I would not finish walls (baseboards, paint or wall-paper) in advance if you plan to do electric wiring using the common wire-tape method.

 

One thing that is a safe bet is that no matter what you do, you'll find something that you'll wish you either waited or did in advance before your build is over!

 

There are a lot of experienced builders on this site that can advise further.

 

No matter what you do, have fun and enjoy the learning and experimentation process.

 

-David

[Selkie]

The main point for doing a lot of the wallpapering, staining, decorating or painting while still flat is simply for ease of doing it. Some areas become very difficult or even impossible to reach after walls are glued in place.

Not everything is that way. Its a personal choice. Folks do it one way or the other or some of both. I fall into the later category.

But, I'm a very messy crafter so I do try to do all my staining before any glue goes on because stain won't work over glue.

I use sketch books to test colors, designs, and layouts ahead of time. You can do that sort of thing online with sketch programs too. There are coloring book style pages of some kits that you can make copies of and test color combos, etc. too.

It comes down to how you work best and what you prefer.

Welcome, btw. Have fun on your journey and remember it's not a race unless you impose it. Also remember it about creating the illusion - smoke and mirrors - not perfection. Prefect won't look real in the end because perfect isn't real.

[havanaholly]

Hi,, Ellen!  First of all, please introduce yourself in the Newcomers' Forum.

Dry fitting is your friend.  I use it to adjust tabs & slots for a better fit, to decide what order to build ("finish" and decorate areas my hands will never fit into once the house is glued together) and generally to listen to the house tell me what it wants (or doesn't want).  In dry fit I also figure out which floors and ceilings to go ahead and finish first, and which can wait, what to make templates for, and whether to decorate as I build or wait until it's all together. 

If you read through the Magnolia building blog, my entries are for the "bare nekkid Maggie" because I was asked to build the kit unfinished, as per directions; so whilst I did glue the shell together I attached windows and doors and stairs and roof parts with poster putty, so I could bash and decorate according to what the house demanded:  http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=988

[Sanna]

Hi!

Anyone else starting to built Beacon Hill right now?

I'm still waiting for the house to arrive from U.S. hopefully I'll get it next week.

I have been wondering about the siding, do you have to, or does everyone, assemble the sidings so that the pieces are partly lying on top of previous line, or does it make as good effect if they're lying flat on their own with small gaps between each row? Hopefully I could understandably describe what I mean, english is not my native language....

[Mimajo]

1 hour ago, Sanna said:

Hi!

Anyone else starting to built Beacon Hill right now?

I'm still waiting for the house to arrive from U.S. hopefully I'll get it next week.

I have been wondering about the siding, do you have to, or does everyone, assemble the sidings so that the pieces are partly lying on top of previous line, or does it make as good effect if they're lying flat on their own with small gaps between each row? Hopefully I could understandably describe what I mean, english is not my native language....

I just finished the Beacon Hill, my first dollhouse.  I am working on furniture, curtains, etc.

As for the siding, I overlapped, I don't think I have seen siding laid flat.  I'm sure someone with more experience will know better.

By the way, WELCOME!

[Sanna]

43 minutes ago, Mimajo said:

I just finished the Beacon Hill, my first dollhouse.  I am working on furniture, curtains, etc.

As for the siding, I overlapped, I don't think I have seen siding laid flat.  I'm sure someone with more experience will know better.

By the way, WELCOME!

Do you have pics in the gallery or somewhere else? I still haven't decided all the color themes etc. so I'm browsing what kind of decisions others have made.

And thank you!!!

Edited August 14, 2016 by Sanna

[Mimajo]

Sure.  Just click on my name, then albums and they will be there.

if you do a search in the Gallery, there are other Beacon Hill houses too.

[havanaholly]

Normally on real houses the board siding is laid horizontally and laps over the top edge of the preceding strip to repel weather.  Board & batten siding is usually laid vertically with gaps between, but I'm not sure this is a style that would look good on the Beacon Hill.

[Sable]

I think what you are describing is more like a log cabin facade. The gaps would have to contain a filler like they used with log cabin structures.

[havanaholly]

I can't imagine that sort of siding on a Beacon Hill...

[KathieB]

On 8/14/2016, 7:43:25, havanaholly said:

I can't imagine that sort of siding on a Beacon Hill...

That's what's so wonderful about building miniature houses -- we can go beyond our imagination when the houses talk to us.  

I look at real houses for inspiration all the time, as many forum members do. One that stands out in my mind has lapped wooden siding on the ground floor and faux stone on the upper story. There's no way I could imagine building a house with the weight of stone atop a frame base. No way. It boggled my mind every time I drove past it in Marshall, Missouri, and it boggles my mind as I recall it now. Yet, there it is.  

[asherah]

I just bought a beacon hill on ebay. Got a good deal on it =) It's on its way here. I'm going to do at least one floor in parquet but not sure other than that. 

[Sanna]

I just finished the stairs and i got something like 10 pieces that are leftovers :P I did'nt want to assemble the bottom trims and other pieces seemed so much different in size that I just don't know where to put them and the instructions are so confusing that I just gave up following them. The stairs look good enough as they are now. Only thing is that I paintef them white and i hate when the paint won't go to all the small gaps on the edge of the pieces.... Maybe I will try to use some wood filler on them before i put the last wall in place.

[havanaholly]

Sanna, you might have better results if you use polyfilla (what we call spackle in he US) to fill those wee gaps.

[Sable]

Wood filler does not sand well. And careful with the spackle. There are two types: one is plastic and fluffy and it does not sand well either. The other is like drywall compound and sands very easily when dry. The ones I recommend are Spackling  Paste or Joint Compound.

[Sanna]

I'm doing the roofs now and realized that the pics on instructions show the chimney without anything on top of it, but the instructions said to put the chimney top on it's place. I hope I don't have to try to tear it apart later.....

[Sanna]

Hi!

Can anyone please take a picture of the kitchen bay windows on the inside because I am missing the piece that is supposed to be "the kitchen shelf" and I'm thinking if I can use some spare wood to make something similar to that. It would be most helpful!