Just One More Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I checked out all the sheets and they all look in really nice condition. The three floor pieces have pretty grain so will stain nicely. The pieces to the stairs look good, bannisters, etc. Having a dog now I have to be more organized and pick up scrap and sweep more as I go than with the kitties. They might bat things around they find on the floor but he chews everything he finds, pencils, plastic, etc. I'll get the basic shell together and then work on the stairs. The other two houses had stairs that weren't in very nice condition but these look like they'll finish up really smooth. I want to take my time on this one.I live in central Illinois and it's so sad so many not too far from here lost everything in the tornadoes yesterday. We had very high wind and rain but didn't even lose power. They blow the sirens if there's a tornado spotted. How would you deal with having your whole house just blown away with everything in it? Whole neighborhoods leveled. My friends out of State all called to see if we were OK. I've thought many times today how really fragile life is and try not to worry. One day at a time is really all we have. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapchap73 Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Pat, so glad to hear you came through the storms ok. I can't watch the pics on TV because it's just too heart-wrenching.It sounds cliche, but it really does pay to hold on to the truly important things like your family. Everything else is just stuff, yes, even minis! What kind of theme are you going for with your new Westville? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgansmith Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I'm glad you're ok, Pat. I'm like you. I really hurt for all those people I don't know who go through so much. I have a Westville in dry fit. My favorite part is how big the rooms are. I like it that the Westville is a replica of a real house. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 I stained the floors tonight. I'll varnish them tomorrow. The basic Westville shell is not that hard to do. All the trim is what takes so much work. I seal all the walls with off white paint when the shell is together so the wallpaper will stick. If I paint the ceilings I use off white also but enough coats to cover nicely. I may try papering them this time but they need to be sealed, either way. The shingles and siding were in neat stacks in the box and all nice and flat. I have bags of RGT shingles I like better because they are just a bit thicker. I paint or wallpaper the attic and attic ceiling before I put the roof on because you can't get in it afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 The shell is all together. I don't start the basic shell unless I can finish it. The center wall was a real pain. Just wouldn't go all the way into the slot in the floor. I taped the roof on temporarily and the extra weight seemed to help. I don't glue the roof on until I wallpaper the attic or you just can't get in there with the roof on. The stairs were a problem too. Instructions say treads and risers are the same. They are not. Very frustrating. Having the finished Westvilles to go by it all came out OK. I don't think a first time builder would be very happy though. Instructions were not very helpful and I had to go look at the finished houses several times. The stairs are all together but I'm glad they only show looking down into the house. Next I'll seal all the walls and paint the ceilings. I haven't decided anything yet about wallpaper, etc. so will just take my time now that the shell is together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie2 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Pat! those storms were shocking! So happy to hear you are ok!!! You are a fast builder!!! I always enjoy your progress. Love that Westfield its a beautiful design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 When I built the Westville for the Team blog we had each other's entries to work off of, which made interpreting the instructions a whole lot better. I think that was one of the houses I ended up ignoring most of the instructions, anyway; it's also the first house I did major bashing to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 Other than the second floor having to be slid over the porch roof, it is pretty basic construction. The risers and treads were not sized well at all and hard to fix because they are so small. Some were almost 1/16 inches different in size which in mini scale is a lot. They are all together now and don't show that much anyway. I like having the bathroom by adding the wall in the left upper room but it does leave just a little area for a sewing room or maybe a desk and chair and book shelves. Haven't decided yet. I also want to put a little ladder up to the attic. Twiggy, my black and white kitty was in the right upper room this morning. She loves to sleep in the empty houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Minis Dollhouses Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Good to know that your okay from the storms. The Westville has the best wood ever! Lol I still remember the wood of my Westville kit. It was fantastic. I stained all the floors as well and they turned out nicely because the grain was so good and the color was even though out the dollhouse, including all the trim as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellee Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Waiting patiently on your pics Glad your ok from the storms, I'm in Ohio. We had tornado sirens going here as well... In our county if one is spotted they sound the sirens. All evening I watched, weatherman kept saying The storm died down a great deal and we had no worries. I shut the tv off and headed into bed, I was standing beside my bed when I heard the sirens ! Turned out there was movement in the far east corner of our county, but since it was in our county they sound the sirens. I stayed up another hour to be sure..... Really scary. I feel horrible for all those people that lost everything including the most important family and friends. It's very hard to watch on tv. Kellee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 As soon as I wallpaper or paint the inside of the roof sections I can glue them on. I finished the stairs. The fit nicely now without glue. I had to remove the tabs that go into the floor but they fit snuggly without them. I like to be able to remove them in case I change my mind on wallpaper sometime.This is the first house I've worked on since getting my dog, Toby. I have to watch him every minute and not leave anything where he can get it. I thought my cats could be a problem building but Toby will chew up anything. When I'm busy I don't always catch him. Yesterday he chewed up the felt case I made for my crochet hooks. At least he didn't chew on the hooks. I guess he was bored with me working on the house. I put all the wood pieces in a big plastic bin so he can't get into them. Dogs are so different than cats. He is always hungry and I think he would eat until he exploded. LOL. The cats eat their food only to survive. They look at me sometimes like, "you don't expect us to eat this?" It's like having little children all over again.I'll take some pics when the house starts looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Pat, I don't remember having problems with the treads and risers in my kit. When I had to scratch build new stairs for the Pierce I used the tongue blade size craft sticks and trimmed them to the same sizes I needed with my EZ Cutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted November 22, 2013 Author Share Posted November 22, 2013 The shell is all together. The attic is wallpapered and the roof glued on so I painted the outside, sanded and painted again. I decided to use the antique white. It just looks best on the Westville to me. The porch floor is the stained wood. I'm going to do the shutters barn red to match the door. I'm going to try and stain the shingles after they are on to match the interior and porch floors. I don't like messing with shingle dye. I tried it once and they got all curly. If it doesn't work I'll paint them a color to match the floors and sand them to look aged like I did with the black painted ones. I always do the shingles last, my least fun part of building. I think the red shutters and stained wood roof will be different enough than my other Westvilles. I have lots of wallpaper that will go with the exterior colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 I painted the roof to see how it would look with this color shingles. The shutters will match. With all the white gingerbread I think it will look OK. I may still put a roof over the porch instead of the balcony. A balcony with no door to it is kind of silly to me. I think these colors will make it look a lot different than my other Westvilles. Pictures are in my Picasa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kat57 Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 I love this color roof with the white! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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