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Respect !!!!!


mamathistle

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I want to say I really have respect for all of you who redo doll houses !!!!! Dropped the stairs to Thistle Manor and broke some of the pieces ..had to take apart (boy was that baby glued good ( used gorilla wood glue)) .....I used the microwave to soften the glue ..then cut some new parts out of scraps (glad I saved all of the scraps (read that on here)) I am now putting it back together..I thought it was hard the first time ..try the second time GRRRRR... Judi

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I keep telling myself I will love working on my Van Buren rehab project, because I was loving it right up until I ran into the wood/gorilla glue, but it's been over a year and I'm still scraping away at it. It's a slow process I don't have tons of time or patience for. ><

Almost back to the fun parts, just have to pry out a couple more broken floor tiles.

I have respect for anyone who actually finishes a dollhouse to begin with, but rehabs-omg.

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I wish I had known about rehabbing a few years back. I was given a wall-hanging 2-story house which had about 4 rooms with a stairway in the middle. No idea who made it. But it was poorly built. I'm a perfectionist and the edges weren't flush, which drove me nuts. I didn't know then that it could have been rehabbed - I figured the glue was permanent and in my opinion the house was ruined. So I gave it away to some little girls to play with. Now I wouldn't mind taking a crack at it because it was a cute little house. Oh, well, hope the kids liked it.

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What I love about rehabbing is taking a broken sad little house and restoring it to its former glory. In the case of badly put together houses I look at as a make over. Yes it can be fiddly, frustrating, time consuming (super glued towel for carpeting was the worse) I actually think my rehabs have given me more satisfaction than brand new builds :)

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So far, my rehabs never had a former glory. They weren't finished or were downright ugly. Like, painted with poster paint. It makes me sad to see a dollhouse look neglected and forlorn. As Kyle pointed out, my respect goes to anyone who actually finishes a dollhouse. It seems all of mine anymore are aaaalllllllmost done, but not quite. I'm really trying with this little half scale Buttercup :)

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My one and only paying customer was a rehab project. I thought I was charging a lot until the project was finally complete. It was everything the customer wanted, but I won't ever do another. Major respect to those who tackle such projects, especially when it isn't their first. I have a few photos in my gallery, but I need to upload the "before" pictures one of these days.

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I have to agree. Rehabbers have the patience of saints. I think there is a special gift in building when you have to take something apart and then put it back together a new way. I can't imagine the obstacles and extra work involved in that. Its not like working with a blank canvas where you just create what you imagine without many hassles. I would never be able to rehab a dollhouse. I just don't possess that kind of skill.

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When the derelict remains of a house say to me, "please fix me up to look like..." and tells me what it wants and how to do it, even more so than a new kit build, it goes just as smoothly a an original build. More so, since you can't possibly foul it up any more than it was when you got it...

As for patience, I find myself dry fitting a new build at leat three or four times, plus taking it all or partially apart at least once during the build. It's not so much patience with me as it is entering The Zone.

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Again, I'm with Holly--they cry out to be repaired. The wheels turn with possibilities and renewal. (Same with mending and altering, reupholstry, tired old houses, cars, tractors, horses,. . .well. . .)

...people...

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I never ever want to do another rehab again if I ever finish my now multi-year rehab of the large dollhouse I did for my daughter in the 1980s. A few years ago I started the rehab and added 2 wings (4 rooms total) to it which now makes it huge.

The wiring (round wire) all still worked after the house had been moved several times and stored for quite a long time. But some of the wiring seemed brittle and the original fixtures were inexpensive and I wanted to change the whole look of the house, so I removed all the wiring and lights.

After adding on the two wings I routed groves in the plywood for the wiring to add lights to the wings. Windows in the original house were enlarged to become doors to the new rooms in the wings. I hate routing the grooves (I do it with my Dremel tool) and went through several router bits, but the grooves are all done now and ready for the new wiring. I ripped out the carpet and have made new hardwood floors which will slide in and out to allow access to the wiring in the floor grooves.

Probably the worst job was removing the old wallpaper which was a tremendous amount of work. That is all done, the walls are freshly painted (no more wallpaper for me) and I am ready to start re-wiring. I don't mind wiring except for the soldering. I don't solder very often, so I have to practice arch time to get myself up to speed again.

Another thing I hated was the fact that I mixed sand with white paint (back in the 1980s) to make textured popcorn ceilings! What was I thinking?? I sanded as much sand as I could get off (but it seemed to be eternal and most would not come off) so I put spackle on the ceilings and did some light swirls in the spackle since I could never make the ceilings smooth again because of the sand.

I moved the stairs to new locations and filled the old openings with plywood and had new openings cut, made a new spiral staircase from a kit and remocpved all the doors (they were stained a dark color) and windows. The new doors will be painted white and the house is getting new windows that open and close and new shutters. The shingled roof is about the only part of the house that did not get changed. The base of the house will get egg carton stonework and the inside will get new baseboard and crown molding. I don't have the patience to miter the crown this time, so I will use blocks in the corners instead of mitering the trim in 16 rooms.

Someone commented that I could have built a new house with all the time and effort of the rehab, but this house has memories. I still have a tremendous amount of work to do and I so wish it were finished.

I also interrupted this rehab to do major rehabs on 2 smaller - actually normal size - dollhouses for 2 of my granddaughters.

When this big house gets done - no more rehabs for me - ever!

Renea

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Renea, I've never had the opportunity to do a rehab and don't know if I could-as well as others,anyway. But at least you'll have this one under your belt and if the 'right' one comes along,you'll have more experience and may find you enjoy it! Regardless,I honor you for taking on this task!! :)

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I have never rehabed anything so far except my own building mistakes! I am not sure that I have the patience to take apart someone else's mess and put it back together. I admire the people who have the skill and patience to remake and remodel. I think I will stick with making my own disasters for now! :p

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I love rehabbing the dollhouses. I enjoy making them beautiful. Most of the houses I have come across to rehab were probably never beautifull, most were never finished. I enjoy taking them apart and starting over. My workshop is really small now and I dont have room for them all so I will be selling them. I want to make the workshop into a display area as well as a workshop. I have a lot of decluttering to do. Which starts out with picking a house, rehabbing it and finding it a new home.

I have a huge handmade house that I got a few years ago, I had grand plans for it. Unfortunately real life stepped in and I haven't touched it. I am hoping I can find someone very soon to take it off my hands and make it beautiful. I have too many houses now to rehab and that one is just too big. !

Kellee

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So far I have only one other ehab, another wood orchid someone put a Houseworks fron door on, that was dropping off parts because it was hot glued, but if/ when I finish Mildred I want to do a new kit build for a change.

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