Shingles on house parts during build - Queen Anne

[firef2005]

I'm building the Queen Anne, and the instructions tell you to shingle the dormer fronts during construction. My question is should I trace around where the windows will go and try to shingle around that, or should I put the windows in first and shingle around them? Or, should I just shingle the entire piece and then put the windows in? I am thinking that if I wait to put the windows in until after shingles, they may not fit flush. Maybe tape the windows in and shingle around them, so that I can take them off until I'm ready to put them in permanently? This build is really hard. Hardest one I've done, maybe I'm just intimidated??

[havanaholly]

When I'm going to side or shingle around windows I lay the trim over the window opening and trace around it, and then side or shingle up to that line.

[Sable]

Temporarily install the windows and frames. This way you'll have a clean tight fit.

[doc]

I agree with both Holly and Sable. It is much easier on the outside if you just install the window over the shingles, but then you will have to extend the jamb on the inside before you trim the window.

This house is large and complex and each space needs your intimate attention. Any builder can remember every place that they left a flaw that only they could see, but we can also remember the tiny perfections that we have brought into being. I remember a thorough re-hab I did of an antique dollhouse, signed in a faded pencil under the base, signed again with magic marker in the '70s by an earlier rehab. I admired the builder's ideas and the places he/she did something extra for decoration or good construction, and when I was done, I added my signiture to the list (I put in an extra week for free just because this house and those who served it in the past deserved it). Some houses just call us to be stewards; to take it slow, do it right, and enjoy the process.