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Finishing off window frames/sills


astoppani

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Hi there, I am finishing off my Vineyard Cottage but am really struggling with making the window sills and frames look nice.  Because I used the kit's windows, they are 4 layers - interior frame, wall, siding, exterior frame.  The interior frames will go on last, and I'm fine with having a little line where they connect, but I am trying to get the other three to look nice together.  I've used wood filler to try to make the three pieces look even and close any gaps, but no matter how hard I try, they still look pretty bad.  The wood filler doesn't want to stick very well and ends up with spotty application, even when I try to press and level it.  I've attached a photo of one I'm working on that shows the unevenness, and that's even after sanding to try to get it to look flat.  

Is there a different kind of wood filler that might work better?  I'm using Red Devil One Time White filler.  Are there any other tools that could help with this?  I've been using the side of an exacto knife to level it, along with my fingers for pressing it in place, then a 400 or 600 grit sand paper.  

Any suggestions would be incredibly welcome!

Thanks!

Andrea 

IMG_8308.jpeg

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Have you tried watering down the wood filler? That makes it easier to spread. Still, it's not going to be perfectly smooth. This is one of those things that looks bad when it's right in front of your face, but when you back up and look at the house as a whole you might not even notice it. (For what it's worth, I don't think your picture looks bad!)

If you want a smoother surface, you could get some very thin basswood and glue it to the inside of the window frames. Or, since you're painting it anyway, a strip of stiff paper might work.

 

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One of the reasons I like spackle/ joint compound is that it covers the unsmooth and makes it look smooth, and sands nicely when dry.  I only use wood filler on my scratch-made furniture, which I make to match from sawdust, wood glue and stain.

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Thanks so much everyone for the helpful info!  I tried using a different kind of wood filler that is heavier, and it is working much better.  I'll look around to see if I have spackle as well.  And yes, thanks for the reminder about appearance from a distance versus up close.  I used to braid horse manes for a vaulting team, and the coach would always remind me "it has to look good from 50 feet, not 6 inches!".  

I'm excited to finish this house and will post photos when done.  We are having our real house painted next week, so the goal is to have this puppy finished this week so I can put away all the craft supplies and tables that are strewn throughout my family room!   

Thanks again!

Andrea 

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3 hours ago, MapleUnicorn13 said:

I am looking forward to seeing your pics. I have just started on my Vineyard Cottage and am a little stuck on its identity. Its just such a neat little house.

I totally get that.  I struggled with finding my path with this one for quite a while.  I absolutely fell in love with Robin Carey's version of it, but I realized I just couldn't do the tile floors and other accents she did the way she did them.  And I totally love the Halloween house on this site by madtex1967.  Just the coolest!!!  I also couldn't let go for the longest time not having a bathroom and looked at various ways to add one, either by extending the house like madtex did or by extending the upper floor to include a bathroom.  Ultimately I was able to let that go and decided on a flower and candy cabin sort of theme where the room on the lower right is like a parlor, lower left is a living room, and the upstairs is a bedroom.  I custom ordered material from Joann's to get the right pattern and scale using their "make the pattern smaller" tool thing, so that I could make the bedding how I wanted it.  Finding a bed with posts that were short enough to fit under the eve and not block the door upstairs was a little challenging, but I did find one.  And I plan to decorate it throughout with flowering plants and jars of candy and things like that.  

One of the architectural details I wish I'd addressed when building it was how the dormers look from the inside.  Mine is a very old kit, and the dormers, when viewed from inside the house, are rounded.  They look nice but are a bit of a bugger to finish nicely since they are curved.  I'm not great with cutting wood other than in a straight line. The current version of this house on this site shows pointed peaks instead of rounded peaks, and those would be much easier to finish.  In retrospect I kinda wish I'd cut mine into peaks before I assembled the house, although I'm not sure I could have gotten straight enough clean cuts to do that.  Everything is now finished except for those which I plan to tackle tomorrow after giving more thought to my options....  

It's been a lot of fun to work on!  I will get some photos ready soon!  

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5 hours ago, havanaholly said:

Andrea, one of the "cheats" I figured out for interior trim is cardboard/ chipboard because it's fairly simple to cut nicely with a utility knife and simple to disguise with paint.

Thank you for this tip!  I think I will play around with that today and see if that is the solution I've been seeking!  

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On 10/9/2022 at 12:38 AM, astoppani said:

I totally get that.  I struggled with finding my path with this one for quite a while.  I absolutely fell in love with Robin Carey's version of it, but I realized I just couldn't do the tile floors and other accents she did the way she did them.  And I totally love the Halloween house on this site by madtex1967.  Just the coolest!!!  I also couldn't let go for the longest time not having a bathroom and looked at various ways to add one, either by extending the house like madtex did or by extending the upper floor to include a bathroom.  Ultimately I was able to let that go and decided on a flower and candy cabin sort of theme where the room on the lower right is like a parlor, lower left is a living room, and the upstairs is a bedroom.  I custom ordered material from Joann's to get the right pattern and scale using their "make the pattern smaller" tool thing, so that I could make the bedding how I wanted it.  Finding a bed with posts that were short enough to fit under the eve and not block the door upstairs was a little challenging, but I did find one.  And I plan to decorate it throughout with flowering plants and jars of candy and things like that.  

One of the architectural details I wish I'd addressed when building it was how the dormers look from the inside.  Mine is a very old kit, and the dormers, when viewed from inside the house, are rounded.  They look nice but are a bit of a bugger to finish nicely since they are curved.  I'm not great with cutting wood other than in a straight line. The current version of this house on this site shows pointed peaks instead of rounded peaks, and those would be much easier to finish.  In retrospect I kinda wish I'd cut mine into peaks before I assembled the house, although I'm not sure I could have gotten straight enough clean cuts to do that.  Everything is now finished except for those which I plan to tackle tomorrow after giving more thought to my options....  

It's been a lot of fun to work on!  I will get some photos ready soon!  

I am really excited to see how you brought it all together. It sounds like it was such fun to pull together. Thanks for pointing that out with the dormers. I will look out for it.  I am going to have to look at the Halloween one, nothing I love more than Halloween! 

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13 minutes ago, MapleUnicorn13 said:

I am really excited to see how you brought it all together. It sounds like it was such fun to pull together. Thanks for pointing that out with the dormers. I will look out for it.  I am going to have to look at the Halloween one, nothing I love more than Halloween! 

Just finished it and posted photos in the Gallery!  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  I went through about 100 different color schemes and ultimately ended up with pretty much exactly what is on the box....   But I love how it looks.  I added French doors to the back but otherwise left it mostly as it comes.  Now to decorate it with all the stuff I've been accumulating for it!  I got some awesome flower boxes off of Etsy and am excited to see how they look!  

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On 10/10/2022 at 6:12 PM, astoppani said:

Just finished it and posted photos in the Gallery!  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  I went through about 100 different color schemes and ultimately ended up with pretty much exactly what is on the box....   But I love how it looks.  I added French doors to the back but otherwise left it mostly as it comes.  Now to decorate it with all the stuff I've been accumulating for it!  I got some awesome flower boxes off of Etsy and am excited to see how they look!  

I have been debating over color schemes for mine,  purples was one and greys and blacks the other.  Seeing 2 in purples has convinced me this fellow is meant to be purples. Looking forward to seeing it furnished!

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17 hours ago, MapleUnicorn13 said:

I have been debating over color schemes for mine,  purples was one and greys and blacks the other.  Seeing 2 in purples has convinced me this fellow is meant to be purples. Looking forward to seeing it furnished!

My daughter did a whole bunch of digital color mock ups for me using the Americana paint pallet!  It did help me home in on the scheme I wanted as I tried to decide if I wanted complementary trim or white.  Here is a snapshot of the mockups she did!  

Mockup small.jpg

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3 hours ago, astoppani said:

My daughter did a whole bunch of digital color mock ups for me using the Americana paint pallet!  It did help me home in on the scheme I wanted as I tried to decide if I wanted complementary trim or white.  Here is a snapshot of the mockups she did!  

Mockup small.jpg

Thanks for posting that! I was thinking of dark purple with light trim and that completely confirms it! I am really starting to get it together in my head now, which is so exciting!

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