My first house: The Beacon Hill

[marknyc]

Hi everyone,

I've just decided to build my first house, and I picked what looks like a challenge! But I got a good price for it, so I'm ready to go. Here are my questions:

1. The instructions recommend a glue gun, but many websites advise against that. Using a glue gun would sure speed things up - could I use a gun on some parts and not others? The instructions specifically advise against using liguid glue for the siding - is that correct?

2. Do I have to seal with shellac and alchohol? I'd much rather just use a basic latex white primer - is that okay?

3. I also bought a tapewire lighting kit - the CK101. Does that mean I should not wallpaper until the house is assembled?

4. Should I paint the siding before I glue it on? I guess if I want to sand it between coats, that's best, right?

I'll probably be back here with a lot of questions, so thanks in advance for any help!

Mark

[luvmypoodle]

Hi Marknyc. WELCOME!

1. I WOULD NOT use a glue gun on anything. I use quickgrab glue from wal-mart, michaels etc. in a well ventilated area.

2. I use spray primer

3. I have never electrified but I have wallpapered before and after assembly

4. Did your siding come in sheets?? I sand the sheet, paint , then glue them on. I go back with a paint brush and toch up the bottom of the siding strips after they are adhered.

Hope that helps, we are glad to help and love to see pics :lol:

[havanaholly]

Welcome to the forum, Mark,

Ditto what she waid about the glue gun. If it doesn't say Elmer's on the bottle I probably won't use it on wood.

Masking tape is your friend and you cannot have too many clamps. A carpenter's square is nice, or a box of Lego bricks to make yourself a square. As you read through the posts you'll find many answers to your questions.

I decide what I want to stain and do that first and them seal with clear sanding sealer, but white interior latex paint is a wonderful primer if you're going to paint, wallpaper, spackle, or do any treatments that don't involve stain.

[marknyc]

Thanks for the answers. According to this page, quickgrab has changed its name:

http://www.appliedimaginationinc.com/quickgrab/

Is that right? Or should I use Quik Grip:

http://www.beaconcreates.com/cggrip.html

So my first step will be to stain and seal the floors, staircases and shingles (I plan to keep them natural), and then to use a white latex primer for all the other wood.

The shingles for the Beacon Hill come in sheets, so I guess I'll paint and sand those before installing them. I'll use semi-gloss latex - should I thin it with water? How much?

Thanks again,

Mark

[annamommynous]

Dear Mark,

I thought my Buttercup was/is challenging! Congratulations on your Beacon Hill and I look forward to tracking your progress!

BTW, You've probably seen MiniMadWoman's Beacon Hill Restoration project but if you haven't - it's awesome! And quite inspirational!

Welcome,

Annamommynous

[MiniMadWoman]

Thanks, Anna, what a nice compliment!!

Hi Mark, Welcome to the forum!

I haven't built a house yet, but I have completely renovated a Beacon Hill I found on the curb. You can view my progress and pictures at my photoalbum at the link below.

1. Most people don't use a glue gun, but there is someone on the site recently who used one and had great success with it. I used panel adhesive to "glue" all my parts together, which I liked because it was flexible enough to get the parts to fit together and it set up pretty quickly. Most people use Aileen's Tacky glue, I believe.

2. Using a primer is just fine. At least, that's what I did and it worked out nicely.

3. I also tape wired my house, which of course because it was a renovation, I did it after it was already assembled. I'm now in the process of wallpapering and so far things are working out nicely.

4. Again, I painted the shingles and the siding after they had already been installed and found it pretty easy to do. However, after doing all that work, I decided I didn't like the look of painted shingles, so tore them off, stained new ones and my dear hubby reinstalled the new ones. Much better!

About thining the paint, I don't think it's necessary, but I'm sure someone else will have something different to say. I used DecoArt craft paint on my house and then sprayed it with a semi-gloss varnish. It turned out beautifully.

Good Luck!!

[marknyc]

Teresa, your house looks fantastic - and how lucky to find it! Mine cost me $170.

One thing I really like is the walnut flooring you used in the foyer- where did you get that?

I also think I'd like to remove the wall between the foyer and living room to create one large room. Will that still support the second floor well enough?

I'm thinking of a powder blue for the outside, with off-white trim.

[William]

Hi:

First thing you want to do is READ ALL THE INSTRUCTION, twice if you have to. Lay out all the pieces and number then according to the instructions. Dry fit the slots and makes sure they are not to tight or long, if they are sand and cut to fit. Start to put your house together (DO NOT JUMP OVER STEPS), The only place that I used a hot glue gun was under the foundation, I ran hot glue all around the walls. You can use a latex primer on the interior and exterior walls but I would use a satin finish to finish the exterior, (light sand between primer and finish #300 grit works very nice. before you finish coat or hang any wall paper you MUST do your tapewire kit, if you prime interior walls, lightly sand again before you use the tapewire and clean up sand dust with a tacky cloth so you get good contact with the tapewire, don't forget to drill holes in ceiling if you plan to hand lights, after tapewire is up, you can now hang your wllpaper or paint, satin finish again, it will help keep the moisture from getting into the wood. As far as the siding goes I glued it on and then painted it, after it dried I installed the wimdows. Check out my house The Jefferson in my gallery. Happy building.

PS I use B. Moore paint

[havanaholly]

You don't need to thin paint to prime, just sand it once it's totally dry before your color coat or wallpaper to get a smooth finish.

[MiniMadWoman]

Thanks Mark! :lol:

I used Black Walnut flooring from Houseworks which I got at a shop called Rose's in Deerfield, Wisconsin. It cost about $15-17 for a sheet about 11" X 17". I also varnished it with two coats of MinWax gloss varnish (I used the waterbased one) sanding lightly in between the two coats. I've also seen the dark wood flooring on "miniatures.com" but I'm not sure if it's black walnut or not. I should send them an email asking because I do need a bunch more and Deerfield is about an hours drive from me. Hmm. . .

I'm not sure about removing the wall entirely. Perhaps someone else will be able to help you with that. You could however, make the wall straight through so you at least have a little bit more room in the living room and then somewhat of a foyer too. I'd keep the foyer though in some form because in these houses that was the first thing the public saw and it was a grand welcome!!

Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention . . . for carpeting. I wanted something a little more fancy than the plain carpeting you can find on miniature sites, so the nice people here on the forum suggested fabric! Upholstry fabric, nowale corduroy, pretty much anything that has a heavier weight. That's what I used in my parlor/music room and I'm very happy with the results.

Powder blue with off-white trim sounds very pretty! I can't wait to see your progress! Be sure to post pictures for us!!

[IrishMist]

Welcome to the forum Mark!

Another tool that is worth it's weight in gold is the Easy Cutter. It was recomended to me by people on this forum. I struggled for hours :lol: and hours cutting/trimming shingles with an exacto knife.

This cutter goes through them ridiculously easily - no splintering. And it's great for trims, baseboards... I also build furniture and it's making that so much easier and the cuts are so smooth....Can you tell I LOVE it?

Carol

[marknyc]

Teresa, does this look good?

http://www.miniatures.com/hbs/global/Index...PRODUCTSKU=7021

Carol, can I get the smaller Easy Cutter to save some money?

http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/gr...er-Ultimate.htm

Any final thoughts on Quick Grab vs. Quick Grip glue?

Thanks again,

Mark

[IrishMist]

Hi Mark -

Here's the info for the one I got - the size is perfect - wouldn't want it any smaller.

Item # 1126 from Minatures.com

It was 26.99, but you get 20% off this weekend - Labor Day special. If you need the coupon code for the sale, I'll look it up for you.

Carol

[MiniMadWoman]

Mark, icarumbu, that's exactly it! They must have just added it because I've looked and it wasn't there before. Now, don't go buying it all, save some for me!!

Remember too when you get it it will look a little "off" until you varnish it. Then the "color" will come out!

Way to go and thanks for passing the information along!!

I think I'm going to get myself one of those cutters too!

As far as the glue, whichever one sets up fast but still allows wriggle room (does that make sense?!!).

This place is so great . . . you find out about things you never even thought to ask about!!!!! :lol:

[wenlaine]

Teresa, I purchased two sizes of the cutters on ebay, the large was $16. and the smaller one was $12. and I can only say, if I'd only known. I would never have wasted all this time trying to cut pieces of wood. I will never be without again!!

Wendy

[wenlaine]

Welcome Mark, the Beacon Hill was also my first house and I really enjoyed it. I did the outside of mine blue with white trim. Take a look on my website and see what you think?

Wendy

[MiniMadWoman]

Thanks Wendy! I'll take a look on ebay too and see what I can find! By the sounds of it, it will be an extremely useful tool to have.

I also took another stroll through your albums! There is so much inspiration there! :lol: I love how you did everything . . . the Beacon Hill of course and your Jefferson is wonderful. I hope mine turn out as beautiful.

Mark, be sure to look at Wendy's Beacon Hill. It's beautiful and will give you a good idea of how it looks in blue!

[fov]

The Beacon Hill is a beautiful house. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

I recommend against painting the siding until you have it up on the house. I've done it both ways, and it's much easier (for me) to paint an assembled house than it is to paint all those little pieces. (I feel the same way about painting the plywood if you're not applying siding - way easier to paint the house than the pieces!)

I use a glue gun for shingles, but not for the house itself.

-emily

[Minis On The Edge]

Welcome Mark, we are so happy to have you here and building the BEACON HILL!!!

I LOVE this house and can't wait to see what you do to it! Quick Grip is no longer made but Quick Grap is just like it (Or I may have the names switched). You can find it at walmart or michaels. I lovethe stuff and use it for shingles and siding and sometimes I use it all over as I build cause it dries so fast and is better thana hot glue gun. I discourage using it to build your entire house because after a few years it can come apart.

Blue looks very good on this house and we have several beacon hill builders on the forum right now.

Please take plenty of pictures and share them as we love to look!

[luvmypoodle]

Hi Mark, I have used quick grip and grab both. They work great just use in a well ventilated area. I think they are the same thing if not very very similar. Tracey, I guess you have had experience with using quick grip/grab?? How long was it before the hose comes apart. I use quick grab for EVERYTHING!!!! B) :o

[marknyc]

Thanks for all the advice. I just registered at miniatures.com and I find I get 15% off my first order. I have the flooring, the Easy Cutter and Quick Grip in my cart. Any other supplies I should add to take advantage of the 15% discount?

One more thing: when I prime all the pieces, should I punch them out and sand them first? Or is it okay to prime then before I take them out? That would be easier, I think.

Wemdy, your Beacon Hill looks great!

Mark

[wenlaine]

Thanks Mark, I prime both sides of my sheets with shellac before I take them out. I find it works much better for me.

Wendy

[havanaholly]

Mark, I stain/ seal/ prime before removing anything from the sheets; I go through & identify everything on the schematic (to make sure it's there) and then I study the house & read the instructions & then I read the instructions again. Then I start in on assembling, rereading the instructions as I go (and sometimes it STILL turns out "interestingly" :o ).

Do you have a craft knife? I can't function without my good ol' Stanley knife.

[MiniMadWoman]

Priming before punching out pieces is good advice. I just won a Buttercup on Ebay . . . my first build! Now I can put some of this good building advice to good use!!

Mark, did you leave any flooring for me?!! :o

Take a look for wiring if you are electrifying . . . tape wire, brad nails and the little tool to hold and insert the brad nails if you're doing lots of tape wiring (Item #21054 - $8.95 - Brad Replacement Tool by Cir-Kit Concepts; under tools section). I wish I would have had that when electrifying my Beacon Hill!

And CLAMPS!!

[havanaholly]

And CLAMPS!!

You'll do better for a lot of your tools to visit your favorite hardware store (my home away from home, we call them the toy stores). However our Big Lots had little tubs full of those wonderful garishly colored plastic spring-clamps that I like because they hold TIGHT & don't mar the wood so I don't need to use a piece of scrap wood with them. I also have many other types of clamps including some corner-clamps that I don't use as much since getting a gluing jig (you can also make a gluing jig). When I got started DH told me I couldn't have too many clamps and he's absolutely right! finishing up my Glencroft I could have used several more assembling the front yard & fence.