Just One More Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I just ordered the Pierce. I've been wanting it for a long time but thought it would be harder to do than any of the others I've done. I have done the Arthur, three Jeffersons, a Fairfield, Lily, and Harrison, as well as several MDF houses, Victoria's farm house and a few others. The problem is the shingles. I hate to do shingles. I am not good at cutting the angles. I know how to do it. A man at the mini show in Chicago showed me how to do the angles, but they never look really good. I usually never get around to it and just sand really well, paint and antique the roof. On the Pierce can you wait until absolute last to shingle and still have it come out right? The only shingling I have done that looks right is on the Jefferson, because there are no angles. There are so many on the Pierce I know I would really dread it. The house otherwise doesn't look too difficult. Even the stairs don't scare me but shingles make me almost want me to give up building. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbytsdy Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I am curious to know the answer to this question too-- I'll be starting the Pierce here in the next couple weeks. It looks as though you could leave the shingling until absolute last... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 Hi, I hope so. HBS and the Greenleaf site says it takes seven bags. That's a lot of shingles. It's such a big house so it will take awhile. I would want to wait for a good sale. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovecats Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Congrats on your Pierce! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 The Towers have angles but you could always do it the way I did my tower on the Mckinley It looks like a aged copper roof. I added a chess piece to the roof and painted the tower a sea foam green I also found it in a local wal-mart store under the name victorian green. As you can see from the picture, it is an ugly green but it suits our purpose because this is a lesson in faux painting. This will become a copper roof tower. Hubby don't like the chess piece. but I kept it. The round thingys on each edge is actually round wood (You could use a scewer too) that I cut to fit each edge. Then I bought some Metalic Copper paint. Now the copper color has been brushed on. I used a technique. I loaded the brush with the copper paint and brused most of it off on a piece of cardboard. I then applied the remainder of it to my roof top. It takes a little practice but even if you mess up a little, no one will notice. I did it like this because I found it hard to figure out how to create the agles on the roof and the Mckinley is just like the Pierce to me :thumb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 You will NOT be sorry for ordering the Pierce! Yes, it takes a lot of shingles.....man you should see how many shingles the Garfield takes! Piece of cake! The Pierce is a very elegant home. Beautiful and graceful too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 can you wait until absolute last to shingle and still have it come out right?I always do, and I LOVE to shingle!a technique. I loaded the brush with the copper paint and brused most of it off on a piece of cardboard. I then applied the remainder of it to my roof top.This is the technique referred to in posts, ec, as "dry-brushing". Tracy, I've seen pawns used as balcony & stair balusters, but your use of a bishop as a finial has got to be brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 The copper look is great for the tower section. I'll have to try that. I did the McKinley a couple of years ago but didn't finish thr tower except with paint. A friend of mine liked it so much I gave it to her because I was moving. The blogs really help on the basic construction. You can't tell at all by the catalog pictures of the Pierce how it goes together. Thanks for the ideas. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogster Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 The Pierce appears to go together very easily, Marg has her shell done in about 2 days. I'm going to start mine in the next day or two. I can tell the parts fit together really well. I'd advise anyone to try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenannediva Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Get yourself an "Easy Cutter". It is absolutely a must for shingle work. I used it to put 4,000 shingles on my house which has a ton of angles and inside and outside corners. I really don't think I could have done it without the Easy Cutter. It comes in 3 sizes and has a replaceable blade although I am still using the original blade. Here is a link to it at HBS, I purchased mine at a mini shop and without an HBS discount coupon it is cheaper at the shops and elsewhere online. It also works great for mitering thinner pieces of trim. http://www.miniatures.com/hbs/global/Index...PRODUCTSKU=1126 Valerie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 yes an Easy cutter will make the job go quicker also you camake a teplate of the roof sections and shingle the template and than apply it to the roof. or not shingle at all....you could use other things to roof the house with. I never worry about how I will roof it....if its to be shingles I try and break it up into sessions watch TV while Im doing it. good luck with your Peirce I have one waiting in the back ground that I am eager to start nutti :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 The template is a good idea, if just to get the angles correct. My method is to fold a piece of paper to use to cut the angles. For shingling both sides of a symmetric shape (like a dormer) I put two shingles right sides together to cut them. The EZ Cutter makes the job SO much faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Here is a link to Deb's building of her Pierce. I've not checked them all out, but she normally has very good pictures of the whole build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Peggy, Debs house is gorgeous. How does she put on the wallpaper before actually gluing the house together? I would have glue everwhere. I am inspired but if I live to be 100 I don't think I could ever get my Pierce to look that good. The paper is perfect, the floors and ceilings are great and you can't even see where the glued in parts are glued. A fantastic job. Thanks for showing me what is possible with this house. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Peggy, Debs house is gorgeous. How does she put on the wallpaper before actually gluing the house together? I would have glue everwhere. I am inspired but if I live to be 100 I don't think I could ever get my Pierce to look that good. The paper is perfect, the floors and ceilings are great and you can't even see where the glued in parts are glued. A fantastic job. Thanks for showing me what is possible with this house. Pat She can tell you better than I, but from what I remember, while in dry fit she marks her layout on the walls with a pencil and any changes she is going to make. If you've never looked through her albums or gallery, you have missed a real treat. All of her houses are gorgeous. She also "frames" her rooms with trim--looks good and in my case would hide a variety of mistakes. Her floors always shine, she tells how she does this in one of her blogs--I swear you can see reflections of the furniture in some of them. She uses the floor of the kit too. Lots of patience, stain, varnish and sanding, but well worth it. Believe it or not that Pierce was her second build I believe may have even been her first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Believe it or not that Pierce was her second build I believe may have even been her first. It was my second build, but it was the first house I bought. I ordered the Pierce and then got to thinking that I might want to build a smaller house first to get the hang of it, so I ordered an Orchid (the witch's house). Before I had the Witch's House finished, I'd ordered a Beacon Hill and a Lily. First signs of addiction? <cackle> Y'all are just too kind with the words of praise, but honestly, it's not that hard to do the wallpapering first. As Peggi said, I put the house in dry fit first and mark out my wallpaper lines, then apply the wallpaper, install the window and door frames and then assemble the shell. Peggi, you're exactly right and that framing woodwork hides a lot of mistakes like little gaps where edges don't meet just right. Pat, your Pierce is going to be wonderful! It's a delightful house to build and a lot easier than you'd think because of it's size. Just relax and have fun with it. The shingling is a little imtimidating with all that roof space, but it goes pretty fast once you get started. The only thing I use a glue gun for is shingling and that really takes a lot of work out of it. I think that I ordered four 1000 count bags of fishscales for it but I'm not sure. I always shingle as the last thing on the house and it makes the shingling go faster when I know it's almost done. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I too LOVE to drool over Deb's Pierce !! Her pictures inspire me and I am happy that she has the pictures she dose! I though I was doing my foundation wrong and then she sent me to her links and sure enough I was able to see that it was all okay so I was able to continue with confidence! When I finish this one for my customer, I think I am gonna have to make one of these for myself (Or my girls who say they NEED a Pierce house now ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Minis Dollhouses Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 The template idea is really good. It makes the shingling go quicker, you dont have to position your body at weird angles putting each one at a time and it makes the angles a breeze. I plan on ordering the Pierce in a few weeks and now that I know how many shingles it takes, I cant imagine doing it without templates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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