AandC construction Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 Those are beautiful! Both you and your friend are VERY talented! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Colleen, I built the all-wood SF555 and if someone gave me a 557 (MDF version) I'd give it to you, I don't like working with MDF, I prefer wood. Of course, if someone gave me a 555 I'd KEEP it after I built it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AandC construction Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Thanks Havanaholly, for your advice. I really love the look of the San Franciscan. I have only built one other house (Beacon Hill) and I'm trying to decide which version of the SF would be best for me. If I understand you right, the SF555 would be a similar build as the Beacon Hill.??? I LOVED building that house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharon Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 My Duracraft House is made of mdf. Does anyone know if it is difficult to run tape wire in these? I cut an extra door out with a dremel. Not really difficult, but the inside of mdf has a texture that does not seem solid. I wonder about nailing parts into this hard material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Colleen, the Greenleaf kits are die-cut tab & slot throughout, the Dura-Craft kits I've done only the interior walls & floors were tab & slot, the exterior walls of the wood kits were made by gluing strip of clapboard-milled wood strips tightly together and sliding them into milled longframe pieces that made the corners of the shell. For those with MDF Dura-Craft kits, do the wall sections still fit that way? If you get the wooden versions (550 or 555) be sure to use your instruction sheet and go ahead and invest in a metal (NOT plastic!) mitrebox and craft saw rather than the hinky-dinky little piece of "L" shaped wood in the kit. I also went out and bought a carpenter's square with inches marked in 1/16" increments for accurate cutting. The pictures of the longframe pieces in the instruction booklet are exactly what should be in the kit, the first thing I always did with a Dura-Craft kit was to take the parts list and go through the kit and make sure I however many of whatever I was supposed to have before I started the build. Sharon, MDF is MUCH denser than wood and the resin binders don't like sharp tools (you'll want to sharpen your saw blades & change out your knifeblades frequently). You will want to invest in some drill bits to make your starter holes for nails, brads, etc, and for electrifying you'll want them on the small side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AandC construction Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Thanks again Havanaholly. I was wondering if both versions had the milled clapboard siding, or just the SF557. Now I know that both versions do. To tell you the truth, I'm a little disappointed because the siding was one of the things that I really enjoyed doing on my BH. I love the detail. It sounds like this house will be a bit different to build, but I think I'm up for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I think you'll do just fine. Each brand of kit, even each kit, has its little quirks & peculiarities, things that seem so easy and things that drive you up the wall. You have a Beacon Hill notch on your belt, so you'll do just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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