The house I am currently working on is a Willow, by Corona Concepts. After watching hours of videos and reading numerous tips and techniques, I decided to go “old school” and install round wiring.
The technique I am using could be called “grooving.” I have seen a video on this before, where a builder used a knife to cut a groove across the floor, then glued the wires in it before installing the carpet. Thus, the wires were hidden completely. I decided to use a similar concept, but the plywood floors in this particular kit were so nice that I did not want to use paint or carpet on them. Since I am pretty much still a beginner, I do not want to try installing a second layer of flooring.
So, I sanded the floors and coated them with clear polyurethane. But now for the ceiling lights:
On the ceiling side, I cut a groove about 3/16” wide and about half the depth of the board from the locations to hang the lights straight over to the wall where the chimney will be installed. Then I glued the wires in, but left just enough at the light fixture end to wrap around about 1/4 turn of the fixture base. This allows the fixture to be lifted for careful painting of the ceiling. Next, I filled the groove with wood filler. A product such as Redi-Patch would work just as well. when dry and smooth, (2 coats), I sanded the groove area and painted the ceiling with 2 coats of flat white house paint with primer in it. Then, glued the fixture and voila. The best part is that the ceiling looked perfect; no sign of the groove or filler.
I forgot to mention that I did this technique on both the first and second floor ceilings before assembly. On this project, I am ignoring the order of assembly according to the instructions, choosing instead to perform everything I can on the individual pieces and units while each wall piece is out in the open. So, I drilled holes in the side walls to line up with the wires coming through the edges of the ceilings behind the chimney. When everything is assembled, the wires are totally obscured.
Carrying the grooving one step further, I cut grooves on the exterior walls from the locations of living room outlets, side lights, etc. The wires are run to the bottom of the house, and are glued in place, then covered with siding. All connections are made under the house and behind the chimneys before final installation. I also used a voltage regulator from Cir-Kit to help extend the life of the light bulbs. I know it sounds tedious, but to me, it was easier than working with the tape and eyelets after assembly and then having to cover them up afterward. It just requires planning ahead to make the grooves and holes in advance after trial fitting but before actual assembly. The Dremel Tool will set you free!
My Florida home is in Lake Mary, about halfway between Daytona Beach and Disney World. I will check out Ron’s Miniatures! “The Fixer” came from my many years of repairing cars and trucks, as well as toys, plumbing, doors, locks, etc. and a reputation to fix things that others said could not be done. But it does have a nice “gangster” quality, doesn’t it? LOL! Thanks for the kind welcomes, I hope to begin posting soon.
