Struggling with Wiring and Not Even Started Yet!

[katclaws]

Hello again,  I am back with more questions.  So, here is the backstory information.  I'm working on my GL Harrison Tudor that I've had since 1980. It was built & the outside painted and then has been in storage, until a few months back.  

A few things I've redone is pulled out the 2 staircases and plan on flipping them around to face the back of the dollhouse. This has resulted in my having to use wood filler where the cutouts for the railings were. Did I mention I hate sanding & the mess it makes inside the house and all around?

 I'm also planning to put in a Stained Glass look-like window in between an interior wall bathroom & the little studio room at the front of the house.  I've reglued some loose pieces and will have to rebuild the platform for the bottom of the house. I painted the interior of the house white to seal, but I did leave the floor alone for now, as I was thinking of scribing them & then staining them-except for the bathroom & kitchen.     

I've read & learned so many things since I found this forum.  It's a case of I wish I knew then, what I know now!  I guess I thought there was only one way to build a dollhouse, but now I see how many of you think completely out of the box with your own creations & imaginations & materials.  

So here is my latest conundrum.  I thought I had my wiring figured out. There are at least 13 light fixtures I'm thinking I will need initially.  I ordered the Large lighting kit from Cir-Kit, read the booklet, read some tutorials, downloaded more tutorials,  saw a few videos on Y-Tube, I really liked-that I could stop & pause & rewatch--step by laboriously slow step. (Seriously, I thought there would be so many more video tutorials-as I do much better with visuals, than by just reading)  Anyway, after looking thru Cir-Kit's website-after I got my kit, when I started looking at Ceiling fixtures, I notice that there are "adapters & canopies".  Wait, WHAT?   That wasn't in the videos I watched!    The person I watched drilled a hole into the second floor to the ceiling below!  

So, I guess my question now is does the tapewire go on the floor above or ceiling below & you then use these wonderful adapters that allow you to remove the fixture with just a turn of your hand to replace bulbs--or do I go with Lady in the Video???  Do I go across the floor, up the now empty stairwells, go under the hexagon shaped windows, make false ceilings for the attic?? Soldering is not necessary-Yes it is necessary-No you can use shrink tubes!!! GAH!!!  I'm paralyzed from not knowing what to do next. 

I thought I got it, but now I'm not sure of anything.  I blame the lady in the video who made this look like a snap ! (or I could just blame myself for being so dense with the wiring instructions  

Just for Reference these are the Vids I watched back when I thought I got it:

1) How to Electrify a Dollhouse (Lady, I'm cussing at--but has nice music   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgsi-EnszlA

2) Miniature Electrics Episode 2 --Guy who I liked until I found out that you can't get next Episode to keep watching--Also he turned his dollhouse upside down & on it's side--REALLY?!  Wish I knew that little trick before 3 sides with bay windows  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Nq2RG8mjY  

3) Miniature Building Construction Step 6 - Installing the Lights  -I like this one too, but sometimes hard to see because her hands block what she's doing  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD8650I  

4) I've also downloaded, printed out, read, studied about 7 tutorials online, but I just do better with step by step visuals. 

5) There is a DVD on electrical put out by Cir-kit.  (It is about $20.00  )   IF anyone has seen this DVD & would reccommend it, I would seriously consider biting the bullet & buying it  

6)  Maybe I am just making this so much harder than it is ???  

Any suggestions, advice, methods, more helpful Videos, or slaps upside my head, would be welcomed-. I'm just stuck in this holding pattern.

TIA  and Happy Thanksgiving Eve to those in the U.S. 

Warm Regards ~~ kat

[jbnmini]

OK Kat.....BREATHE!!!   

I was in your shoes not very long ago.... and still am on occasion!  I have issues with arthritis and tendonitis in my hands/fingers so working with these blasted teensie wires and brads drives me nuts!  Anyway- here are my lessons learned so far:

-Use the continuous/folded corner method of laying your tapewire.  The fewer connections, the better.  

-Use eyelets when making tape wire run connections rather than brads - they are easier to handle and tend to stay in place better.  Cover each junction with a bit of tape to help keep the eyelets from corroding.

-Those adapters and canopies ARE pretty slick!  I've had success with them, although I've heard some say that they won't last as long as a hard-wired connection.  At any rate- I use ceiling adapters and canopies (running the tape across the ceiling) when I decide to directly scribe and stain the wood floor above.  If I am installing flooring sheets or carpet above, I can hide my tapewire (on the floor under it)so then I do the hole in the ceiling and soldering routine.

-Using the soldering iron is NOT an easy task when installing lights in a tiny little hallway... but learning to make those type of connections WILL be better in the long run!  I am determined!    

 

Anyway- it's all a matter of what your house design requires and what you are most comfortable with....and practice!  ;)   

[havanaholly]

3 hours ago, katclaws said:

...Any suggestions, advice, methods, more helpful Videos, or slaps upside my head, would be welcomed...

See if this helps:  http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=gallery&module=gallery&controller=browse&category=16

[Sable]

Kat, your comment was hilarious.  I don't think you realize it but your research has made you an expert.  Just take the info you have learned and go with it.  Try different methods to see which you like. Do one ceiling light one way and another the other way. It's all a learning process. I've used the adapters and have chosen my preference to be wiring to the second floor. For attic spaces I've wired under roof tiles but that takes a whole lot of early planning. Just go with it and tackle each herdle with the knowledge you have gained. You really did your homework.

[Myangela]

I agree with Sable, your narrative is too funny!  And you have done your research.  

I also swear by the eyelets.  The brads just don't stay in place well enough to maintain the current.  I bought fixture adapters, but ended up not using them.  I also bought the smaller outlets and replaced all the plugs on my lamps and found that they became consistently unreliable!  So I now wire my lamps directly to the tape wire by wrapping the wire around eyelets, not brads.

  I also made double floors in my first and second dollhouses.  I left an eighth of an inch clearance inbetween on my second dollhouse, the Orchid, by using the wood left over after punching out the pieces.  It sounds like a lot of trouble, but being able to slide out the floor to access the wiring is really convenient.  I also try to run all the connections about an inch from the open back edge, and I label each fixture's connection right on the wood.  The Orchid's wiring has been trouble free, unlike my first dollhouse, which I have had to go over to my niece's house and work on several times!  

I'm scratch building a house right now and have decided to go hybrid!  Some tape wire and some round wire.  I have to learn to solder first, though.  Wish me luck.

[Deer&Vixen]

Hi, I was wondering if you'd come across information on fireplaces? My research shows that I need to wire it separately or all the lights will flicker like th fireplace does. So do I need two separate junction splices? One for the house and one dedicated to the fireplace? Or do I just need a separate tape line from one junction splice to the fireplace?

Thanks! I have the CirKit kit and I've read and reread the book..but this is new territory for me!

[Sable]

You got me on that one. I'm not sure about the separate line. Two suggestions until someone who really knows the answer can help. Make an electrical board to test it out.  I use my board all the time to test fixtures. The other solution is to buy an Evans Designs battery operated LED fireplace system for about $7.

[Deer&Vixen]

Thanks for your help! 

I found an answer  http://www.miniatures.com/Electrical-W17.aspx

Separate transformer it is!

[Nell]

Hello.  This is my first post because I finally plucked up my courage and joined the forum after reading here for several months.  I've learned a lot so thank you all.

I watched all the same videos as Katclaws and wanted to tell her that I really understand her anxiety.  I just finished tape wiring my first build (1/2 scale Earth and Tree Lyndeborough saltbox) whilst holding my breath as I tested each connection - but it worked!  I have some more hammering and definitely a lot more decorating to do before I install the lights.  By the way, I agree that eyelets are the way to go.  Those tiny brads are incredibly fiddly and after failing to get a secure connection a couple of times I switched to the eyelets.

I also wanted to mention to Deer&Vixen that Cir-Kit sells two fireplace lights.  One flickers and requires a separate transformer.  The other is just "glowing embers" - no flicker - and doesn't need the extra transformer.  At least, I hope that is right.  I bought the glowing embers because I didn't want to splurge on an extra transformer and junction splice for my very first build. 

[Deer&Vixen]

I have Houseworks 2022.