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Fairfield Tower Roof Sub-Assembly


wormwoodz

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Hi everyone, I'm having problems figuring out how to assemble the tower roof on the Fairfield 1:24.

I've re-read the instructions over and over but this bit is giving me a headache, from what I can understand the triangle sides are supposed to look curved after glued? They are completly flat out of the kit, and I'm having a hard time understanding how to make them bend gently along the base. Step no. 5 and 6 on the instructions (section K) says "glue along the bottom edge only" and "be sure glue has ample time to cure before proceding to the next step", so I should glue the front and back at the base only and let the glue dry a bit or dry completly? If I let the glue dry completly at the base, how can I glue the the mid section of the roof without moving the sides? The wood seams a bit too thick to bend enough for the curve on the interior base, or maybe I'm a bit afraid of trying to put too much pressure on it. How should I prevent the sides from moving at the base while I try to bend them?

I've looked around in other people's blogs and posts but couldn't find a lot of info about this sub-assembly. A lot of houses seam to have a straight tower roof without curve, I'm not sure how they did this assembly as most pictures have the roof already painted and/or shingled. I tried dry fitting them straight but there would be huge gaps between the sides, so I'm a bit stuck in this step and don't know what to do :s 

If you have built this sub-assembly, or other similar curved roof structure and have some tips that could help me I'd really apreciate it. I'm mostly having trouble understanding how to bend the kit parts of the roof in a way that will look even for all roof sides. I haven't glued or modified any parts of this sub assembly yet, I want to put it together in the same shape as instructed by the kit but can't figure out how to do this. If you have any suggestions that could help they are very welcome, thanks!

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I don't have a picture, but I remember being confused by this too. My boyfriend was building a life sized airplane at the time and he assembled it for me by wrapping fiberglass strips around the pieces to hold them together. Sorry, that's not much help.

I don't know how you could achieve a curve with the pieces in the kit. If you do want a curve, here's a blog post from someone who made the tower roof shorter and replaced the kit pieces with cardstock in order to curve it: http://tinydistinction.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-new-tower-some-tiny-architectural.html

I love how that one turned out!

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19 minutes ago, mesp2k said:

Check Gina's more minis blog.

Scroll down - she talks about the Fairfield tower?

Might help??? 

Hi, thanks for your imput. I've checked the blog you linked, she has a detailed explanation about assembling the Fairfield Tower walls, but it's not that part that I'm having problems with. I have assembled the tower walls and the rest of the house without any problem, it is the roof of the tower I am having trouble with, which is a separate sub-assembly that is attached to the tower walls later. I've checked the rest of her blog and could find her explanation for the tower roof, however it is very brief and she recomends using hot melt glue and extreme pressure. I don't have a hot glue gun and honnestly would prefer to avoid it altogether, I'm using wood glue (not tacky) wich has a very strong grip but takes around 15 minutes to begin to harden and several hours to dry completly. Her pictures of the roof tower are already assembled and shingled so I can't see how the sides were glued, maybe I'm just being really dense as I seam to find this part the most dificult while everyone else barely mentions it >.<

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From Gina's photos, it does look as though the center base pieces have a slight curvature to them. This reminds me of the mansard roofs in the Lily and the Willowcrest (and the BH). :crazyeyes:

I've never built the Fairfield, but do you know what I would do-- I think that I would score horizontal lines in the back side of each tower roof piece (1/2" apart?). Well, pieces that small would probably break at some point, instead of bending nicely. Better yet, I'd replace those pieces with matboard, like Architecture of Tiny Distinction did!

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51 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Ashley, I glued the pieces as they were from the kit, no curvature.

I've thought about this too but when I try to dry fit them into the tower support structure there are 'huge' gaps in between the sides where the curvature should go. Did you have this problem too, and if so how did you manage to cover the gaps and glue the sides to eachother? Did you have to do any modifications to the components for this to work?

43 minutes ago, fov said:

I don't have a picture, but I remember being confused by this too. My boyfriend was building a life sized airplane at the time and he assembled it for me by wrapping fiberglass strips around the pieces to hold them together. Sorry, that's not much help.

I don't know how you could achieve a curve with the pieces in the kit. If you do want a curve, here's a blog post from someone who made the tower roof shorter and replaced the kit pieces with cardstock in order to curve it: http://tinydistinction.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-new-tower-some-tiny-architectural.html

I love how that one turned out!

So he used fiberglass strips to wrap around the sides and put pressure into them while the glue dried? The instructions recomend masking tape for this but I don't think it's strong enough to hold it, so your suggestion might be well worth a try. I'll check if they have those strips or something similar at the hardware store next time I go for supplies.

I'm familiar with that Fairfield from tiny distinction and I love the roof design as well! Thought about doing something like that for a while but there are two things in that build I would avoid: balsa wood and papper. Balsa wood is great for temporary instalations but a really bad material to achieve durable results, in my dollhouse I only use it to secure replaceable parts in place, such as coves for wall sockets or other bits that aren't permanently attached, and only in hidden areas that aren't visible. Papper also seams like a really bad option for a roof surface that will have shingles glued to it and paint on top, if the surface warps I would have to do the roof all over again >.<

4 minutes ago, rbytsdy said:

From Gina's photos, it does look as though the center base pieces have a slight curvature to them. This reminds me of the mansard roofs in the Lily and the Willowcrest (and the BH). :crazyeyes:

I've never built the Fairfield, but do you know what I would do-- I think that I would score horizontal lines in the back side of each tower roof piece (1/2" apart?). Well, pieces that small would probably break at some point, instead of bending nicely. Better yet, I'd replace those pieces with matboard, like Architecture of Tiny Distinction did!

Yes it has a slight curvature, not very noticeable in some houses but from looking at the components they were cut in a shape to make a curvature like this, but with a tip top insead of a square. It's not as pronounced as in the BH or Lily roofs but I imagine it's a similar kind of assembly. Thanks for your suggestion, the pieces seam very sturdy and can bend a bit, but when I try to apply pressure it's a struggle to keep them in that shape or maybe I'm doing something wrong? I'm a bit afraid of trying to apply a bit of water to them to keep that shape while I glue it, I don't know if that's a good idea or if it will damage the components. I'm also afraid if I put too much pressure I might break the rooftip support by accident. >.<

For making new components, aside from wallpappers I'm trying to avoid using any papper/cellulose based material in my dollhouse, I live in a very humid climate and I would like my build to last, replacing a warped tower roof years from now would mean having to redo the whole roof and shingles with a matching color, possibly destroying any architectural details I would add on top. I really like the design of the roof in the kit so I'm trying to stick to it if possible, as a last resort I will maybe try cutting new roof sides out of thinner wood sheets if this keeps being a headache. 

 

Thank you all for your helpful tips, I am hoping I can use the kit components to build this roof but I'll keep in mind the alternatives you suggested. This is the first time I found myself stuck in the construction process, this step is a bit confusing or maybe it's the scale and the wood thickness that aren't helping with that curvature bend. Going to brainstorm about this for a bit before I proceed, and maybe check some Beacon Hill and Lily roof builds to see how they managed to keep that curve in place while gluing. 

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Ashley, I didn't have gaps.  I had places where the edges of the roof left a "V" between the sections.  I dealt with them the same way I deal with them on bays and towers with more than four sides; I cut sections of bamboo skewers and glued them in the Vs and covered them with spackle and smoothed the edges.  I have already discussed more photos of the Fairfields' exteriors just so people can see what I did.  I also made one of the tower roofs removable, since I extended two of the tower's walls to make another room on the third floor. 

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My brother & sister assembled my mom's Fairfield, and then much later, I helped her complete it.  He soaked the four pieces in water for a few hours to get it pliable.  Then he assembled it to the support base and kept pushing on it with this fingers to make the curvature,so they matched on the corners as best as they could, while my sister wrapped it snug with string.  The first loop, at the bottom, they tied the string to itself, then wrapped it up several times to keep the position of the wood until it dried. I think it dried for days before he took the string off.  Anyway, it has kept the shape with no problems.

 

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51 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Ashley, I didn't have gaps.  I had places where the edges of the roof left a "V" between the sections.  I dealt with them the same way I deal with them on bays and towers with more than four sides; I cut sections of bamboo skewers and glued them in the Vs and covered them with spackle and smoothed the edges.  I have already discussed more photos of the Fairfields' exteriors just so people can see what I did.  I also made one of the tower roofs removable, since I extended two of the tower's walls to make another room on the third floor. 

I'm going to try to attach some pictures to better illustrate my problem and confusion. 

I detached the components and sort them as described in the instructions: front and back sections are slightly wider than the side sections, these are supposed to be glued in first. The right and left sections and slightly smaller and on step 9 says "be sure right and left sides are between front and back sides, be sure peaks align". So in other words, "sandwich" the left and right sides in between the curvature of the front and back.

As you can see in the pictures, there is a curvature both in the roof support and the sides of the roof. I've aligned the parts so that the side is parallel to the edge and touches the interior roof support at the base. Instructions tell me to glue the front and back at the bottom edge first, and do the bending after. But here's the problem: these are really hard to bend and keep in that position, I've tried using clamps on the roof base edge but they keep being pushed out if I apply too much pressure on the roof sides: I was testing without glue, but if the clamps come out won't the glue break from the base when trying to bend and glue the sides to the mid section of the support later? So I am trying to figure out if it would be possible to curve the sides a little before I glue them to the base, I'm afraid of breaking the tip of the roof or other sections trying to do this.

And here's the most confusing part: (9) "repeat repeat 6 & 7 for left and right sections", so they mean I should glue those sections on the bottom edge first, wait for glue to dry, and then push those in between the front and back sections? But if I apply glue to the bottom edge only and wait how can I apply glue to the mid support section latter? The roof would be "closed" by then and I can't see how I would be able to bend it and glue it to the support inside, while sliding those sections "in between" the front and back sides.

Maybe I'm overthinking this and should just try to glue it, but still have to find something that will keep the edges from moving at the base as my clamps didn't work. Also if you notice where the tips connect at the top, they don't align perfectly unless the sides are glued to the roof support, any suggestion to make sure they'll allign later before I try to glue the base?

I also modified my tower walls to connect to the attic, but only on one side (the back). I plan on connecting that section to the roof either with a window in this style or this, or some other kind of roof decoration. 

IMG_0614 (768x1024).jpg

IMG_0612 (768x1024).jpg

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14 minutes ago, Nanobug said:

My brother & sister assembled my mom's Fairfield, and then much later, I helped her complete it.  He soaked the four pieces in water for a few hours to get it pliable.  Then he assembled it to the support base and kept pushing on it with this fingers to make the curvature,so they matched on the corners as best as they could, while my sister wrapped it snug with string.  The first loop, at the bottom, they tied the string to itself, then wrapped it up several times to keep the position of the wood until it dried. I think it dried for days before he took the string off.  Anyway, it has kept the shape with no problems.

 

Thank you for the tip, I was thinking about trying water as well but I didn't know if it would keep the shape or cause problems with the glue. Glad to know it works! I might need an extra pair of hands too, but seams like an easier way to make sure everything will allign and fit together than what is proposed by the instructions. String is a good idea too, and maybe add packaging tape on top to hold it for several days until it's safe to remove. I hope I can try this while summer weather lasts, that should help with the drying process. 

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10 hours ago, wormwoodz said:

So he used fiberglass strips to wrap around the sides and put pressure into them while the glue dried? The instructions recomend masking tape for this but I don't think it's strong enough to hold it, so your suggestion might be well worth a try. I'll check if they have those strips or something similar at the hardware store next time I go for supplies.

The fiberglass was permanent... it hardened over the gaps to form a hard shell. Similar to paper mache or the strips that make a cast for a broken arm. Sorry I don't have a picture. :( We only used that because he had it handy, there's probably a less dramatic solution!

I see what you're saying about the gaps. Unless you go to the trouble of soaking the wood to make it curve, it doesn't seem like the center supports are going to do their job. I would consider leaving them out and gluing the four wall pieces to each other, possibly with some strip wood supports on the inside to give you a better gluing surface. Maybe create a square gluing jig to hold the bottom of the assembly while it dries. Then once the four pieces are glued together, glue the roof to the base.

I just did a search... this question came up before and I remembered more about the fiberglass back then!

Also notice what one person in that thread says about there being different sized triangles. Have you tried shifting your pieces around to see if they fit better in one position than another?

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33 minutes ago, fov said:

The fiberglass was permanent... it hardened over the gaps to form a hard shell. Similar to paper mache or the strips that make a cast for a broken arm. Sorry I don't have a picture. :( We only used that because he had it handy, there's probably a less dramatic solution!

I see what you're saying about the gaps. Unless you go to the trouble of soaking the wood to make it curve, it doesn't seem like the center supports are going to do their job. I would consider leaving them out and gluing the four wall pieces to each other, possibly with some strip wood supports on the inside to give you a better gluing surface. Maybe create a square gluing jig to hold the bottom of the assembly while it dries. Then once the four pieces are glued together, glue the roof to the base.

Ah, I think I now understand what you mean, at first I thought you had wraped fiberglass tape strips or some other strong flexible material temporarily just to hold the thing together xD 

I've thought about trying to glue the sides to eachother first before adding the base, but seamed even more complicated to keep the edges straight and lined up wthout the support being connected to the base. Hmm... I'm thinking maybe I could try to cut pvc binder strips and slide them to the base of the roof to keep the sides in place, might work in this scale and those are cheap and easy to find. I think I'll try that + soaking + a ton of tape and silk ribbon I have lying around and hope that works.

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  • 1 year later...

 

On 8/15/2016, 4:03:22, wormwoodz said:

Hi everyone, I'm having problems figuring out how to assemble the tower roof on the Fairfield 1:24.

I've re-read the instructions over and over but this bit is giving me a headache, from what I can understand the triangle sides are supposed to look curved after glued? They are completly flat out of the kit, and I'm having a hard time understanding how to make them bend gently along the base. Step no. 5 and 6 on the instructions (section K) says "glue along the bottom edge only" and "be sure glue has ample time to cure before proceding to the next step", so I should glue the front and back at the base only and let the glue dry a bit or dry completly? If I let the glue dry completly at the base, how can I glue the the mid section of the roof without moving the sides? The wood seams a bit too thick to bend enough for the curve on the interior base, or maybe I'm a bit afraid of trying to put too much pressure on it. How should I prevent the sides from moving at the base while I try to bend them?

I've looked around in other people's blogs and posts but couldn't find a lot of info about this sub-assembly. A lot of houses seam to have a straight tower roof without curve, I'm not sure how they did this assembly as most pictures have the roof already painted and/or shingled. I tried dry fitting them straight but there would be huge gaps between the sides, so I'm a bit stuck in this step and don't know what to do :s 

If you have built this sub-assembly, or other similar curved roof structure and have some tips that could help me I'd really apreciate it. I'm mostly having trouble understanding how to bend the kit parts of the roof in a way that will look even for all roof sides. I haven't glued or modified any parts of this sub assembly yet, I want to put it together in the same shape as instructed by the kit but can't figure out how to do this. If you have any suggestions that could help they are very welcome, thanks!

This same issue is currently driving me crazy too Ashley! If I put the pieces in place and push hard I can get them into position. I'm going to recut my pieces from card stock - feels like i'm cheating but my pacients is being tried ha ha ha

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Hi is the the bit you are having trouble with, if it is I had trouble too but I glued it internally then the edges then wrapped it tight with duct tape top, bottom and middle, when I first attached the duct tape I pulled it really tight so the wet glued edges met, I was expecting it to break but it didn't, then having bound and I used  it I left it for a couple of days.I opened it and it was 90% attached there was just a tiny bit open right at the top, I reglued and did it again , left it a couple of days then removed and it was fine, I filled the lines with wood filler, it is hard to see on the picture but there is a curve in it.To be honest I was a bit fed up of trying to do it, it didn't make much sense to me so I took a deep breath and just forced it. That was a couple of months ago. I have put this house aside for a while. The structure is very strong. I should add I went round and round  with the duct tape several times

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 05/12/2017, 09:53:22, aussieguy84 said:

Thanks Jeannine! Great advice. Now that I’ve had a little break from it I might try again or stick with the card stock lol!!! 

Hope you managed to get your roof together, it seams this is a common roadblock for several users who worked with this house. I managed to glue it after submerging the plywood in water for a few mins (ading water is not a good idea but in this case I couldn't bend it otherwise), and following a similar procedure to the one Jeannine and others mentioned. I had to let it dry for weeks to make sure the wood dried completly, but it's holding together pretty nice and sturdy. It's worth the small effort as in the long run plywood is more stable than cardstock, for an easier alternative I'd sugest thinner and more flexible plywood sheets.

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