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New to dollhouses, need advice on roofing


Pinkie

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Hi, I am new to dollhouses.  My grandfather built me a wonderful sturdy dollhouse that I did treasure.  But as I married late, and with a teenage stepson, no less, there was really no need to ever address the house.  That is not to say I didn't and don't still love it.  Finally, a long time family friend has a 3/4 year old daughter, who would be perfect for growing into my house, and I'm so happy I can give it to her as both of our families go way back.  The problems is, my Grandpa used 3" wood shake for roof.  It was not exactly kid or storage friendly and looks probably like Dorothy's after she returned from Oz.  I plan to use asphalt strips.  I've done the math and know I need a little over three boxes, which I think is good, because there will be leftovers for them if there is damage.  And when we're talking kids and toys, damage happens. I am disabled and don't work, so I have told them to pick out the shingle the want, and I will do it up.  The truth is, I have no idea what I'd be doing.  I get laying the shingles, that's not the rough part.  But what adhesive do I use?  Is it hot glues, carpenter's glue, Gorilla glue, some glue I know nothing about?  Can anyone advise me?  I honestly have nothing but time and I want to make this little girl happy.  The rest of the house is a big white blank slate because I was always too afraid to do anything to it.  That stops now!  The first step is the new roof, and the gift is conditional that the little girl decorate it and make it her own, the best kind of condition.  So can anyone help me out and give me some pointer's, or at least which glue to use.  Thanks a million! One old girl and one little girl would really appreciate your help.

Front house.jpg

Back house.jpg

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Nicole, if she is 3 or 4 years old you might want to remove the shingles and sand the roof smooth and paint it to look like shingles, and if she still plays with it when she is old enough to care you can consider putting shingles on it then.  You might also consider removing the windows and door until she is older.  I would also wait to install stairs and replace the window boxes.  If my grandfather had built me a house and I still had it, I betcha I'd keep it and fix it up for ME to play with!

When you have some time you might want to introduce yourself in the Newcomers' Forum.

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Holly's right about making the house kid friendly or it will suffer. No need even to paint faux shingles -- a plain coat of paint will work just fine. I second the suggestion to remove the windows. Little kids tend to reach in through windows when they're playing, just because they can. :D 

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I apologize for not introducing myself.  I have done that now.  Thank you for reminding me of my ill manners.

However, when I made a deal with my friend (whom I have know my entire life, our parents have know each other their entire lives, our grandparents...you get the idea), it was to replace the stairs I broke, which I have done, with a very basic model, which is what my grandfather made for me, and to re-shingle the house with asphalt shingle strips.  Re-shingling the house was actually something my parents were going to do when I was younger, 35 years ago,  so this is how long the wood shake has been a problem.  Yes, I could back out and claim that at her age, the advice you have given me is completely legit.  And I do appreciate your advice.  But I received this house not much older than her and beside the shingles, the only broken piece was the stairs, and so I am a little more hopeful.  In any event, I am going to re-shingle the house, there will be enough left over in case of mishaps, something I didn't have, and I was hoping people here could give me pointers on what I'm going to do, not what I should do.  

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I used hot glue on the shingles, there were strips and it held fast for me.  

I have two 4 almost 5 year old granddaughters.   I have promised them both a dollhouse.  One will be careful with it, the other not at all.  I will be making hers more heavy duty, lol.  It depends on the child.

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Welcome, Nicole. That is a really neat house; looking forward to seeing your progress on it.

I use Aleene's tacky glue to apply shingles one by one, and I tape the tops and bottoms of each layer and let each layer dry for half hour or so before I apply the next layer. Takes me longer to shingle a house, but really cuts down on the warping.

Some folks like to stain shingles before applying; I've done this, but lately have become a fan of painting after all the shingles have been applied. I liked how that worked for my Laurel, for example:

Edit: I use masking tape to tape down the shingle layers.

Edited by rbytsdy
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We meant well, Nicole. I'm sorry if we offended you. 

I suggest using E-6000. It's a clear glue in a tube that can be found at Walmart, drugstores, many places. I would not use hot glue for asphalt shingles. Sable suggests Quick Grip, also a good glue for this purpose. So now you have conflicting suggestions. Well, not really conflicting.  There are many ways to accomplish what we want to do when working on our miniatures. It all boils down to using what's comfortable for you. 

rbytsdy's suggestions about painting are a good way to handle wooden shingles but would not apply to asphalt shingles.

However you end up doing the house, do have fun with it. :) 

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No offense taken at all, Kathi S, a bit of frustration maybe, but absolutely no offense!  After all, you were trying to help, and I do recognize that.  I also realize that you did not understand the bargain I made (I actually threw in a carrot cake in with the transaction too, but that didn't seem germane, lol).  But the mom already picked the shingles and they are already in the mail, plus this was something I felt strongly about too.  I guess to explain my side of it, I received a perfect, if blank canvas house, I want her too as well.  

Thank you for all the suggestions, I'm actually going to try them all.  As Kathi S says, it's what works for you, and how do you know if you try only one?  I will post pictures of the shingling, and hopefully, I can keep you updated on how Svea decides to decorate her new house.  

Also, as I mentioned, I am disabled and have so much time on my hands and I have always dreamed of getting myself a large beautiful Gothic, Victorian or Tudor mansion to build and decorate.  And if you are my people, I would love to share that journey with people who understand how even as a adults, we need dollhouses.  As much as I love my grandfather's, it is a small four room affair, perfect for a child.  But it is not suited to a woman whose first love has always been Colleen Moore's Fairy Tale Castle at the Museum of Science and Industry.  But that doesn't mean I just wanted to donate it to some stranger.  That it is going to a family friend when it is a treasured relic of my Grandfather makes me very happy.

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One last question, and then I'll stop.  Is there a huge difference between the corner trim, which I accidentally bought, and the roof ridge molding that I didn't even see?  I'm not very good at this?  Will the corner trim work?  Because if I can salvage the brick wrapping around the chimney, I don't want to spend another $10 in shipping for a $3 dollar part.  Unless I get some furniture to get Svea started.

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Hi Nicole, and welcome. I've used corner trim as a roof ridge before, no problem. As long as it fits the angle of your roof peak, you're golden. 

And I'd love to know how those asphalt shingles work! I have a box of them I want to put on something, not sure what yet, but I think they're really cool. Looking forward to seeing how they work for you.

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I will post many picture, I promise.  Just be a tad patient with me, because everything ships to my fiance's house, but I have doctor appointment every weekend near my mom's house about an hour away.  So while I do have time, I also have daylong interruptions.  And thank you for letting me know you've done it.  I felt a little like a moron at first!

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I haven't suggested a glue for asphalt shingles because I haven't used asphalt shingles; I have simulated asphalt shingles using sandpaper, and I use white tacky  glue (Elmer's all-purpose) for that.  KathieB's recommendation, as well as Sable's, is a good one;  E6000 does have an odor.

At the top of the page just below the Greenleaf logo there is a toolbar and I suggest you click on the "Shop" button to take a look at the kits Greenleaf offers.  The Pierce is a nice size house and the Garfield is enormous.

When I built my first kit, a Dura-Craft San Franciscan, I was 50 and just starting Nursing School and it took me 3 1/2 years.  Nearly 25 years later I have built  couple more kits (or so) and I still take my own sweet time; the farmhouse I finished last fall took me almost two years.  It's a hobby and over time I have learned to make the furniture and accessories and even the dolls I put into them.  You are embarking on a lovely adventure.

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Well, as promised, here is a photo of some progress.  The wooden shake came off very easy with an Ultra bar (dainty little crowbar the size of your hand, a miracle worker, I recommend anyone with projects have one on hand).  The 35 year old glue was a bit tougher, but nothing a putty knife couldn't handle.Then I sanded it all down with a fine sanding block so it would be even.  I lost the chimney in removing the shingles.  No matter what I did, the shingles would not come off it.  It was just a block type with faux brick wrapped around it.  I figure that will be one more design element the new owners can decide, based on what the do to the outside, as chimneys are not hard to find online.  It looks naked to me, but I'm sure that's normal.  Also, I told the future owners about this site, that you all are good people, happy to help, since this will be their first dollhouse and they may need help with interior decor.  Based on my experience, once I'm done with the roof and hand it off, I feel I'm leaving them in good hands, so kudos to you, my fellow dollhousers.  And without further ado, here's the first project pic:

The shingles before were a tan wood and the asphalt shingles I bought are tan, so I shouldn't have to paint the roof, right?

Shingless.jpg

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Nicole, as I mentioned in response to your intro post, there is a bandwidth limit to the number of pictures you can import to your posts.  There is no limit to the number of pictures you can post to your albums in the Gallery, nor to the number of album pictures you can insert into your posts.  The basic brown color is fine.  We recommend painting or staining the roof prior to shingling, so that any gaps between shingles not be glaringly noticeable.

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