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Given a dollhouse - now what?!


IveNoClue

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Hi, I'm Amy from NH and I was given a dollhouse recently. It's a kit from the 1980s that was built by my father-in-law. It never went beyond build, siding, roofing and staining. 

I have removed the shutters and will replace them with nicer, louvered-looking ones, and I've primed and started painting the siding and outer trim. Oh and I've replced the broke front door.

My first two question (2 of 48 million I'm sure) are:

1) How to deal with he window "glass" which is horribly yellowed from decades of cigarette smoke and being in the cellar? The plastic is sandwiched in the wood frame. If I push, I think the windows will break. If I cut the plastic out, how will I glue in replacement plastic? 

2) Can anyone advise about wiring for lights? It's already built and there are no built-in channels or grooves for wires and the siding is already on. I read that copper tape can hide under wallpaper but it also said I'd have to know how to solder. I don't...

I am planning on taking this colonial into fairly modern times, unlike my inlaws who were planning a period house. Pot-bellied stove and all. If there's no electricity, how will the occupants charge their mini iPhones and run their Kitchenaid mixer?

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49 minutes ago, IveNoClue said:

My first two question (2 of 48 million I'm sure) are:

1) How to deal with he window "glass" which is horribly yellowed from decades of cigarette smoke and being in the cellar? The plastic is sandwiched in the wood frame. If I push, I think the windows will break. If I cut the plastic out, how will I glue in replacement plastic? 

2) Can anyone advise about wiring for lights? It's already built and there are no built-in channels or grooves for wires and the siding is already on. I read that copper tape can hide under wallpaper but it also said I'd have to know how to solder. I don't...

I am planning on taking this colonial into fairly modern times, unlike my inlaws who were planning a period house. Pot-bellied stove and all. If there's no electricity, how will the occupants charge their mini iPhones and run their Kitchenaid mixer?

Hi, Amy, and welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place.

1) The ideal solution to the window glass would be to remove the molding around the window, inside or outside, so you can sandwich new "glass" between. You may be able to do this rather easily if you slip a very thin putty knife or palette knife between the molding and the wall. Added warmth from a hair dryer or carefully applied heat gun may ease this. If some of the molding breaks, no problem -- or at least only a minor one. You can replace it with strip wood or cardstock. Once painted, nobody will know. 

2) Tape wire can be installed without soldering if you use large eyelets to make the connections. There are others here who can give you detailed instructions, but know that it can be done. :) 

From now on, you'll want to post questions in the General Mini Talk section of the forum. More folks will see them there. It's a good idea to start a new topic for your house and then keep adding to it as more questions arise. That way you'll be able to find them readily.

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For the tape wire, I use brads (two per copper strip) at the connections and attach the lights by wrapping the wire around a brad and then pounding the brad into the tape wire. I have issues with wiring for other reasons -- it's expensive, delicate, and hard to fix once all your wallpaper and trim is in -- but it absolutely can be done without soldering. You can also pound outlets into the tape and plug lights into those. The outlets and plugs are clunky, but they can be strategically hidden by furniture, or you can install a power strip under the house and have the lights plug in down there. Lots of options! If you search the forum this has been discussed a lot and there are some good tutorials. Battery operated lights are another option.

Are the windows part of the kit (usually assembled with thin plastic sandwiched between the inner and outer trim), or are they after market windows like Houseworks? (Example: https://www.miniatures.com/Traditional-Working-Window-P17942.aspx ). If they're the kit windows then you're going to have to remove the inner trim anyway to put on your wallpaper. Kathie gave good suggestions for how to do that. If it's an assembled window like the Houseworks type, then you'll have to get the whole window out in order to access the plexiglass and replace it. If they're the kit windows but you want to upgrade them, you can remove both sides of the widow molding and insert the Houseworks type of window instead (you might need to alter the sizes of the holes to make them fit).

You can attach a photo of the house to a post in this thread, or after you've made 5 posts you can start a gallery so we can see your house. I'm curious to know which kit it is.

 

 

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Welcome to the little family, Amy.  If you know which kit your house was built from, other members who have built it can weigh in with suggestions.  Whatever you do, don't be afraid to ask questions.  As KathieB suggests, do ask your questions in the general mini talk forum.

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When you have made five posts you can start an album in the members' gallery and also share pictures of your progress on your house.  I make nearly everything I put into my houses (yes, I have built & kept more than one; this hobby becomes addictive quite fast).

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15 hours ago, amyole said:

Welcome, Amy!! We have a great store in Amherst, The Earth and Tree. They offer classes. Also, on November 12th, there is a miniature show in Nashua!! You can p.m. me for more info.

Great name, btw.:ohyeah:

I have a trip to Amherst on my priority list but this week has been crazy. I keep telling myself to CALM DOWN PLEASE because I am in the middle of another project that must be done for Christmas. (Steampunk puzzle chest.) Oh 3 others I've started. 

But thanks for the tip about the show in Nashua! I'll be there.

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On 02/11/2017, 12:41:08, KathieB said:

Hi, Amy, and welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place.

1) The ideal solution to the window glass would be to remove the molding around the window, inside or outside, so you can sandwich new "glass" between. You may be able to do this rather easily if you slip a very thin putty knife or palette knife between the molding and the wall. Added warmth from a hair dryer or carefully applied heat gun may ease this. If some of the molding breaks, no problem -- or at least only a minor one. You can replace it with strip wood or cardstock. Once painted, nobody will know. 

2) Tape wire can be installed without soldering if you use large eyelets to make the connections. There are others here who can give you detailed instructions, but know that it can be done. :) 

From now on, you'll want to post questions in the General Mini Talk section of the forum. More folks will see them there. It's a good idea to start a new topic for your house and then keep adding to it as more questions arise. That way you'll be able to find them readily.

Good advice, KathieB! I approached the window with a palette knife pretty convinced I'd be shoving my whole arm through a window. But it worked perfectly! The skinny little trim broke but it's easily replaceable. The faux glass popped right out. If I can ever figure out how to get pics from my phone into this forum, you'll see how disgusting it is. 

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