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The Pierce Color scheme & 3rd floor crack


rimali87

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I'm close to finishing my first dollhouse which has taken me almost 2yrs to make from being so busy. The dollhouse is for my 11yr old daughter and she chose the house to be country white with green trim for the windows but I'm not sure what color to do the doors and decorative trim pieces. I included a picture of what it looks just in case that helps. Also, while I was installing the 3rd floor today,  I was having a hard time lining up all the tabs in their proper places.  I was having to rig it to keep it in place for the glue to dry. While I was trying to do said rigging and push a difficult tab in,  the floor broke but not completely in half. Almost like it buckled. I'm so upset since that's such a large section. Is there a way to fix it? I tried to include a picture of that as well to help.  Thank you in advance.  :)

 

 

dollhouse crack.jpg

dollhouse.jpg

Edited by rimali87
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When the tabs and slots don’t line up, I normally either shorten the tab or lengthen the slot. Neither of those things will help this now. Before I can give a really good solution, I need to know if this is a clean break that’s completely through? Is it glued totally and stuck in place now? It looks odd from the picture to me.  I think it’s Awesome you’re building this for your daughter! What a Wonderful memory! 

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If you still have the sheets you punched your pieces out of you can order another sheet with that floor from Greenleaf, or you can pick up a piece of 1/8" luaun plywood from the hardware store and trace the damaged floor onto it and cut a new one.  One of the reasons I always dry fit all the parts of the carcase together is to adjust the tabs & slots for a more perfect fit.  It looks as if you primed the floor.

If the house is going to be that bright a white, perhaps a dark red or burgundy would work for the doors & corbels.

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I agree with Holly, I would order another sheet from Greenleaf. They are very good about sending out new pieces. Burgundy or peach might look good for the door having to go with the green trim.

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Sorry for the late response,  I have been extremely busy. thank y'all for the advice.  It isn't a clean break and I did add glue to it and that seems to have helped but I wasn't sure if that would be enough in the long run. The tabs weren't glued in when it broke but they are now. I did all this of course, before I read your responses.:doh: The floor isn't primed but I do have some things primed, some painted and primed and some untouched. Can you tell I'm a.d.d.?  Lol. Really I'm just trying to figure out what's best to do now or later and this is my first build so I can only imagine what my pictures look like to you veterans. :blush:

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I do have one more help request.  I can't attach a picture using my phone for some reason and I'm not home at the moment but I will when I get home. I've been working on the kitchen bay (which I should have waited to do till after I checked your responses) and the instructions said to glue the side pieces first and then the middle piece. I did as instructed and when I glued in the middle, I notice a significant gap between the right side and middle piece. Do I need to remove it and make the slots bigger so I can slide the piece closer the the middle one?  And if so, how do I remove it carefully without breaking anything since it's already glued?  Thank you all for your help and patience with this clueless newby. 

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I've been known to flip houses upside down or sideways to get at difficult-to-reach spots.  Are you using wood glue or tacky glue?  Tacky glue will soften with warm water & vinegar enough to coax part gently with a knife blade; with wood glue I use a metal putty knife & a hammer and a very gentle touch.  For your next build I suggest you invest in a roll or two of painter's or masking tape nd assemble the house first with tape, not glue, to see where you need to adjust tabs & slots.

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Wow you are doing a great job.  There is nothing like an old white farmhouse.  I would do the trim a little shade off of the white, so it doesn't take away from the all white look.  For the door if you do a red, make sure it is not a Christmas red, or it could end up just looking Christmassy.  You may just want a wood door with a cherry stain. That may be nice option.  

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8 hours ago, rimali87 said:

I used wood glue. I will definitely be using tape on my next build. thank you for the advice. I also included a picture of it, just in case. :)

dollhouse.jfif

I can't open this type of file. It wants to be downloaded to my computer. Can you post as a jpg?

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14 hours ago, Mid-life madness said:

I would leave it be and fill the gap with spackle.

If you really want to remove it, use a blow dryer to loosen the glue and try to detach it. the warmth loosens  the glue.  Just  don't melt the window!!!:ermm:

I thought about the spackle idea but wasn't sure if that was a smart idea to mention. Thank you!

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If it's possible to squeeze the edges together, I'd run a bead of glue along the space the then use a lot of tape to clamp the edges together.

Otherwise, Spackle will do the job, or paintable caulking. :) 

This is one situation where dry fitting would have shown that the tabs on the second floor needed to be shaved to provide a snug fit.

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Once it's all together as Kathie suggests spackle over the corners nd the tabbed slots to give a lovely smooth surface.  I see that the windows have been installed.  I'm far too messy!  I always wait to install windows & doors until I have finished decorating the interior & exterior walls.  I also usually decorate the interior as I go; once the bottom floor and outer walls are up I begin with finishing off the floor and decorating the downstairs walls and install the interior window & door trims, then I prime & work on the ceiling side of the second floor, install any downstairs dividing walls (also already decorated) and install the second floor.  Then I repeat until ready for the roof.  I install the window transparent inserts to the outer frame and after the exterior walls are done (stucco, clapboard, brick, whatever) the windows go on and the doors get hung.  Doing a dry fit helps me decide whether to proceed as I normally do, or if I ought to do things differently.

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On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2017‎ ‎6‎:‎02‎:‎16‎, rimali87 said:

I notice a significant gap between the right side and middle piece

Is there any give in the pieces where you could glue and clamp?

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7 hours ago, Its_a_sm_world_after_all said:

I think someone here uses 1/8" dowels in the gaps on the exterior to cover them. That might be worth a try and look cleaner than the spackle. 

Bamboo skewers also work well. The dowels or skewers work best when the two walls meet all the way up and there is a need to fill in the opening created by the thickness of the wall sections. I noticed that for the joint in question, The sections meet at the bottom but then spread apart farther up the wall. I think with such an irregular space, the Spackle would be the better choice for a smooth transition. (And when using a dowel or skewer, it's still necessary to smooth the joint with Spackle.)

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On 11/23/2017, 8:02:31, havanaholly said:

Once it's all together as Kathie suggests spackle over the corners nd the tabbed slots to give a lovely smooth surface.  I see that the windows have been installed.  I'm far too messy!  I always wait to install windows & doors until I have finished decorating the interior & exterior walls.  I also usually decorate the interior as I go; once the bottom floor and outer walls are up I begin with finishing off the floor and decorating the downstairs walls and install the interior window & door trims, then I prime & work on the ceiling side of the second floor, install any downstairs dividing walls (also already decorated) and install the second floor.  Then I repeat until ready for the roof.  I install the window transparent inserts to the outer frame and after the exterior walls are done (stucco, clapboard, brick, whatever) the windows go on and the doors get hung.  Doing a dry fit helps me decide whether to proceed as I normally do, or if I ought to do things differently.

Thank you for the invaluable advice! I will do it that way for my next build!  I am building another Pierce after this for my youngest.  :)

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The skewer/  dowel will help to fill the gap and then the spackle doesn't have to bridge as much space.  Even with dry fitting and taping/ clamping the bejeezis out of it sometimes I get gaps that the skewers fill nicely.

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