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Repairs to Garfield Mansion


karenf

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I made a major mistake when I started my Garfield about 3 years ago....the instructions said to use hot glue, so I did. Shortly after I began I decided to do some online research and found out it was a bad idea.  :(  I worked up to the top floor and noticed there are gaps between wall and floor sections and the roof tabs won't fit in some of their slots.  I think it is because the base isn't straight or the glue was applied too liberally and walls are not square in some places.  I imagine the only way to correct this is to take it all apart and start over. Where would you start; should I separate certain sections in a particular order, removing the glue residue with a hair dryer and rebuilding with carpenter's glue?  Luckily, I have been dissatisfied with the finishes I put in each room (paint, wallpaper, flooring), so I will be glad to get the opportunity to re-decorate. Any tips and advice on how to begin this demolition will be greatly appreciated!

Karen

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23 minutes ago, karenf@xplornet.ca said:

...the only way to correct this is to take it all apart and start over...removing the glue residue with a hair dryer and rebuilding with carpenter's glue...

I have three houses that were originally built with hot glue awaiting rehab, but I'm building (s l o w l y) some of my boxed kits first.  My method is to take the house entirely apart (I use a heat gun, which usually involves having to build new windows and doors) and remove every bit of the hot glue I can and then totally rebuilding it.  I'm partial to Titebond, but I also like Probond.

BTW, I hope that's not really your email as your username.  You don't ever want to post your personal information anywhere publicly on the internet, it opens you up to all sorts of spammers, hackers and webbots.

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A hair dryer should work to remove the hot glue.  Hot glue is usually pretty easy to peel off with minimal impact to the wood.  I do use hot glue for shingles mainly because my cats like to climb on the roofs of my houses and often knock off the shingles.  When they are hot glued they come off in one piece and can easily be reattached whereas ones glued with other sources often break off in pieces and harder to repair.

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Rebuilding it with PVAc glue would be the best yes. If you go ahead with that plan I'd recomend to get back the instructions and/or take notes of all the components and the order they fit together. Take your time to plan and find what will work best. It's a great oportunity to redecorate and/or rewire the house, if it's already been a few years since construction it could use a bit of maintenance.

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5 hours ago, karenf@xplornet.ca said:

Any tips and advice on how to begin this demolition will be greatly appreciated!

Hi Karen, and welcome to the forum. My advice would be to start at the top and dismantle it piece by piece. Have some ziploc bags and larger mailing envelopes handy in a variety of sizes to keep similar parts together, and label the bags with what is inside. 

Do you have the original instructions? You might also number the bags with the numbered instruction paragraph to help when it comes times to reassemble.

I echo Holly as to your screen name. If that is your real email address, please contact one of the moderators to change it. This is an open forum. Anybody and his evil bots can surf in and scoop up email addresses. You're opening yourself to a ton of spam mail and worse. We have a Personal Message (PM) feature here, so there is no need to reveal our email addresses. If you click on a member's name, you'll see an option to send a message that is secure. Do a search in Members for Minis on the Edge or fov. Either one can help you make the change.

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