Fairfield Rehab

[Sassley]

Today I brought home a very used Fairfield that is in need of a lot of TLC. Would love tips on

1. Possible disassembly to make decorating easier/ suggestions on opening up the tower room...or not. I wanted to reconfigure the staircase but that looks impossible- although I’ve seen it done with this model, hence why I’m asking about disassembly. Also wondering what tools are best for cutting into wood cleanly, assembled or otherwise.

2. Electricity: I have a tape wiring kit but have never done it.

House has been cleaned and sanded. Figuring out swatches for exterior paint right now. I have a basic outline broken down chronologically and room by room. My goal is to have electricity working and the exterior painted by mid October 2019. After that I will focus on one room at a time. 

Thanks for your help! I look forward to getting to know you all. 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Sassley

[havanaholly]

Ashley, if the kit was built with hot glue a blow dryer and a metal paint scraper to remove the softened glue will be your best friends.  I built two Fairfields to be halves of a Bar Harbor "summer cottage" and turned one of the tower rooms into a utility bathroom by cutting a doorway into the wall, using cardboard to make templates to extend the tower walls to join up with the attic and cut my own 1/8" thick plywood pieces using the templates as patterns and I made the tower roof removable for access.  I hung a Foucault's Pendulum from the roof of the second tower and cut holes in the second and third floors for it.

[Sassley]

2 hours ago, havanaholly said:

Ashley, if the kit was built with hot glue a blow dryer and a metal paint scraper to remove the softened glue will be your best friends.  I built two Fairfields to be halves of a Bar Harbor "summer cottage" and turned one of the tower rooms into a utility bathroom by cutting a doorway into the wall, using cardboard to make templates to extend the tower walls to join up with the attic and cut my own 1/8" thick plywood pieces using the templates as patterns and I made the tower roof removable for access.  I hung a Foucault's Pendulum from the roof of the second tower and cut holes in the second and third floors for it.

Thank you so much! That’s a brilliant tip. I never would have thought of that.

The Foucault’s Pendulum idea is really unique, too!