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Beacon Hill Christmas Gift


JennyBuilds

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Hi everyone. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment! I have read the instructions thoroughly, as well as the warm up sheet, but I am having issues differentiating which pieces are which!! They are unlabeled. Am I supposed to remove everything from the box and label? This was specifically prohibited in the instructions I read as it said to remove and use IN ORDER, but I am unclear how in step A I am supposed to locate foundation back (1) and bottom support (27)!! SEND HELP!!

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Hello Jenny

Look at the schematic sheets and label the individual pieces in pencil. I usually put the sheet number on the piece and if there is room on the piece I write its name. BEWARE, sometimes the directions will use an abbreviated name then the what is on the schematics sheet and vice versa....

Identify sheet #1, look at the schematics then label before you punch them out. This will help you to become familiar with the pieces and instructions. I only punch out the pieces as they are called for. If one should come out by mistake, I place it in a plastic zip lock bag labeled with the sheet number on the bag.

Stay as organized as you can :bigwink:. Take some deep breaths, you can do it!

Here is a blog that might help you too.https://moreminis.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-beacon-hill-dollhouse-blog.html

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Hi Jenny! Welcome to the forum. I have not built the Beacon Hill but there are plenty of members here who have and I am sure someone will be along shortly. There are many galleries of that houseto look at while you wait. Perhaps that will help. There's usually a little diagram that shows the pieces on each sheet and their numbers somewhere in the instructions.

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Jenny, the schematics sheet is the large sheet of paper with the rectangles with all the little pictures on them.  The rectangles have numbers on them, and when you look at those sheets of plywood in the box you should find a number in one corner, made up of dots in the wood.  I go over the numbers with a black marker/ Sharpie pen.  When I first began to build dollhouse kits I also tore off small pieces of masking tape and stuck them onto the parts on the plywood sheet and wrote the name of the part from the schematics sheet.  This made it lots easier to find the pieces when I was ready to use them.  I also like to stack the plywood sheets in numerical order with #1 on top and the highest number sheet on the bottom.  As I use a part I cross it off the instructions in pencil (in case I have to take things apart and have to erase  and do it over).  I also find it helps to first read the instructions and put the shell of the house together using tape, rather than glue (what we call dry fit).  This helps me to understand the instructions and when it's together I can see which areas I ought to prep or even start to decorate before I do glue things, because I'll never be able to fit my hand or a paintbrush once it's all glued together.  I also wait until I've decorated to install the doors and windows.

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Thank y’all so much! I got paranoid about removing pieces after the instructions said not to, but my box is packed in a wonky order, so I had to remove it all and organize. I’ll take everyone’s helpful suggestions into account! I was hoping to have this thing build by Christmas for my kids, now I’m thinking it’ll end up being Christmas next year

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Jenny, when I open a new kit, even one I've built before, I still get the newbie jitters.  One of the things that's been really helpful to me is when I found out the houses will talk to us (OK, sometimes they get a bit strident!), and part of my approach is to get a shy one to speak up.  As soon as I open the box I set the lid upside down beside it on one side and on the other I remove the Warm-Up sheet and the sheet of clear acetate that has the door and window inserts, and set it between the pages of the Warm-Up sheet and lay them next to the full box bottom on the other side.  Then I take out the instruction sheet and glance through it and lay it on the Warm-Up sheet.  Last I remove the schematics and lay it atop the other sheets where I can see it and grab a dark-lead pencil or black Sharpie (my weapon of choice) and go through the stack of wooden plywood sheets in the box bottom, searching them in order; as soon as I find #1 I trace over the dotted number with the /sharpie to make the number stand out and then lay it face down in the box top after comparing it to the corresponding number on the schematics sheet (I used to make my tape labels and stick them on the various parts, but I no longer do that, since sometimes those bits of tape fall off); I continue this way until all the wood sheets are in numerical order face down in the box top.  I then return them face up to the box bottom, and there they are in ascending order from the top down.  Next I read through the instructions and decide if I want to start then or wait and get my nerves to settle down (hot chocolate or a cookie does wonders for this).  To build a glorious big house like a Beacon Hill is worth taking as much time as you want to.

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9 hours ago, JennyBuilds said:

I was hoping to have this thing build by Christmas for my kids, now I’m thinking it’ll end up being Christmas next year

The Beacon Hill on my work table read this and let out a hearty laugh. It may have been covering her jealousy, as she has been carted from place to place over the years and gets worked on only in spurts. I tried to explain to her that you have a deadline and we do not, but she didn't want to hear that.

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My kids are young (2.5 and 4) but both play so nicely with the dollhouse my grandfather made for my cousin when we were small. He died before he could make me one to pass along to my kids, so I decided I would do it myself! My sister also just died, so I need an outlet for my pain and frustration. I found myself with an unexpected day off today as my hospital just reopened after the Kincade Fire, but I don’t need to report until tmrw. I am dedicating today to building this behemoth. I am not trying to make the BEST dollhouse around, but I have picked out paints, as organized, and am wanting to give it my best shot. How long do you think it will take? Hours wise? I can commit to at least an hour a day. I think I decided to use oragami paper with mod podge for wallpaper, and stain the floors wit wood stain. I picked out cute rugs, and furniture- just basic stuff. My girls love the show “Sprit Riding Free” on Netflix, so I’m trying to paint and furnish the house to resemble the Victorian in the show, as well as purchase dolls that look like the characters. I’ll take all of the time saving tips/help you’ve got!! 

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Do NOT use hot glue, use a good carpenter's wood glue to assemble your kit, and do use painter's tape or masking tape to put it together before gluing anything, so you can see if you understand the instructions, and because there will be areas you won't be able to paint or paper once it's glued together.

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1 hour ago, havanaholly said:

Kathie, we all know what a diva your Beacon Hill is!

Diva doesn't begin to cover it. She is currently telling me that she wants to have a stone exterior, a far cry from the white clapboard I'd originally planned. She says the area beneath the kitchen windows can be board and batten but must be painted to complement the stone color, whatever color is chosen for the outside trim. And the copper roof on the tower that I worked so hard to perfect has to go. She now wants dignified black shingles for all of the roof sections.  :dunno:  :doh: 

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Question!!!! 
 

if I stain ALL the pieces, can I prime over and then paint/wallpaper OVER the stain for the opposite side? I’ve read a lot about people who noticed paint from the other side being visible, I was wondering if I could solve that problem by staining prior to “tape fitting” the house, then notating where the paint would be visible and not painting it. What do you think?!

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I wait until after the dry fit to do any painting or staining, since I like to trace a pencil line along all the tape joined edges and mask them with tape to keep them bare for gluing.  Yes, you can prime and paint on top of stain; when I'm doing the pieces that will be floors on one side & stained and ceilings on the other & primed & painted I do stain the floor side first and when the stain is dry I mask the edges of the floor side so primer and paint don't dribble onto the stained side.

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11 hours ago, FurMama said:

There is a thread that has build times for Greenleaf kits. It says 50 hours for BH. 

I don't believe that estimate includes wiring and decorating, both hungry time gobblers.

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5 hours ago, KathieB said:

I don't believe that estimate includes wiring and decorating, both hungry time gobblers.

No. I  would think it only applies to  actual shell construction since it says build. I think the thread/post also says something about approximate time as well. Still when when you're staring at a box with a million pieces and parts it is nice to know that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel LOL!

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