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I'm new and in need of help w/the Pierce


ChrisK in VA

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Hi, I am new to this forum and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Chris and I have a husband and 2 daughters - 8 and 5. I got a Pierce dollhouse about 25 years ago and my dad worked on it off and on. I have now decided to finish the project and hand it over to my own two girls. I have a lot of broken pieces so I figured I would see what this forum might recommend.

Is the Pierce gingerbread "standard" so that I can buy replacements? Does anyone know which items are available for replacement parts - like the lattice on the porch, the entry stairs to the porch?

We did not cause the damage but a little friend decided to see what pieces could come off and she started snapping gingerbread one by one. :)

Perhaps if it weren't on the floor and was completely finished though it would have exuded a "play with me carefully" vibe.

What tools do I need - I bought shingles and was told that I would need a mitre. I was also told to measure the roof line and mark every inch I think. Clearly I need help!!! Any advice is appreciated greatly!

I would like to get it refinished by my 5 year old's birthday in April. It's already built but needs nice flooring and wallpaper as well as roofing done...and the lattice and gingerbread. :)

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Chris

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Welcome to the forum, Christine.

I bought shingles and was told that I would need a mitre.
The very thin wooden shingles can be cut with scissors. You can get the angle by laying a piece of paper so one edge is even with the lower edge of the roof and crease it along the angle where the pieces join and use that to mar & cut your shingles.
I was also told to measure the roof line and mark every inch I think.
After I glue the first course of shingles along the lower edge of the roof I lay a shingle over that row to see what amount of overlap estheticall pleases me and I mark the top edge of that shingle and measure across to get a parallel line. Then I measure the gap between the top of the first row and the line for the top of the second and measure and draw parallel lines on up the roof; for me it's usually 3/4", it all depends on what looks GOOD to you.
I have a lot of broken pieces so I figured I would see what this forum might recommend.
If the remaining gingerbread can be removed intact you can either play "jigsaw puzzle" with wood glue, clamps & waxed paper or else there's lovely gingerbread trims available from http://www.micromark.com or http://www.miniatures.com that you can order. If you have the original schematics sheet that came with the kit you could order those from Greenleaf, but you would end up with extra kit pieces you might not need.

What a beautiful house to refurbish. It's too bad some parents don't bother to teach their children respect for the belongings of others.

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Chris, welcome to the community. You'll find the folks here a great support in your adventure!

When you have made 5 posts, you can create a gallery for your photos.

If you'll post some pictures of the damage, I'm sure you'll get some suggestions for repair/replacement. One thing you'll learn very quickly is that there are a lot of ways to repair/replace/mask whatever life (or --gasp!-- builder error) throws at a dollhouse.

Regarding shingles: You don't need a mitre box. You can cut the shingles with a pair of household scissors.

Is the house glued together with wood glue or was a hot glue gun used? If the latter, you may want to consider a more intense renovation (and regluing).

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My dad used wood glue and it's held up pretty well. Thank goodness not hot glue because that sounds like a lot more work would be involved and I am not all that mechanically inclined to begin with. Topics like measuring, cutting, parallel lines, and angles really make me nervous! Thank you hholly and KathieB for your responses!

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Good for your dad!

Don't get too overwhelmed by what's ahead. Concentrate on doing one thing at a time, and ask for suggestions on how to go about it here before you begin. Broken into smaller tasks, the project will be less daunting.

And while your daughter's birthday is a good and do-able target date for completion of the construction and interior wall decoration phases, decorating is an on-going adventure that will continue until they're both in college (or longer). :)

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Hello and welcome Chris! :) I don't know much about the Pierce (other than I want one :) ) but I know that you are DEFINITELY in the right place to get answers to your questions and help! Don't be afraid to ask away and I know that someone (or many someones) will come up with a kick-booty suggestion for you!

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Hi Chris! :) to the forum! My mother and I (well really my mother) built a Pierce when I was young. It is a Greenleaf so if your trim is really messed up you can probably talk to some at Greenleaf about it and see if they can replace it. Enjoy fixing it up. Your daughters will love it!!

:yes:

Carrie

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hello, Chris, and welcome! :)

ya know, if you go to the mini community Home Page and then enter the word "Pierce" in the Search field, that will take you to the many email threads abt the house. the members gallery has great photos, which also are helpful.

several folks are working on Pierce renovation projects just now, so your timing is very good. i'm a newbie, too, am working on a Pierce renovation as well. i've received heaps of help from the people on these forums and am very grateful for everyone's kindness.

So, plans do you and your family have for your wonderful house? Tell us more, please.

looking forward to your posts. :yes:

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Hi Chris and Welcome!

I am sort of new here, too. Everyone has been so nice and helpful!

I am also in VA! and renovating a Pierce. Mine is in very sad shape and was assembled with hot glue, so I have a lot further to go. The advice and support others here have to offer is invaluable, IMO. Greenleaf has parts available for (I think) $6 a sheet. They just sent me a schematics sheet for $3 to figure out what I may need. Or, I would happy to help you figure out what sheets you need. If you search Pierce in the forums, you will find lots of others who are also redoing Pierce houses.

Good Luck! Feel free to pm me if I can help!

Traci

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Hi, I am new to this forum and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Chris and I have a husband and 2 daughters - 8 and 5. I got a Pierce dollhouse about 25 years ago and my dad worked on it off and on. I have now decided to finish the project and hand it over to my own two girls. I have a lot of broken pieces so I figured I would see what this forum might recommend.

Is the Pierce gingerbread "standard" so that I can buy replacements? Does anyone know which items are available for replacement parts - like the lattice on the porch, the entry stairs to the porch?

We did not cause the damage but a little friend decided to see what pieces could come off and she started snapping gingerbread one by one. :wave:

Perhaps if it weren't on the floor and was completely finished though it would have exuded a "play with me carefully" vibe.

What tools do I need - I bought shingles and was told that I would need a mitre. I was also told to measure the roof line and mark every inch I think. Clearly I need help!!! Any advice is appreciated greatly!

I would like to get it refinished by my 5 year old's birthday in April. It's already built but needs nice flooring and wallpaper as well as roofing done...and the lattice and gingerbread. :)

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Chris

As for the gingerbread, if you can't get it from greenleaf you can go to hobby builders supply or any dollhouse supply store online and look at the gingerbread trims they offer...you might have to just replace it all with something slightly different but it will work....there are gobs of gingerbread trims on the market for houses. If you want to stay totally original contact greenleaf. Same for lattice, there are plenty of online stores that sell this...just look for something that is the right size for your house.

If you are handy with a saw, either a powered dremel or even a coping saw, you can make your own entry stairs out of birchwood that can be bought in sheets. Just get creative, stairs are not all that hard to draw the components too...especially if you have even one or two of the original slats to use as a pattern. But again contact Greenleaf if you want stock pieces.

Unless you plan to do a lot of trimwork with baseboard and cornice inside, you don't really need a mitre. I put together several houses wihtout one. the pieces are so small you can make your marks free hand a lot....and I was giong to give the same suggestion as someone else already did about shingles...using a piece of paper as a pattern and crease it where the eaves meet the house to give you your cut mark.

The only tools you REALLY will need is a cheap coping saw and a hammer. Don't use a hot glue gun, use Tacky Glue for the strongest hold. Have plenty of duct or masking tape on hand to hold any pieces together while it dries. Oh and an x-acto knife is nice to have on hand too....plain old sissors will cut most shingles and other small pieces.

For your wallpaper, think scrapbook sheets. LOL You can go to a craft store and get sheets of scrapbook paper in scale patterns (small enough for your house) for about 69 cents a sheet...WAY cheaper than dollhouse wallpaper. BUy a can of spray adhesive for applying to the walls. I love spray adhesive for flooring, wallpaper - all kinds of dollhouse projects.

If the flooring is raw wood you can actually just stain and shellac that for a nice effect to save a few dollars on hardwood flooring - and just buy that later as you can.

I suggest spray painting your trim....lay all of the pieces out on wax paper and spray it (if you can find a warm enough day...it is cold here but i go out as long as it is at least 34 degrees out and spray). Spray them once with flat paint, sand the rough edges, then one more time with enamel. Makes a great finish and goes much faster than brush painting all of those little boogers. You can stand porch ballusters, spindles, stair spindles etc on a piece of cardboard by just putting a small dot of hot glue on the bottom and spray them all the way around. Most small glue gun glue will pop right off when dry.

A list of basic tools to have on hand, that in my opinion are must haves to make the job quicker, is:

Coping saw

Hammer

Tape (masking or duct)

X-acto knife

Sissors

Tacky Glue

Hot Glue gun (for anything BUT main house construction)

Sand paper (I prefer a foam sanding block avail at any hardware store)

Paint (flat and enamel in the colors you desire)

Ruler and pencil

Straight screw driver (comes in handy for popping loose things that were misglued)

I think that pretty much covers it. Most of these are probably tools you have lying around the house. I have found that an old tackle box is GREAT for keeping mini supplies all in one place.

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY BUILDING> WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

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Wow! Thank you for the run-down on tools recommended. I've already used the flat screw driver several times!

My dad just lent me his brand new dremel even after I said no - I will just buy one since I know I will need it but don't know for what and for how long. He's such a good guy!

Luckily he kept all of the cutout sheets of wood so I can use them as templates for replacement parts (now I know where I come by my packrat mentality). There are a few items I would like to keep original but I am not married to the gingerbread detailing on the roof so I may go "after market" with that.

I really appreciate EVERYONE's warm welcome and advice.

-Chris :(

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Hello and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like a fin project and I am looking forward seeing pics of your work as you go along.

Now I haven't built the Pierce myself but I know there are others here that have so I think you will get a lot of tips and hints from them.

Mini-hugs

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Welcome, Chris! As you can see, no question goes unanswered here. The cutout sheets that your Dad so helpfully kept can be useful after you've made your templates. Scrap wood can often be recycled for furniture making.

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Hi Chris,

first of all welcome here. I have build a Pierce and I did with just good wood glue, elastic bands to hold togehter and a lot of sandpaper, no special tools, of ja and a craftknife,

enjoy your building, Wilma

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Hi,

I am new as well as of today. I am also building a Pierce dollhouse, but mine is only 20 years old, got it as a christmas gift. I have worked on it off and on through the years. So it seems we are in the same boat.

I also used the glue gun and found out the hard way that it was the wrong thing to use. I peeled it apart very carefully and used wood glue, and in the gaps, I am using glue mixed with saw dust, great filler. Saw dust from other various projects.

I too want to change my ginerbread for something that looks more real. I also changed my windows for working windows but will still use the curved detail for the tops of the windows.

I have the foundation, outside walls and the inside walls up, which I have made some changes to the inside walls. I finally put on the roof last year. I bought a more realistic fireplace and I want to add a chimney to the outside. I read a post earlier to use the left over pieces from the kit for making furniture, I may use it for the fireplace frame as well. I haven't figured out a color scheme for the house yet.

Let's keep up the good work and plot our progress.

Dee M in Baltimore, MD

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Scrap wood can often be recycled for furniture making
I do it all the time, one of the mini magazines featured an article once showing all the furniture someone made to furnish a house after she built the kit. I made a bedside table for the Coventry Cottage from kit scraps of that kit.
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Hi Chris,

I just received the Pierce as a gift and so far have the foundation built and the staircase. I have the scematics sheet too if you need any help with figurung out a missing piece let me know. I will check this website a couple of times today... as we are having yeat another SNOW day... Wooooooo-hooooo. Let me know if you need any help and Good Luck to you.

Kerri

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