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Working on an older Jefferson kit


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I got an older Jefferson kit on ebay. I have three others that I got maybe ten years ago when you could still get them at HBS. The one from ebay came with color pics of kits like the Emerson, Chantilly, Brookwood, the Beaumont, Vinyard cottage and Storybook cottage, and the Willowcrest. All of these were available when this kit was made so I don't know how old the kit is. The problem is the wood is very dry and when I put the sealer paint on, in several places it looked like air bubbles under the first ply. I had to pull off the part that separated and fill it with wood filler and sand it several times. This was mostly on the outside surface of the house. It is still noticeable. The grain on the plywood is worse than usual because of the dryness and shows through even several coats of paint and a little through the wallpaper. The entire house is sealed now inside and out, painted and wall papered so most of this doesn't show too much. The problem is, I know where all the repaired spots are. Some of the painted rooms are not as smooth as I would like. Same with the papered rooms.

Do you think when all the window trim and the baseboards, etc., are on it might just continue to dry even worse and start to look awful? I got the upgraded windows and door so they're OK. The Jefferson is my favorite house but It's not going to be as nice as the other Jeffersons I have.

I wonder if there is something you can do to really dry wood before painting it or sealing it to prevent these bubbles from forming. Has anyone else had this problem with older kits?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I filled in most of the areas on the outside of the house that had to be stripped and filled. I have the upgraded windows so you can see where the slots used to be for the window sills of the original windows. I may put flower boxes at least downstairs on the front. The inside walls have to be papered, or spackled to look like plaster. There are too many deep lines, etc., to just paint. I set the whole thing aside for awhile when the Willow came from you. That's coming out really nice. No warping or anything. I just finished all the windows. I made new mitered frames for the outside and they look really nice. Have you started the Glencroft? You must have a lot of energy for all you do. I like to work on more than one house at a time. That way if you run into a problem you don't have to run out and spend more money right away. I usually try and wait for thr 40% off coupons from Hobby Lobby. :wave:

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I an so glad the Willow is working out, it is one of the things about trading that you hope it ends up being fair. I was going to do the Willowcrest next but the Glencroft is just SCREAMING to get out of the box so I might have to do it when the Emerson is done. At this point that might be a long time.

I usually work on three houses at once. One for pleasure and two to make money so I can buy MORE houses for pleasure building! I am build a farm house for a 7 year old named Ruby. It is for her 8th birthday in about 4 weeks. It's a RGT kit I partly built for her when she was 4, now back for a grown up overhaul and update. If I can't figure out how to get a picture up here I will email you one before I ship the house.

I also have a gigantic commission house that I just about hate. The buyer designed it and it was a situation I should have stepped out of gracefully before I started. It's their house I will not be photographing this house for anyone to see under any circumstace...

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