LoriR Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 and so far it's going very well. i have the foundation and back walls up. Going to start on the staircase this weekend. I already have my flooring and wallpaper so that's all next on the list. i am really impressed at how easily this kit goes together. Haven't had to do much sanding or trimming for the parts to fit together tightly. i've had this kit for a few years and now that I'm working on it and it's going so well I'm wondering why I held off and was intimidated. It's really not that hard. I was going to replace the boxy stairs witha pre-made spiral one but decided to stick with the plan and just build it as it was intended to be. Yep, lots of obsessive fun right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Welcome to the fun. The Pierce is a lovely house. Be sure to take pictures along the way to document your process. It can be useful later when you are trying to remember how you did something in order to replicate it. One thing to check before you wood glue things permanently, is for areas that will be hard to reach for decorating later on in your process. You'll want to do those ahead of time. Using some painters tape you can dry fit the main pieces to check for those troublesome spots. Saves aggravation later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymom166 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I love the Pierce, it is such a pretty house! Welcome to the forum, and please keep us updated on your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Lori, you will want to prime or otherwise seal the wood before you put on your wallpaper, so the acids that naturally occur in wood as well as those used in the processing don't turn it brown and brittle over time. Also, unless you are extremely manually dexterous you might want to wait until your house is decorated before installing doors and windows. I find whenever I build a house kit, large or small, that it help to do dry fitting (assembly with masking tape instead of glue), both to get an idea for how the instructions go vs how I might think to build instead, and for the house to tell me what it wants different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriR Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Thanks for the warm welcome. I have dry fitted it most of it, taped it and "mocked" it up and everything fits well. Thanks for the tip about priming the walls before I paper, I've never papered a wall before and am a bit nervous. Yes, I am waiting till the end to put in doors and windows. I plan on putting clapboard siding on so will wait for that to be done befoe I add trim. The lattice on the foundation was all crumbly so I laquered it with glue and will be adding either a stone of a brick facing on the foundation. had a OH NO moment last night when I attempted to dry fit the attic floor in the slots for the 2nd floor. OH NO..... this isn't good. Then I figured it out. lol. Carry on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Cheers, dear heart. Building kits involves lots of tears, *magic* words, oopsies and frustration, but then one day you look up and it's built and beautiful! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Welcome to the addiction... Umm, errr... The wonderful world of miniatures Lori the Pierce is a fast build one you get past the stairs and decorating ;) I can't wait to see your house as you build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriR Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 I stained the stair pieces last night and HOORAY. 2 different colors of wood but they stained to the same color. HOORAY LOL. Thinking now I might jut stain the floors instead of fussing with floor paper and glue and placement. Already stressed about the wallpaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Congratulations on the good outcome with the stain, Lori. It feels good to have something come out as you'd hoped, right? Do try staining the kit floors. I think you'll like it much better than paper, especially in 1:12 scale. In some builds I've scored & stained floorboards into the ground floor of the build but then used wood flooring on upper floors to hide wiring. It's something to think about -- like you don't already have umpty gajillion things to think about. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriR Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Made a mistake and glued on the kitchen bay wall. Discovered this after I tried to slide the 2nd floor into place for a look. ARRRRGH! No worries, I can rock my xacto knife down the glue seam and get it off. Patience prevails, all is well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriR Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Got the wall off alright. Just need to sand off the old glue. i can deal with that later. I stained the floors and drew planking lines with a lead pencil. Looks wonderfully... old and so appropriate. I stained and have dry asembled the staircase a few times. Taped off the floor around the walls so I can prime for the wallpaper. Eveything's going very well. No major oh-ohs or oopsy's. The staircase stained beautifully. All is well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Looks like you are moving along nicely. If you do get a whoopsie along the way, don't get discouraged. We all have them and they sometimes they actually produce the best and coolest new inventions !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriR Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 I've got the walls primed and ready for wallpaper. The wallpaper I chose for the living room is quite ....... Victorian. Flowers birds, vines, leaves. Intricate. Wouldn't you know it's printed just a bit off on the paper? Oh well. I can square it up.The stairs are turning out to be trickier than I thought but I'm getting there. Good call just stained the floors and drawing plank lines on them. Easy peasy and it looks great. So far so good. I'm finding this Greenleaf kit to be a joy to assemble. My pieces came clean off the sheets, not much sanding required. Everything is fitting square and solid. I'm very impressed with it. Instructions are a bit sketchy but thanks to a few of your blogs I haven't run into any major problems yet. Happy happy! The Harrison will follow this one right away. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Too bad about the paper. Glad you found a fix for it. Did you use an Xacto or box cutter for your flooring? Depending on the size of the floor, you can even get away with a dead pen to scribe the flooring lines. A few months ago someone posted about using their quilting template (that it normally used for your rotary cutter on cloth) to get nice straight line cuts in the wood. I tried using mine and was properly wowed with the great success I had. Perfectly straight and even lines in a flash. Thanks again to whoever it was that recommended it. So glad to hear you are having such a good building experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriR Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 i finally got the living/dining rooms wallpapered. Was easier than I thought. Still have to cut out the doors and windows. Still have to finish the stairs. Hesitating on the stairs cause I don't really like them. They're bulky and take up a lot of room. Still dreaming of an elegant curved one. Also wondering now if i should trim out the tight spots with baseboard before I get the second floor/stairs in place. Stairs will need trim around the bottom also. I keep backing up in my plan. It's a learning curve for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdstews Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I am also building the Pierce, I am going to paint it pink. There is a pink Victorian house near me in Cary, NC. I love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollymmoore Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Good Job!!!!! I think you will soon find that it's hard to only build one. It can be such a learning experience that you'll want to apply what you learned to another then you'll learn something else that should justify making a third because, ya know, it just keeps going from there.......... there's a million things to do and try and it's a great adventure to find what works for you. You may even discover some great tip to share with the rest of us! I love progress photos, so keep them coming! It looks great and I would never have thought this was your first, congrats!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 The Pierce is a magic enabler too. All dollhouses are addictive, but the Pierce just has that extra something special to it. Lynette and I were talking about Pierces the other day and I realized that one of the best things about the Pierce is that no matter how much I love it, it loves me right back just as much. Dollhouses are a reciprocated relationship. :wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 My own experience with the Pierce is that if you are willing it will talk you into all sorts of wonderful bashes. If ever a kit falls into my stack in the shop there is no telling how it will look when I'm through... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lips Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 The Pierce......of all the dollhouses to start with you picked that one. lolOnce you finish it then every other dollhouse you pick to build well seem easy in comparison. Good Luck to you!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimali87 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Just bought each of my 2 daughters the pierce and I'm so thankful for this post because I'm a newby to dollhouses. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Do introduce yourself in the Newcomers Forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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