This is Part 2 of me building the dollhouse roof. Read Part 1 here.
More Marks
Once I was sure the back roof would hold, I took off the tape and tested the bond. It held!
Phew.
Then, I had to make the marks for the dollhouse shingle lines. I know to start at the bottom this time, and I figured it would be a breeze.
It was. But, I still messed up.
More mistakes
The instructions said to mark the shingle line on the outside of the roof piece. Well, duh. But how do you figure out which side is the outside? Place the piece bevel side down. That’s what the instructions said to do. I placed my bevel like this:
That was wrong. It should have been like this:
I didn’t figure that until later.
I don’t know why this confused me. Apparently, I thought the long edge of the bevel was the “down side.” Oh, well. Another newbie lesson learned.
Practice Makes Perfect
The next part of the instructions says to fit everything for the dollhouse roof together with tape (not glue) to make sure you get it right.
Good advice.
The first thing to do is center the roof pieces, so they’re the same distance from side to side on the dollhouse. The trick with the roof is that both pieces are wider than the dollhouse, so you’re not gluing the edge of the roof to the edge of the dollhouse. There’s some overhang of the roof.
But, you want it to be an equal overhang, if, for no other reason, your dollhouse would look weird. I’ll also say it’s to make sure the pieces hold together correctly. I don’t know if this is true or not. I’m just guessing.
After you center the roof pieces, you’re supposed to mark off with pencil where to apply the glue.
I held up the front piece and tried to eyeball it, but that was not working. I mean, I could guess, but there’s no way to know. And, it’s not like I could hold up both roof pieces and slide them together until I got it right. Well, I could, but then there’d be no way to mark where the glue should go.
Then, I thought math might be the answer (divide the total distance of the roof piece in half, then half again, and again), but then I had to take into account that the dollhouse isn’t the same width as the roof. So, then I’d have to calculate the distance from the edge of the dollhouse to the edge of the house as well, then center it from that.
So, I said “no” to math.
Instead, I did end up eyeballing it but added a ruler.
Genius, I tell you.
The exact distance from the outer edge of the roof piece to the inner edge of the dollhouse side piece is 1 inch.
Perfect.
Once I figured that out, I marked it off and made arrows so I knew which side of the line the glue should go.
Then I had to do the same thing for the back roof piece, and the same measurement worked. So, I marked off that one inch and assumed I was good to go.
Up Is down and down Is Up
Before I glued the dollhouse roof on, I was dry fitting the pieces together. In the instructions, it looks like the beveled piece (the back roof) is supposed to be the top piece of the dollhouse roof (meaning the part that forms the peak of the roof). I tried fitting it, pushing it, sliding just so, but the two pieces would not rest properly.
No matter what I did, I ended up with a gap, and it just didn’t look right.
So, I flipped the beveled piece over and tried again. It was a perfect fit.
Oh. That’s what bevel side down means.
Argh. So, all my marks are on the wrong side. Crud. I remeasured and redrew all the marks and then it was fine.
I’m glad nothing was glued on the dollhouse. That would have killed me. I could have redrawn the marks but what a pain.
Fit It Again
I dry fit everything again. I found that if I did things from the back, I had a better view of the marks and the alignment. Like this. I’m holding the back roof on, but I’m in the front of the dollhouse.
I have a clear view of my marks, and I can see that everything is lined up properly.
Then, and I don’t have pictures of this, I practiced placing the two dollhouse roof pieces together, and this time, it worked. No wonky gaps. Just a near perfect roof.
Sticking It Together
Then came the glue.
And, another newbie mistake.
When I started dry fitting the dollhouse roof, I marked off the exact width of the side panels so I would know exactly where to put the glue (there’s a picture of that above).
The problem is when I measure between those marks, it’s an odd measurement, and I didn’t want to try and figure out how to make that guideline all the way down.
In retrospect, I should have.
Here’s the tacky glue on the rear roof piece. As you can see, I followed my advice and put the glue on the “correct” side of the line.
Then I glued it on and pressed. I was worried this piece would slide right off the dollhouse roof. At least until the glue tacked a bit. Here’s what it looks like on the inside.
It’s lined up, there’s no glue leak, all is right with the universe.
However, here’s what it looks like on the outside of the dollhouse.
Ah. That’s where the glue leaks went.
No problem. I figured. By that point, the glue’s pretty tacked, so I wipe off the excess.
Not good.
I didn’t mean to wipe the paint off Yuck
I grabbed a toothpick and scraped the tacky glue out of the clapboard. Not a huge deal. Tacky glue dries clear and I know I’m doing another paint coat on the house so not a problem.
I assumed the glue sank into the clapboard grooves like the paint.
I’m so wrong about this.
But, in the meantime, here’s a picture of the rear roof attached to the dollhouse.
Nice, right?
Time for the Big Leagues
Then it was time for the big piece. I don’t have pictures. That’s probably a good thing.
First, I laid out the glue strips, per my instructions. Then I attached the roof piece. I checked my alignment from the inside of the dollhouse, and it was perfect. The outside though…
The side on my left looked good. I could see a little tacky glue coming through, but nothing major.
The right side… Well… I totally missed! The piece itself was lined up perfectly. But, the glue was not.
That’s when I realize the clapboard isn’t the problem. I’m the problem.
I rip off the roof piece, wipe off the misplaced glue, and re-lay the glue line. Then, I stick the piece back on the dollhouse. It was closer, but not great. Fine. I figure I’ll live. Besides, there’s nothing I can do about it now.
My next step was to tape everything together until it dried. Fine. I took my hand off the top roof piece (along the bevel), and it started to pop off! Not because I laid the pieces wrong, but because I should have put a glue strip across the top!
Rats!
I took the roof piece off again, laid another glue line (directly on the bevel), and stuck the piece on the dollhouse again.
Then I held it and held it and held it until I was sure the glue had tacked.
It hadn’t.
Well, it had, but not enough to hold the big piece in place.
Man.
So, I ripped off two pieces of tape while the roof piece slowly slid out of place. I slid the piece back in place with one hand, then attached the two pieces of tape with my other hand to hold the roof piece in place.
The tape pieces held the roof piece in place enough that I could rip off more tape, then I taped the roof more securely. I pulled each piece of tape as tight as I could, making sure the roof piece wasn’t out of place and was still even on top. I added more and more tape each time.
Here’s what I ended up with:
For the record, that’s similar to the instructions:
Here’s the tacky glue situation:
What Else Did I Forget
The instructions didn’t specify, but I think that maybe I should have put some glue at the front of the dollhouse (where the roof meets the floor). There’s no gap, but it feels a little loose. I don’t know how else to describe it. Maybe I’m wrong, and it’s fine, but I don’t know.
Also, the instructions did say that before I put the roof on the dollhouse, I was supposed to finish painting. Yeah. I didn’t do that. I have no idea what colors I’m going with, so I’m sure this is fine. And if it’s not, it is now!
We’ll see what else I forgot. I’m sure there’s something.
In case you’re wondering, here’s what the tacky glue situation is. I know it’s dry now! And, it doesn’t feel like there’s any glue on there.
Gotta say that’s pretty awesome.
Any thoughts? What would you have done differently?
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