Tennyson Construction

Page five: Windows and Shingles

Note: Images can be clicked for a larger view.

After the exterior window trims were glued in place, I installed the windows. From the inside of the house, I glued each window in place, making sure that the printed mullions were centered on each window. I then glued the interior window frames around the windows.

I think that the instructions that came with the kit said to glue the windows to the outsides of the walls. I chose to place the window 'glass' on the insides of the walls so that the edges of the walls where the windows were cut could be painted to match the exterior window trim. Since I stained the interior window and door frames, I didn't think it would look good to stain the edges of the window cut-outs to match the interior trim.

While I was installing windows, I started to shingle the roof. Shingling is one of the more time-consuming stages of dollhouse construction. I spent about two weeks gluing shakes to the roof, but most of my time was waiting for stain and glue to dry.

I cut the shakes from the sheets of shakes that came with the kit, and stained each shake. I placed the shakes in a plant and flower press to keep them flat while the stain dried.

I drew horizontal lines on the roof sections to serve as guides for the rows of shakes.

Once I had stained enough shakes with which to work, I started to glue the shakes to the roof, one row at a time. I used masking tape to hold each row as it dried.

The kit supplied gingerbread to use at the peaks of the roof. I chose not to use the gingerbread, and capped the peaks with shakes cut in half lengthwise.

The image to the right shows the completed roof. You may notice a diamond pattern worked into the shakes. I have instructions showing how I did the pattern.

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