Roof and Dormer

So short and sweet... I actually got a lot done.  I'm pretty stoked. 

The roof and the dormer are tricky.  Lots of angles and glue and taping and it probably wasn't helped by the fact that I painted the interior before I glued.  But it feels worth it because I still love how it looks.

So the deal was to draw lines on the roof so I knew where I'd be putting my shingles.  I'm still not sold on the shingles idea.  I really like the idea of a modern tin roof.  I've seen it done here... http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php/walnut-bay-light .  It's about two thirds of the way down.

By the way if you haven't before, you really ought to check out Otterine's blog.  She does a lot of really awesome stuff.  Her lighthouse is amazing and the other houses she's done have really done a lot to show how to mess around with a kit and make changes so its more me than manufactured.

But I really like how that roof looks.  Simple and elegant.  In a nice rusty brown or tan maybe?  Something to go with the basalt foundation.

But I drew my lines anyway.  And promptly forgot to take a picture.

Glued on the roof.



We're in the testing the dormer stage here.

This involved a lot of cursing as a certain cat who shall remain nameless tried to be helpful by getting on the desk and poking her head in the windows.

Here's another picture from the front.

Swoops is observing.

Ah, see? You can see my lines in the picture above. 

But it did get done.  And then the ticky tacky part of getting the dormer on and taping it so it stayed...

Poor Swoops looks like he's imprisoned. 

By the way.  I'm totally glossing over the waiting involved in this.  OMG the waiting.  I am not a naturally patient person.  I can spend hours (and have) on a project that involves constant work.  Sewing tiny bedding and pillows come to mind.  But that's something that's always moving forward.

The waiting for the glue to set kills me.  Picture me with a long drawn out, very heartfelt groan, every time I have to use glue.  I'd almost rather have a monster house to lift and turn and know that it's held together by nails.

But finally we got to the dormer roof.  Yay!

Swoops was a little nervous so he moved downstairs.

We had an intermediate step here in which I added trim to the sides of the dormer.  Pictured here.

A nice simple white.  I like how it looks. 

There was also trim to add to the sides, which covers up the raw edges of the front of the house.  Thank god because it looked really awful. 

Much better.  No ugly raw cardboard colored wood.

Like that?  See how ugly it looked?  Not improved by the setting either. 

I haven't added anymore trim since this.  I wanted to get the house set up for wiring.  Which involves making a chimney for the outside.  It's a work in progress.  See?

Glue again.  And tape to hold the joint in place while the glue sets.

The idea is to have the chimney hide all the wiring.  So far so good.  I need more balsa word to do the other side.  But I did find some hinges in the clock work section of Hobby Lobby.  So that's one less thing to worry about.

I also messed around and tried a new setup for the kitchen.  The stove next to the stairs and the fridge next to it.

I like this a bit better.  And it gives me the opportunity to work on a backsplash for the stove.

 So I started messing around with beads.

I'm not sure about all the bright colored beads yet but I'm thinking about it.

What I need to keep an eye out for are some wooden discs the same size as the pearl beads.  It'd be cool to have a wood and pearl backsplash. 

I actually bought the square beads thinking they'd be a nice border up in the bathroom.  Still considering that.

But still have lots to do.  So I'll get back to it!

Hope everyone had a happy Fourth of July!