If the house
you are purchasing does not include dollhouse shingles, or
if you want to change the dollhouse shingles style of the
roof, shingles are available in different size bags. Each
bag of dollhouse shingles will indicate the number of square
inches or square feet it will cover. A general rule of thumb
is that your average 24" wide house will need one bag
of 1,000 dollhouse shingles to cover the roof. If your house
is wider than 24", or has a porch or extension you will
need more. You can usually estimate 500 roof shingles for
every 12" in width of your house.
A small wing addition like
those from Walmer generally needs a package of 250 for each
addition. Remember to use quick grab glue for your dollhouse
shingles for best results. The style of the dollhouse shingles
you choose are entirely up to your preference, and there is
nothing wrong with using more than one shingle style on a
house. It was quite common in Victorian times and is a technique
still used today to dress up roofs.
Applying Shingles
to the Roof of your Doll house
If you plan to stain your dollhouse shingles, from the natural
color, do so before you apply them. This way you will not
have to worry about getting stain on the trim pieces. Starting
on the bottom edge, with just a small overlap, measure the
spot on the roof where the top of the shingle will touch.
Measure this across the whole roof line, lay a single bead
of white craft glue just below this line, and lay your first
row of shingles on. Let the glue set up, and then continue
in this manner to the top of the roof. You may have to trim
your last row. A roof cap is applied over the raw edges at
the top giving you a lovely finish. Be careful not to get
glue on the dollhouse shingles before staining or the stain
will not take. Also be careful not to have too much overlap,
or your dollhouse shingles will build up way too thick as
you go along.
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