The roof had some type of sand mixed into the paint to resemble asphalt. It was fairly easy to scrape but did result in bleeding knuckles. The dormer trim has been removed. My husband removed the windows for me but rather than retrofitting holes that already exist I decided to rebuild the doors allowing for any new window choices. For now the bay window remains until I decide what changes will take place there. One side has been filled with wood putty to allow for a smooth surface.
As with many older homes there were a few layers on some of the walls. A couple of rooms were covered in fabric which I did consider keeping but this refurbish will include electricity so alas there is no room for keeping the old wall coverings.
Now for my dilemma, do you see those royal blue rooms? They are covered in a type of contact paper and it will not budge. I tried everything short of melting the surface with a chemical as I am sure this will make a huge mess not to mention the environmental drawbacks. The thing that gets me is that the small flakes that did come off seem to indicate dry rot but that is not working in my favor. Tried a citrus stripping product but nothing happened. A possibility could be to attach thin new wood to the walls but the humidity here scares me. Any suggestions?
7 comments:
I tried to react a few days ago...
but it did not work, now it is ;-))
I would try to use thin wood like you said...I don't think dear is a problem with humidity...you can also use thin wood vertical (3 or 4 thin beams)and then close the wall horizontal, so there is some space behind the woodwall...I hope I explained it a bit clear...
I love your house. So many rooms!
You might try using a hair dryer to warm up the contact paper? Maybe then you could scrape it off? That worked for me when I was trying to remove some trim...
Cheryl, for the blue walls, maybe you could use the poster or mat board method. I prefer mat board because it is not as likely to warp. All you do is cut a template for the board the shape of the wall, with windows and doors cut away. Then you cover the board with wallpaper or fabric. Yes Glue is my choice of glue. Some people use spray glue. With this method, you can run your wiring under the board and if there are any problems, you can pop the board out to fix.
Hi Cheryl,
The other day I tried to write on your wall but comments were not allowed, so it's good to see that u've already fixed the problem :-)
I really like your new acquisition!!! It's a lovely vintage house.
What I do with the walls and ceilings is to create a cardboard pattern, paint it and then glue it on the wall... it is very useful in case you'd like to electrify the dollhouse. You shouldn't have problems with humidity... Though I don't have the luck of living in Hawaii, I live also in a very humid area in the north of Spain and I have never had a problem with cardboard.
Good luck
C. xxx
Hi Cheryl! I agree with Casey. Use the matboard or very stiff cardboard...do that for all the walls, not just the blue ones. The master dollhouse "decorators" (Brooke Tucker, Ray Whitledge)all do the wallcovering like that. Hides all the electrical nicely. Places the sides first, then the back. I'll be following your progress with this rennovation.
Have fun!
Tabitha
Hi Cheril. To begin with congratulations for your purchase, it is a very nice house with lots of possibilities. But you have a difficult task in front of you,strips of thin wood is a good choice, if you want to paint the wood it is preferable to use oil paintings, over an undercoat and you will avoid problems of humidity. To glue them to the blue paper you have to scratch it because of the adhesion of the glue. There are special blades to scratch the plastified wallpaper, dit you try it already?
AM
Cheryl, this house is so pretty and big!!! Love big houses with plenty of rooms.
Meli
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