| After
examining the roof shingles that could be purchased for miniature
houses,
it was decided that they were not satisfactory because the grain size
was much to large to be realistic. An additional problem was that the
rough grains could easily
be rubbed off after a period of time. Therefor, we decided to cut
roof tiles from medium grade emery paper with a cloth backing. Strips 1
1/8" wide by 8" long were cut as shown in the photograph. Then 1/2"
squares were
cut out of these strips with a carpenter's utility knife. |
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| A test
section of roof tiles was then glued to a board to see that the pattern
was correct. This was then painted with a stain to achieve the antique
look. The result is shown on the photograph on the right. After the chimneys were mounted, the roof tiles were glued to the roof using household "Goop". Finally the entire roof was stained to achieve the proper antique finish appearance. |
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| The cutting of the shingles was a
very time consuming and tedious job. As we were getting very close to
the date we were scheduled to move the house out to Michigan, we
enlisted Galo's son, Alex, to help in this effort. Alex cut shingles
for a total of eleven hours over a two day effort at his house while
Eve cut the same number on the building site. Unfortunately, the
cutting blades were quickly dulled by the emery cloth and they needed
to be changed after cutting every other eight inch strip. |
 |
| This view shows the ridge cap of a
dormer. |
 |
