I easily fixed the porch mistake. First, I applied spackle to the two edges with the cut tab. To make the corners square, I filled the holes with a generous amount of spackle. After waiting about three hours, I added a heavy second coat of spackle, applying it thickly so it protruded from the flat surface. I made sure there was enough spackle to prevent it from sinking into the holes. Once the blob was firm after three hours, I wrapped sandpaper around a metal ruler and used it to smooth out the spackle without touching the edges, avoiding any rounding. The straight edge of the ruler worked perfectly under the porch roof. Once both sides were flat and straight, I painted and touched up the entire porch. You would never know I had used spackle on those corners. I circled the edges in one of the photos and glued on the bottom porch post trims.
Next, I decided to work on the third floor, but I need to finish the roof and ceiling first. I mixed spackle with green paint and applied it like stucco to the exterior roof, using masking tape to protect the corner trim from getting paint on it. I also used stucco on the chimney. Then, I went inside and applied stucco to the ceiling and chimney as well. I had to tape around the floor where the chimney is, which made things tricky since some areas were hard to see. To help me see into hidden angles, I used a makeup handheld mirror. After the stucco dried quickly, I added a second coat of green paint for a richer color that would match nicely with the wallpaper. I also glued on the dormer roofs.
While the glue and paint dried, I started staining some interior trim. I added trim to all finished windows and around wall openings without doors. When staining interior trim, it's important to stain both sides to avoid any raw wood showing since trim rarely fits perfectly over a window. Once that was done, I glued on the chimney top trim, which fit perfectly despite the stucco.
