Today, I worked on the porch, which has a straightforward assembly process. Each piece needs to be painted and dried before assembly. I didn’t follow the instructions step-by-step because I thought my approach would be easier. I started by gluing the porch roof and soffit onto the dollhouse. I found it simpler to push the posts into the soffit openings rather than sliding them in. If you attach the soffit and fascia first, you would have to slide the posts into those openings.
After securing the roof and soffit, I began siding the entire porch area, which is easiest to do at this stage. I used Aleene’s Quick Grab glue, a water-based adhesive that minimizes warping of siding. While a non-water-based glue could be used, it would produce fumes. This glue is extra tacky, so it doesn’t drip and holds quickly, preventing the siding from sliding down during application. This time, I chose this glue over hot glue because I'm siding before adding other components. I want to avoid any bulk from hot glue that might affect how components and trim lay flat against the siding. Since components will be glued over the siding, I want to ensure it is securely attached with a strong adhesive. If you prefer using hot glue for siding, make sure to use the high-temperature setting for a solid bond.
Keep in mind that birch veneer siding is very thin, so even if it lies flat against the wall, natural waves and inconsistencies will appear between strips. This is normal and not a mistake on your part. The process went smoothly with this glue, similar to using hot glue. Just remember that your siding may warp initially. Don’t worry; once the glue dries and moisture evaporates from the wood veneer, it will lay flat against the dollhouse again. I didn’t need to hold it down; I only used clips or masking tape on edges that wanted to lift. Everything else settled back into place quickly. The small area between the door opening and the left wall doesn’t need siding since it will be covered by the door trim.
Continue siding over the entryway. The corners may look rough now but will be covered with vertical corner trim. Siding is much easier at this stage, ensuring a clean look for all components and trim. You don’t need to worry about perfectly aligning the siding with window and door openings because trim will cover those areas.
While waiting for the siding to dry, I worked on assembling the porch posts by laminating pieces together to create three-dimensional posts, which I clamped with binder clips. Once dry, I painted the bottom halves of the posts and then added painted caps on top, planning to paint the tops later. This method makes it easier to slide unfinished wood into place compared to painted wood. I also pre-assembled and painted the fascia, porch floor, and roof top before gluing on their trim using binder clips as clamps.
Painting siding while it's on the wall is straightforward when components aren’t yet installed. If you install components first, remember to paint your siding beforehand to avoid getting paint on them. At this point, my porch posts were fully assembled except for their bottom trim, which I prefer to attach after positioning the posts. This way, I can ensure there are no gaps between them and the floor.
Regarding bottom post trim, according to the instructions, there are narrow and wide pieces; however, they are all identical squares. I measured them myself and found no variation in size, meaning perfect cubes cannot be created since they will have notches on every corner like vertical trim. I glued on the porch posts easily by inserting their bottoms into holes in the porch floor and pressing their tops into soffit openings. They fit tightly enough that I had to snap them in place; trying to slide them in with fascia already attached would have been difficult. After securing them, I glued on the fascia assembly without any issues and clamped everything down with clamps and masking tape. While that dried, I glued on the porch foundation.
