I got ahead of myself and decided to install the front door, knowing it wouldn't cause any issues. I was curious to see how it would look with the siding underneath, and it turned out great. The siding looks perfect beneath the door, almost invisible. I used paper clips to tightly clamp the three layers of the door together, which is crucial. It's best to let them dry overnight to ensure a strong bond. Make sure to sand down the door enough so it fits in the opening, which will require quite a bit of work. An electric palm sander is ideal for this task if you have one.
Next, I glued on the interior trim and installed the porch foundation trim along with the steps. I continued siding at intervals as I went along. I painted the openings for the bays, as it's essential to do this now; otherwise, access will be difficult later. I decided to leave the opening surrounds painted only and not attempt wallpapering there since it's too challenging and not very visible. I painted them the same color as the ceilings, which also matches the wallpaper background I'll be using for the bay walls.
I glued on the bay walls next. It's important to install the bays before continuing with the siding around them. Just glue on the wall panels and foundations, leaving the roofs unglued so they can sit neatly over the siding. Also, don’t glue between the bay wall panels; keep them loose for now. This flexibility will help a lot when it's time to install the window sills. If the walls are rigid, it will be difficult to fit them properly. I plan to use wooden skewers for trim in this area but will wait until the bays are completely finished.
As I continued siding, I realized that catching up now would allow me to move forward with the rest of the dollhouse sooner. I can't do much else until all of the siding is complete. On the wall with the left bay, I'll need to butt strips of siding against each other since they aren't long enough to span the entire wall. Staggering these joints will help reduce their visibility.
I then glued on the mansard roof side trims, which must be done before shingling. They need to lay flat; if shingles are underneath, they won't hold down properly and could disrupt your shingle pattern. It takes a lot of pressure to keep them secure, so use strong glue and clamp tightly with masking tape. You can't glue both sides of a corner at once because you won't be able to clamp them effectively. Do one side first, clamp it, and wait overnight for the glue to dry before moving on to the other side. It's crucial to let it dry completely; otherwise, pressure will lift them up. Focus on getting the bottom edge perfect; don’t worry too much about the tops since there will naturally be a gap between them and the roof at the top. This gap is intentional because trim will go around the top of the roof to fill those spaces.
