I worked on the bay roofs all together. While the paint of one dried, I glued the other; and while that dried, I prepared the pieces for the third, etc. That way I was always working on something rather than wasting time waiting for each thing to dry. The bay roofs look so much better with the siding underneath them instead of cut around them. It’s a big difference. This time I sided the kitchen bay as well since I’m already on a roll.
When all the roofs were done, it was time to put the sandpaper over them. You can do this one of two ways. You can dry assemble the three roof pieces, flat on a table and trace their pattern to the sandpaper itself or you can assemble them on the dollhouse and make a paper template of them by creasing paper around all of the roof edges and cutting it on sandpaper. I actually did it both ways. They are both equally easy and as effective. I did the left and kitchen bay with the paper template and I traced the roof assembly of the front bay to the sandpaper.
Dry fit your template as much as possible. It must be perfect. There's no room for mistakes here. You can't repair sandpaper. You can't spackle it or put wood filler on it. You can't patch it either. You would have to rip it off and start over if you mess up. Dry fit it until it’s a perfect fit and then double check it again. Analyze how you will lay it down to achieve that perfect fit. This is because you won't have time to position it as you glue it because we will be using hot glue. Hot glue is the ideal glue for this step. Sandpaper is very thick and rigid and you will need a glue that dries instantly, in order for the sandpaper to not shift and lay down flat on your roof. If you use white glue it will very difficult for you to keep the sandpaper flat and clamping it with masking tape can risk ripping the sandpaper.
Once your sandpaper roof pattern is perfect and your glue gun is hot, you can begin to glue it in sections. Don’t attempt to glue it all at once. It won't work. You’ll get a lumpy result, the edges won't be glued down correctly and you might not have time to fit it properly over the roofs.
Apply glue to one side of the roof, near the edges but not too close to them and in the middle. When you do the edges don’t get too close to the outside. You’ll end up with glue blobs when you press down the paper. Hot glue blobs are terribly ugly, can't be removed and will ruin the clean neat edges you want to achieve. All of the glue must remain under the sandpaper and not leak out of any edges so don’t over do it. A little glue goes a long way if it's spread around to all areas. Once the side has glue, quickly position the sandpaper over it. Press everywhere so it lays flat and center it perfectly. Now add glue the same way to the middle bay roof section and firmly press down the sandpaper onto it. Finally do the same to the last side. The result is sandpaper roofs and they really do look more beautiful than just painted.
The kitchen bay is quite long and depending on the size of your sandpaper sheet, you might have to join two sheets together. I joined mines in the middle of the roof because it's easier than trying to join where the sandpaper creases at the ends. If you butt them together nice and neat, you will not be able to see the joint. Don’t overlap them because then it will be more visible.
You will want to protect these roofs while you finish the dollhouse. Cover them with paper or plastic wrap. If paint gets on them, they will be permanently ruined. You can't fix them and you will have no choice but to rip them off and start over again. After I was done with the bay roofs, I sided some more.
I glued the other side of the mansard roof vertical trim and clamped them to dry overnight. I finished the porch foundation. I began applying the vertical and horizontal trim. I had to use strange combinations of clamps to hold them down. I only did the ones where the walls were completely sided. I also did the bays.
