Sugarplum Cottage to Monarch Cottage 07

 Work on the porch and benches continues.

The timbers have been glued in place. The porch with its attached benches is also glued in place. 

I like using Aileen's Tacky Glue for this as the tackiness helps hold the bits in place while permitting some adjustments. Clamps or masking tape hold the pieces together while the glue dries. 

Sometimes it's hard to wait while the glue dries. It helps to remember that good things come to those who wait.

Here is a detail that shows some blemishes that need to be addressed. The slots and the gap where the back and side did not quite come together will be filled with Spackle to fill them. The same will be done on the other bench and anywhere else on the house where the tabs & slots are visible. 

I have the kind of Spackle that goes on pink and turns white when it dries. A flexible palette knife works well for this step. Once the Spackle is dry, a few dabs of matching paint will complete the cover up.

The pieces from this kit are coming out of the sheet with fairly smooth edges. If a piece of wood is dry or has started to delaminate beyond what sanding can accomplish, rubbing Spackled along the edges can make them nice and smooth.

When the touch-up paint dries, the benches will be aged with some brownish-to-dark greenish-to-blackish watercolor overlay. I like the green, but it is too bright, too new looking to blend with the aging cottage.

Beacon Hill Chimney & Roof

Now that the interior wall question is settled, I've turned back to the instruction sheet, which tells me to move on to the roof and chimney assembly. I'm finding out that in my haste to dry-fit and glue the building together, I glued some stuff that should have been left loose. However, reducing the size of some tabs and sanding some tight spots seems to have absolved me of those indiscretions.

The chimney pieces cried out to be covered with something. After I whined about not wanting to add the weight of ceramic bricks nor spend time making egg carton bricks or paperclay stones, Sophia decided it would be okay to pretend the chimney is brick covered with plaster/cement. Some Spackle (polyfilla) and a wet fingertip did the job. It will be painted the same color as the siding and then aged.

While I had the Spackle open, I used it to smooth out the outside ribs. When it is lightly sanded, it will take a nice coat of paint.

I thought ahead a bit and painted the sides of the third floor fireplace black before gluing the chimney pieces. Silly me forgot to paint the back wall, but that can be easily fixed.

I just came inside from sanding the roof trim. The front has moved through and taken with it the rain and the warm temperatures. I know some folks would be pleased with 57F, but it's a bit chilly for a subtropical climate.