Dollhouses and Doll House Miniatures

How much will I need to build my dollhouse?

We get asked this question all the time. We will keep updating this page as needed.

A free brochure provided by the Mott's Miniatures^™ Inc. On-Line Service.

Glue:

Typically one 8oz bottle of glue is enough to assemble most house kits. Remember you want the Tacky Glue for budget houses like Greenleaf and Corona and Carpenters or Wood Glue for the medium and upper grade houses

Quick Grab:

We sell a lot of this, and with good reason. It is a great product. Click on the picture to learn why. You will generally need one tube of quick grab glue for every 10 pieces of clapboard siding, or every 1,000 shingles. This is just an estimate, and results will vary on individual use.

Shingles:

If the house you are purchasing does not include shingles, or if you want to change the shingle style of the roof, shingles are available in different size bags. Each bag of shingles will indicate the number of square inches or square feet it will cover. A general rule of thumb is that your average 24" wide house will need one bag of 1,000 shingles to cover the roof. If your house is wider than 24", or has a porch or extension you will need more. You can usually estimate 500 roof shingles for every 12" in width of your house.
A small wing addition like those from Walmer generally needs a package of 250 for each addition. Remember to use quick grab glue for your shingles for best results. The style of the shingle you choose is entirely up to your preference, and there is nothing wrong with using more than one shingle style on a house. It was quite common in Victorian times and is a technique still used today to dress up roofs.

Clapboard Siding:

More and more houses are coming with pre-milled clapboard siding so we don't sell as much of this as we used to. If your house does not have siding and you want to add it, remember that each sheet is generally 3Ŋ" high x 24" wide. It is a simple matter of measuring your house to see how many sheets you will need.
A house that is say 24" wide by 30" high and 12" deep will generally need about 10 sheets. Sometimes you can make it with 8 or 9. Again, this will vary depending on individual use and how much waste you have. If you are unsure about how to add siding to your house, we sell lots of How-To books that can be of great assistance.

Wallpaper:

Most wallpaper comes in sheets that are 11" high x 17" long. But as a rule of thumb, you should estimate 3 sheets of wallpaper per room. The reason is simple, each room will generally have 3 walls. Unless you are wallpapering a very small room like a bathroom where you can get by with 2 sheets sometimes, you will almost always need 3 sheets of wallpaper per room. Otherwise you end up with a seam down the middle of a wall.

Interior Trim:

Any kind of interior trim such as wainscot, cornice or baseboard will have the same rule as wallpaper....one piece per wall.
For interior window or door trim, you should just figure on one 18" to 24" piece per window or door. That helps to cover the mistakes you are going to make cutting the first few.

Flooring:

   Estimating how much flooring you need will depend on a couple of factors, including: The size of the flooring sheet, the size and shape of the room, and how many rooms the same flooring is to be used in. You should always estimate a minimum of one piece of flooring PER ROOM. Do NOT try to squeak by and stretch one sheet of flooring into two rooms unless they are very small. I know it sounds logical but the room dimensions just don't work out that way most of the time. It is possible that manufacturers have deliberately sized their flooring just for this reason.
    If, however, you are using one type of flooring in two or more rooms, you may be able to get by with say 2 large sheets of flooring for three small rooms, or two small rooms and hallway. Remember that you can return for exchange or store credit any un-opened flooring sheets within the time specified in our help section.
   You should always get the larger carpeting sheets for the larger houses, those greater than 24" wide. It just tends to work out better. You can save money and use your scraps as stair runners.

Paint:

   Here again, this will be determined by the size of the dollhouse. You should always estimate on one 8oz bottle of primer for every 4-6 rooms.
     You will also need one 8oz jar of paint for the main exterior house color for up to about 10 rooms, to put 2 coats on. That assumes that you use a primer coat also.
    You will also need on 8oz jar of white paint. Even if you are not planning on much white, you always use more white paint than you think by the time you are done.
    Last you will want at least one 2oz jar for each exterior accent color.

Spindles:

How many porch posts, spindles and or balusters you will need for a railing project will depend not only on the number of linear inches you intend to cover, but also on your design. Specifically, how far apart you set the posts and spindles will determine how many you need. If you get a package of 12 spindles, and you space them 1/2 inch apart (6 inches in real life) you will cover 6 linear inches (6 scale feet). The same is true of all vertical spindles or posts, and decorative brackets, the closer together they are, the more you will need.

Please remember that these are suggestions only. They are not intended to be 100% accurate lists of how much you will need for every project. Also, colors of wallpaper and paint may not appear on your computer monitor "exactly" as the original item. We strongly recommend that you come down to Motts and take a look at what is available. We are sure that we can find everything you need for your project. If you want, you can also visit our On-Line Mail Order Catalog.

For more dollhouse tips, see our other free online brochures:

Electrical Wiring Tips

Picking The Right Dollhouse

Main Tips Page

Mott's Miniatures & Dollhouse Shop^TM, 2471 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92831-5503

This page last updated March 09, 2008 16:25 hrs pst.

This site maintained by Mott's Miniatures Inc.