This
week on our wiring series we are going to install the tape-wire in
our roombox but, first we are going to make a tool for marking some
of our placement lines.
In
a dollhouse build you would have already painted the interior with a
white primer before starting this step.
The
tool we are making is really simple and is made from scraps of either
foam core or wood (or both) You simply need to build up a small block
that is about ¾” tall. The exact measurement will vary depending
on your pencil.
When
it is complete just tape your pencil on the top and you can now draw
a straight line 1” off the floor. Much easier than trying to juggle
a ruler and a pencil in tight places.
And
speaking of tight places this is the perfect place to use one of
those short pencils that has been sharpened almost to nothing. It is
much easier in a dollhouse room to use a short pencil on a block than
to try to work with a nice new long pencil. Trust me on this one....
Once
you have your pencil ready to go I recommend placing either a page
flag or a dot sticker on the spots you want to place your lights.
This will help you visualize where your tape-wire needs to run. For
ceiling lights mark on the floor above.
Once
you have figured out where you are going to place specific lights it
is time to run the general tape-wire runs. By having this basic run
of wiring in your house you can add more lights in the future, things
like floor lamps and table lamps. You can even wire a fireplace to it
if you want to (although if you use a flickering unit it could make
all your lights flicker)
If
you are working in a dollhouse with a stair well that is the best
place to take the wire up to the next floor. If not then you can do
as I did here and make a spot where the ceiling/floor meets the wall.
The
most important part of wiring, in my opinion, is to test after every
connection. That way you can trace problems much easier.
When
you have your wiring in place take a lot of pictures. Then
immediately print them. If you have a notebook for your building
(something I highly recommend) put one copy of the photos in there.
Then take another set, put them in an envelope and tape that to the
bottom of the building. Someday when you need to find the wires you
will be very glad you did this.
Great video!! Do have one question. When do you use brads and when do you use grommets for your connections?
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify. You may have told us in Part 2, but I couldn't remember.
DeleteIt's incredible how these dollhouses are built much like actual homes, on a small scale level.
ReplyDelete