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roofs

Page history last edited by John Wesley Brett 4 years, 2 months ago

Miniature roofs and other roofing projects for dollhouses, room boxes, and dioramas

Links to miniature projects

photo albums, blog posts, web pages

Punk Tudor - from Deb's Minis

Tin Roof - by Otterine

Blogs

Blogs concentrating on roofs or categories/labels about them in blogs

Groups

Discussion groups, forums (or forum categories) and photo groups dedicated to roofs.

Supplies for sale

Supplies needed for making roofing projects.

Asphalt Shingles - from The Miniature Celler

Coir for Thatching

Miniatures for sale

Do you have a section for roofing materials in your shop? Add a direct link here.

Books

Books about miniature roofs projects (also books with chapters about it)

Instructions for miniatures

Miniature printables

Wallpapers

Wallpapers that go well with roofing projects

Other Printies

Book/magazine covers related to roofs

Videos

Cutting Miniature Roof Shingles at Correct Angles - by John Wesley Brett

Research/ Inspiration

Thatched Roof Construction

Tips/Hints

Paint the roof the colour you want your shingles before you apply them - then little spaces left between shingles won't show.
When you start shingling your dollhouse, cut the first row about half the usual length and glue along the edge of the eave. The shingles glued exactly on top of the short one are full length. This way all the shingles will have the same slope otherwise the first row has a different slope
Make a template of the roof, apply shingles to the template, and then to the roof. Just hold wrapping paper, newspaper, etc. to the roof section and draw the shape of each area. Transfer outline to reverse side. Draw guidelines on the right side and shingle the paper. When dry, flip sections over and cut the sides even with old scissors on the drawn line. Check right side for glue drippings, clean with vinegar if necessary, then steam iron from the back to flatten and anchor the shingles. Attach whole sections to your roof. You should be able to get a great fitting roof this way in a fraction of the time.
Make a template of cardstock to resemble a row of shingles. Use this template to cut shingles out of sandpaper. They come in very realistic shades already so they need not be painted.
Here is a photo that shows what an RL wood-shingle roof ridge should look like (a ridge is where two upwardly angled planes of the roof meet in a horizontal line, a hip is where they meet at any other upward angle, and a valley is where they meet at a downward angle).
Basically, you "cap" the ridge (or hip) with a row of pairs of same-size shingles, joined to make the angle of the roof and overlapping the same way as the main roof. Work from the outside edge toward the ridge on the hips, and from both outside edges to meet in the center of the ridge. (The grain of the wood runs sideways in the cap of the ridge.) Cover the center join with two shingles placed vertically, like the main roof.
The valley may be trickier because it should have had a covering (flashing, in real life) to protect and unify the roof joins before the shingles were applied. If you can slip a folded piece of cardstock or something similar, colored to match the shingles, beneath the outside edges of the shingles closest to the valley, you can probably make it look like it should. RL shingles don't go all the way into a valley; they just cover the edges of the flashing. Trim the shingle edges parallel to the valley.
For more photos, Google "cedar shingle roof ridge" (or valley) and you'll find plenty of images. There is also a Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau )which has an online installation manual if you want to know all the details. This image has some good info --
First shingle the house, then dilute the desired colour of acrylic paint with water about 5 to 7 times to one part paint. Using a cellulose sponge (remember to wear gloves!) dip it in the diluted paint, squeeze most of the moisture out of it, and sponge the paint onto the shingles... do it one ''layer'' at the time... if it's too pale, wait a little while for the roof to dry thoroughly and do it again.. but don't decide about the color till it's dry. It will dry a bit different than while it's damp. the more times you use the sponge for this and the older it gets, it will get more ''pits'' in the cellulose and your stain will actually look better as it won't be quite so uniform.
Wait for a nice day outside. Collect large paper cups and newspaper, spread out the newspaper. Pour some stain into a paper cup and put in some shingles. Stir it around a bit and then pour the stain into another paper cup. Spread the wet shingles on newspaper. Repeat (and repeat and repeat...)
Stain the shingles in a batch. Mix it up in a container that you can throw away later, then soak your shingles and spread them out on an elevated screen to dry so that air gets to both sides (laying them on newspapers would probably also work OK). and the shingles do not stick on the bottom. If you try shingling first and then staining it is going to be extremely difficult to get stain into all the little cracks and corners, not to mention the fact that anyplace where you got glue on the tops or sides of the shingles won't take stain at all.
Ribbed tin Roof- glue aluminum foil, shiny side down, over vertically spaced doweling or plastic coffee stirrers.
Sandpaper Shingles - Use very old scissors, cut sandpaper in strips (1") wide. Then cut slits in each 1" marking. Be very careful not to cut all the way up the paper. For a different look cut the edge of each slit off at an angle as in real tar shingles for real houses). For a decorative look, apply black construction paper on the roof first to act as "felt paper" as in real roofing, then the shingles. Be sure to overlap each sandpaper shingle as in real roofing.
Shingles can be stained with washes of thinned acrylic paint after they are applied to the roof.
Having trouble getting the shingles to meet nicely at the edges? cut a thin strip of felt, soak in glue, squeeze out the excess and apply to the join.
Thatch - use a thick mess of spackling compound with some gold/yellow paint added to make it the proper color. Once it was put on the roof, take a small brush/twig from an artificial Christmas tree to rake across it to make the 'proper' grooves to make it look like thatch. Once dried, it is uncanny how thatch-like it looks!
Thatch from jute - If you need material for thatching, bales of hay, straw for a rabbit hutch or stable, teensy rope in any scale, basket making, rope belts for a monk etc... etc....., check around for a piece of old garden twine or rope made of jute (NOT nylon). It does not have to be clean because you will be giving it a soaking, but try to avoid anything with paint or oil on it, as they won't come out. For ease of handling, cut it into lengths of no more than 8 inches. NOTE: If it is very yucky, soak in detergent and warm water, rinse and squeeze as much water out as you can before proceeding. Give the rope/twine a twist near one end and it will separate into bunches of fibers that are together in bundles: there are usually 2 bundles in heavy twine and up to 4 in of light rope. Gently tug on the ends of two bundles to start the unraveling. Twine will separate very quickly and easily, but you have to go slowly with more than two bundles. Just be gentle, working first on two bundles for about 2 inches, then unwind the third from the first two (for a 3 bundle rope) or for a 4-bundle rope, untwist the third and fourth bundles for 2 inches, then switch back to the first bunch. Take your time. Don't pull hard to try and force the bundles apart or it will develop tats or knots that will be nearly impossible to untangle, and you'll have to cut the tats out. (This is where having cut short lengths makes life much easier!) Now separate each bundle into small sections of strands with your fingers, a wide-toothed comb or hair-pick and set aside.
When you are done this part, it is time to give the jute fibers a hot bath to get the kinks and waves out. Put about 1-2" of hot tap water in a flat pan, and lay the fibers gently in the water, making sure they are completely covered with water. Let soak for a minimum of 10 minutes, then rinse to get rid of any debris. Remove the jute to a paper towel, smooth the fibers flat and fold the towel over top. Using your hands, press as much water out as you can into the towel, then remove the jute and spread it out on a flat surface to air-dry. It's ready to use.
NOTE: If you want a more tan or golden colour, dye the finished dried jute in a small amount of hot water with a few drops of vinegar added, with a tea bag, that morning' s coffee grounds or some powdered instant coffee. Stir the liquid to combine everything then add the jute when the dye is nice and dark. Leave it in the dye until it is one shade darker when wet than the desired shade, or remove one or two strands, dry off with a tissue and check the colour. You can also use food colouring, tempera paint, leftover amounts of water-based wood stains, or even some of that green mass of pulverized grass bits that lives underneath your lawnmower. (Hey, don't complain. This stuff makes a wonderful emerald green dye and if you have recently mowed down a lot of dandelion heads, you will get lime green. It's semi-permanent AND it's free!)
For QS, use plumbers hemp - found it at the local hardware store. It's a fibrous-type of material that makes an absolutely awesome thatched roof. Just cut pieces of it, pull them apart and glue onto your roof. When covered, and the glue is dry, go over it lightly w/a brush.