Completed Renovation #7: Before and After

Yes, believe it or not this is the same house after a 1 week long restoration process. It arrived damaged, filthy, and neglected. After washing, polishing, replacing parts, painting parts and putting it all together it's another successful restoration. Insider tip: for photographing it for the resale, I do not use any long screws, I carry it into position by holding the base plates and leave the screws in a zip lock baggie (see in photo). They are not necessary to set the house up for display. Though I did use one piece of tape to hold the center piece white roof rafter together since it almost always bows outward. On this reno the pieces were white enough that I did not have to use any bleaching between cleaning and polishing.

House for Sale 

This house is clean. 

Nice rear. 

Squeaky clean! 

When out, I am always looking for suitable replacement parts for the house. I found this bathmat that has the exact same pattern of the front double doors and side panels. I think, to make upgraded custom replacement doors, one could cut to size, paint and affix to card board or some other strong yet thin material. 

Some will arrive to you this bad, definitely making a thorough shower necessary.  This tends to be what shows up on Craigslist, usually $80, and at least 2 hours drive time each way. Where do I sign, lol. 

Before and after. =-) 

Plan on this arriving from Ebay or Craigslist houses. They have been in the attic/garage/basement or outside for 20-30 years. I actually enjoy the whole restorative process since there is such contrast between the before and the after. My houses emerge from this process sparkling white and complete.=-) 

Make no mistake, when you order online, you will likely get a dirty, filthy house that to be cleaned properly, will need about an hour in the shower with a toothbrush and a good spray nozzle. Cleaning it first is the only way to have a minty finished product. 

It wil taken 2 cans of this to get the job done. (flat white spray can paint)

Restoring Damaged and Missing Post Covers / Sleeves : Summer 2016 Edition

This is my newly complete set of post covers for the restoration house I am doing this week. Its about half vintage plastic and half dollar tree poster board. Not bad considering the brown shattered mess that arrived at the bottom of the shipping box last week. 

Make sure that the post is really all the way in via finagling it into all the corners, otherwise when you tap the base plates down to accommodate railings you risk chipping off plastic or creasing poster board replacement covers. 

The top post is pasteboard cover, the bottom one is painted plastic. 

Aerial shot, they tend to bow out a little bit even after creasing inward, so after a few hours or the next day, pinch them inward again so they hold position a little bit better. 

Poster board cover, they work surprisingly well. The only draw back is that they are crisp snow white, so if you are using a non painted house that is off white it sort of draws more attention to the difference in color, but it is still loads better than having no covers at all. 

About to paint reconstructed vintage post covers with 'Do It' flat white spray paint, $1.99 a can. 

Top is my personal A Frame's covers, below is the current reno's old unpainted ones. 

As found at my local small mom and pop hardware store. 

Painting in a small flat cardboard box allows for a nice flat surface free of debris and  pet hair. 

Supplies you will need: Exacto knife kit (ebay $3), ruler, pencil and scissors. 

This is how you will score each piece of cut pasteboard square (50 cents a sheet at dollar tree). 

Left side is newly made from poster board, right side is original. See it even saves you from having to paint anything. 

Alternately, you could use the measurements I provide and score with ruler. 

13" post covers, left side is paper, right side is vintage plastic. 

It is probably the most tedious and boring portion of the reno, but makes the finished product really shine. PS use the outside glossier side of the poster board, so score on that side for outer corners.

Measurements (in centimeters) are:

Smallest covers: Piece of paper  9cm x 7cm  (4 each)
Shortest of the tall covers: 9cm x 32cm (12 ea)
Medium tall covers: 9cm x 35cm  (4 ea)
Tallest tall covers: 9cm x 37.5cm  (4 ea)

Score ALL covers using the same distances between corners: 1cm space, 2.5cm space, 2.5cm space, 2.5cm space, 1cm space.

You will need a total of 3 poster boards ($1.50 total investment plus Exacto knife if you don't already own one).

Restoration of Old Screws Part 2

using WD 40, left screw after right side before. 

left side after, right side before. 

left side after, right side before

WD 40, fine grade steel wool, soft rag

Step one, spray screws with wd 40 while inside a small baggie, this evenly covers all screws with wd 40, then one by one hold screw in rag (but its easier to put screw into a drill, tighten grip and held drill in lap while polishing), polish with steel wool till shiny (push hard), then wipe off residue with soft rag. the before screw is dull and light in color, the after screw will be dark and shiny. also the oil will let screws go in easier especially if you had to purchase new screws that are a tight fit for the house. helps avoid post splitting.

 I cannot remember the replacement size, but possibly ⅜" sheet metal screws, just bring what you have to the hardware store and they have charts to match up odd screws, the big difference is that flat head screws are difficult to find nowadays, so you will likely be replacing them with phillips star heads.

Long screws are 1 ⅛" long, the short ones are 9/16" long

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Replacing The Flowers : June 2016

Marshalls, it always pays to look at everything, especially when it is on sale. all the flowers on this wreath easily detach to make up flower planters and window boxes. 

Joann fabrics has quite the floral dept with tons of suitable replacement plants for the A Frame 

Fern like little plastic leaves, scale and detail are perfect. 

You'll find these houses are nearly always missing a good portion of the flowers/foliage. If your budget allows for more than the dollar store I highly recommend Jo Ann Fabrics. they had lots of great plants that if parted out would be very economical for several houses. or you could just sell the left overs as 'generic A Frame replacement foliage'. I got a few lovelies today that I can use on the current restoration project. In fact, my restored flower beds often look better than factory since I am using higher quality florals and quality (detail) has improved in the last 40 years so it gives an overall superior look. You can clean dusty old flowers under the faucet tap with a toothbrush, then shake dry.

Currently at dollar tree, the small white flower bunches nearly identical to the 1978 Barbie A Frame Dream house. They had several bunches. 

Small white plastic Baby's Breath at Dollar Tree. not a factory match, but would do in a pinch. =-) 

"Grass lawn" as found at Home Depot. 

Michael's, winter 2016, avg price $3.99-$12.99 for GREAT plants. I would buy these for mine, but not for a house flip since it could easily add $10+ for someone who won't even bother to leave positive feedback, thus I use dollar store flowers and leftovers for houses I sell. 

The photo does not do these justice, I just got these from China via ebay, they were among the cheapest. I really really love them and cannot wait to re do my personal A Frame's flower boxes and planters. They have a nice vintage look to them and are much higher quality than what came with them originally. There were others I wanted, but either they were too large or too pricey.  

Currently at Joann fabrics (now largely a craft store like Michael's), these pix don't do em justice, the detail is fine, they would work perfectly to upgrade the planter and flower boxes, they were, however, $7 each, so I am waiting to buy those. 

The best deal of all: Family Dollar! I would have bought these, but I already ordered so much from China via ebay that I have enough for 2 houses now, though I know where to go when I get low! =-) 

I like these sheets of green because they are good to use for filling in the empty spaces in the flower boxes in between the larger plants. Usually, they are $10 at Michaels or Joanns, but these are a new find at this store.

Restoring Closet Doors: Adding the Mirrors

During. Be very careful to cut a straight line or it won't come out right. I took my thumbnail and dented the inside door trim line so the blade would have a groove to fit into. 

Almost done, this is a 10 minute project, totally worth it. 

Left: Before, Center: Replacement mirror, Right: original with scratches and flaws. 

Corners can be tricky

After. I am glad I did it. One more door to go. Also notice the wire hinge on the top left door, it works perfectly and is sturdy, the bottom wire you never see once the door is in place. 

Use imitation stainless steel contact paper as found at Lowes or Target. Its thicker than usual shelf liner so makes it easier to work with on flat surfaces (less air bubbles), but for impossible for rounded surfaces and corners. I guess the furnished house in 78 came with the mirrored doors and patio triangles, subsequent unfurnished houses in later years did not and i have not seen a pink house with mirrors.

If you choose to cut it on the outer edge, it gives a nice beveled glass look, one which I prefer and would do from now on except that on this one I cut on the inner edge on the first door so much follow through with that now. 

1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK parts doors windows mirror fashion closet clothes hangers restoration