Welcome to another DIY Dollhouse tutorial.

Shingling a dollhouse may seem like an enormous task but there are actually many different types of shingles, and some can work better than others. Most miniaturists use the same technique when shingling a house.

Types of Shingles:

Loose:
Single shingles come loose in a bag, usually a minimum count of 250 shingles per bag.


Strips:
Shingles come pre-cut in rows. There are usually 8-15 shingles per strip.


Rolled:
Shingles are completely flexible and come on a roll. All shingles are attached to one another on a strip and they can be cut apart.

Shapes of Shingles:

Please click on a type of shingle to see it in an eBay search.

Square
Rectangular
Fish-Scale
Rounded Tab
Cape May
Rounded Point
Hexagonal
Hexagonal Tab
Diamond

Material of Shingles:

Please click on a material to see it in an eBay search.

Cedar
Asphault
Wood
Paper Clay - Some miniaturists use paperclay to create their own shingles and then paint them to match the style of their houses.

How To Shingle:

I use silicone glue to apply my shingles. NEVER use hot glue in the construction of a dollhouse. Hot glue does not maintain its strength over a number of years. You may find some guides on eBay ask you to use hot glue when constructing a dollhouse, but you will clearly find that in the instructions of any dollhouse kit, hot glue is prohibited for use in construction. Hot glue does not maintain its shape and may expand when drying. It also does not fully adhere to wood. Hot glue does not bond with the wood and therefore after the glue has dried, it can be peeled away, deconstructing the dollhouse as it is removed. After time, hot glue will lose its adhesion and your dollhouse will fall apart.



I start in the lower outside corner of my dollhouse. Some miniaturists prefer to start at corners where two roof peaks meet, in order to cut that corner to fit. I start at the outside edge because this means I can vary my shingles properly. Start with a full shingle and work your way to other edge of the roof. If you are working with a round tipped or shaped edge shingle like a fish-scale shingle, be sure to leave a sufficient overhang on the edge of the roof (see illustration). If you are working into a corner, cut the final shingle to match the angle. If working on a corner, start on the other roof piece and make a first row there, too, overlapping this edge. If you are working on a straight piece of roof, continue to the next row. Cut your first shingle in half, vertically. This will help in varying the pattern of the shingles (see illustration). Place your first shingle about 3/4 of the way up the original row. Finish this row, if in a corner, make the second row on the next piece of roofing at the same time.

When you reach the top of your roof, use your best judgment, you may need to cut the shingles horizontally to match your pattern. Be sure to install roof finials first if you wish to use them. It may be hard to get them to balance on uneven shingles, but they will balance on your straight roof edge much easier.

Tips:

You may find that working with strips (although not as realistic in final appearance) is a lot faster and easier than working with loose shingles. Check a bag of loose shingles before you purchase them. Sometimes the cut can be bad, especially in older shingles, and you may end up re-cutting each shingle to make sure it is straight before you apply it. This is time consuming and will cost you many hours.

If you find a shingle is splitting when you are cutting an angle into it, flip it over and cut from the other direction, it may hold up better because you may have been cutting against the grain of the wood.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments!