Country Lane Dollhouse Kit: How to Shingle the Roof

I love shingling a dollhouse roof, other builders…not so much. There’s something about the simple (yet tedious) task that I love. I just put on an audiobook, play an album, or podcast and knock it out. But for this dollhouse, it didn’t take long at all! This is one of the EASIEST dollhouses I’ve ever shingled in my life. Granted…I’ve only made 2 dollhouses thus far lol Here’s exactly how I shingled the Country Lane roof, guidelines and all.

What You’ll Need

• A ruler and pencil for marking guidelines
• Scissors or a craft blade for cutting shingles in half lengthwise
• Aleene’s Tacky Glue (the same glue used throughout this build)
• Dollhouse shingles (mine came in the kit)

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Watch the full Country Lane Dollhouse Build

Mark Your Guidelines

Before placing a single shingle, draw guidelines across the roof: the first one 0.25″ from the bottom edge, then continue in 1″ increments up to the roof crown. These lines are what keep every row straight and evenly spaced as you work your way up.

Start with a Flash Row

Your very first row, right along that bottom guideline, is a flash row. I cut a shingle in half lengthwise to keep things simple, though you can cut it shorter if you’d rather. You won’t actually see this row once the roof is finished, but don’t skip it. It’s what gives the visible rows above it dimension and lift instead of laying flat against the roof.

Lay Row One

Starting at the front of the dollhouse, place one full shingle so it completely covers the flash row underneath, as if the flash row weren’t even there. Continue across the roof, and finish the row with a shingle cut in half lengthwise.

Here’s the best part about this particular roof: you really only need half-length, lengthwise cuts for the entire thing. No angled cuts, no quarter-inch trimming. The shingles fit cleanly on their own, which makes this one of the more forgiving roofs I’ve worked with.

Stagger Row Two and Beyond

Take the other half of the shingle you just cut to finish row one, and use it to start row two, this time from the third guideline, again beginning at the front of the house and working your way back. From there, keep repeating the pattern: each new row starts with the leftover half-shingle from the row before it, alternating full-shingle starts and half-shingle starts as you climb toward the crown. This staggers the shingles like a brick pattern and keeps waste to almost nothing, since every offcut gets used to start the next row.

A Quick Color Note

Before installing, I dyed my shingles using the ziploc bag method. Once they were glued down and I could actually see them next to the trim I’d already painted, the color read noticeably lighter than I wanted. I fixed it by re-staining the shingles directly on the roof, no need to pry anything off. I walk through that exact fix step by step in How to Stain Dollhouse Shingles After They’re Already on the Roof.

For the full picture of this build, check out my Country Lane Dollhouse Kit Review & Build Guide and the Country Lane FAQ.