Marilyn PM box is now empty...thanks Lisa! [I have been consumed...

M

marilynfl

Moderator
by the gingerbread world. Major breakthrough yesterday...all the house pieces are baked and only one is still bending (baked that sucker 4 times!). Baked for 9 hours yesterday...the stacked star tree looks terrible...I won't be using that. I'm in the kitchen now, putting "glass" in the windows (crushed coconut Lifesavers make a perfectly clear window, but look "boring" next to the lovely pineapple green Lifesaver. Edible luster adds a sheen, but takes away translucency. I feel like I'm working with stain glass...hmmm, the Rosetta Window next?...}.

Bought my base at Home Depot this morning: 24 x 24 x 1/2" composite board...that puppy should take the weight. The baked gingerbread house pieces weight 8 pounds by themselves---can't even imagine what the whole thing will weight with all the icing, decorations and THEME ITEMS added.

Pray that all the bakers who've gone on to the Big Pastry Kitchen in the Sky knew what they were talking about then they said Royal Icing holds like cement. I'm going to need it (knead it?)

 
Yea! I just gave birth to a 4.3 pound cap roof! I'm going off to show...Oh crap.....

Well, apparently Royal Icing DOES NOT have the holding capability that everyone says it does.

Back to the drawing board.

 
I am not a gingerbread house maker...But, is there anyway you can add some additional

support in the inside? Was giving your house some thought the other night....Perhaps an extra support beam would add help with stabilizing the roof?

Magnolia should join in here...(If I recall correctly, she is an architect!!)

I am impressed by your undertaking! It will be enjoyed by so many during the upcoming holiday season!

Regards,
Barb

 
Oh ya, I'm pulling out the big guns and stopping at Home Depot hardware tonight

Problem is two-fold: one, I designed all these weird angles that pull the weight down and out, which any moron who can spell G.R.A.V.I.T.Y would have realized not to do!

And then, most mounting hardware is designed for metal or wood...not gingerbread that crumbles on stress points.

Technically, I'm allowed to use non-edible structural support as long as it is not visible to the eye.

Which brings us to the second problem: I added a light fixture to illuminate the colored windows, which are on every single wall. So I have to minimize any interior support in order not to block the light source. In other words, no cinder block in the middle.

I'm going to try wrapping 18-gauge wire around the bottom and top of the base. Those walls angle outward and I can hide that with icing. I'm also going to wrap the roof, but I'll also need to add some interior braces.

Where's a steel I-beam when you need one.

 
cheezz, I've had the A/C on 75 degrees constantly. I think it's just too heavy and

the angles are too sharp. This was also my very first attempt with Royal icing and I made it really, really stiff. Perhaps too stiff? I didn't think that was possible. This was like very stiff spackling.

Last night I made another batch of dough (there goes another 18 cups of ingredients) and remade the 4 roof pieces a very thin 1/8". Since it's so wide (14") I was worried that might be too thin. I'm going to try to wire-wrap and re-glue it tonight.

 
WHOA! I didn't know you were making such a HUGE mansion!

14" wide roof?! My goodness, even royal icing has it's limits smileys/smile.gif

I think you need an architect, contractor and building inspector!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top