How to WIRE A DOLL HOUSE
Lighting a doll house can be a very daunting task when you do it for
the first time. Knowing where to place your lights and where to run all
the wires is a confusing enough task and how to connect them all up
and actually get them working may feel beyond your capabilities, but
do not worry. Lighting your doll house is much easier than you think
and we are here to help. We have put together a full step-by-step
guide to doll house wiring to lead you through the process. You will
have your miniature lights up and running in no time.
23 Railway Pde Mt Lawley WA 6050 (Opposite the Mt Lawley subway).
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The Basics
There are two basic methods for doll house wiring: copper tape and
the twin wire or socket strip method. Although both are frequently
used for lighting doll houses many doll house builders recommend
the twin wire method as being the easiest for beginners. Both will be
explained both here:
Copper Tape Method
The copper tape method uses a very thin strip of adhesive copper
tape to conduct electricity around your doll house. To use this
method you would run two parallel lines of copper tape right around
your dolls house forming a continuous loop. If your doll house is front
opening the best option here would be to run the parallel lines right
around the back of the doll house. You can then attach the wires
from each light in the house to the copper tape by drilling a tiny hole
in the back of the house and passing the wire through. The normal
method for attaching wires to the copper tape is to solder them on or
an easier method is to use very small eyelets to join the wire to the
tape. Once you have connected your lights you can connect a transformer plug to the copper tape, plug it in and your house will light
up.
The Twin Wire Method
The twin wire or socket strip method uses a combination of wires,
plugs and sockets for doll house wiring to connect lights in your
doll house to a power source. This method is easier to modify, easier to install, is less likely to break and is cheaper than the copper
tape method. This is how it works:
Lights are fitted into each room of your doll house. Lights normally come with 60cm of wire with a standard sized plug on the
end. The wire from each light is run either to a point in the house
where you have decided to place your socket board or out of the
back of the house to where your socket board is attached. In front
opening houses it is easy to attach a socket board to the back of
the house and drill a tiny hole in the back of each room to run
your wires through. The plugs at the and of the wire is then
plugged into your socket board. Your socket board is attached to
a transformer which plugs into any normal household socket to
supply your house with electricity. Doll house wiring really is that
simple.
Socket Boards
This is a socket board - the hub of doll house wiring. As you can
see it has several tiny holes along it in which to plug your lights.
The wire at the end of the socket board will be attached to a transformer which you can plug into any household socket. These
socket boards come in various sizes for large and small doll house
wiring with any number of plug sockets. They have adhesive backs
so they can be easily stuck to your doll house.
On the next page is a picture of a standard plug used in doll house
wiring which you will find at the end of the wire attached to your
doll house lights. These plugs will fit into the sockets on the socket
board.
Transformer Plug
Transformers are used to change our normal household power
supply into one that doll house wiring can handle.
The standard transformer used for doll house wiring is twelve (12)
volts. The number of bulbs you can run off a single transformer depends on the amperage value of the transformer. Remember that
amperage determines the number of bulbs you can run from a
single transformer and not the number of lights, therefore a three
arm tulip light counts as three bulbs.
If you are using a large amount of lights you should balance them
out over two or more socket boards. You may want to consider us-
ing two transformers and two separate lighting circuits if your doll
house is large or if you are using a lot of bulbs.
Doll house lighting is much easier than most people think. Many
new collectors are daunted by the task but it is very easy.
You should start planning your doll house lighting even before
you build your house. The reason for this is your doll house will
look its best if you can disguise the wires that run to the electric
lights by cutting grooves in the floor of your doll house to run the
wires along and this is easiest to do while the doll house is unbuilt.
Step one
When you purchase your doll house you should start planning
the lighting. This guide will take you through the whole process of
doll house lighting, some of which you will do before your doll
house is built and some after it is built and decorated but you
should read the whole guide before you start building your house.
Decide on the location of all the lights in your doll house. Will they
be on the ceiling, walls, free standing or table lights? You don't
have to purchase all the lights at this point but you need to decide
on the quantity you will be using and where they will be situated.
The quantity of lights you use determines what transformer and
socket board you use for your doll house lighting.
When you have decided on the lights for your doll house you are
ready to get your transformer and wiring. To determine what
transformer you need count up the number of bulbs that will be
used in your doll house lighting. Remember that this is the number of bulbs and not the number of lights, so a three armed tulip
light will count as three bulbs. See section at the end of this booklet on TRANSFORMER.
Step two
Next count how many lights you will be using to determine how
many plug sockets you need. The average socket board has
twelve plug sockets so you may need to use more than one. You
can run more than one socket board off a single transformer.
Something you may want to consider if you are using a lot of
lights is to use two separate doll house lighting circuits, one for
each side of your doll house. You can then use a lower amperage
transformer and fewer socket boards on each circuit lowering the
possibility of a fault occurring. Also if a fault does occur it will be
much easier to pinpoint.
You should now be ready to get your transformer, socket board
and some lights. You don't have to have all the lights for your
house at once but here are some tips to follow:
Concentrate on one room or area of your doll house. It is important to light, or plan where your lights are going to go before you
decorate so you can cover wires. If you start with one room you
can light it and decorate it then move onto the next spreading
the cost of doll house lighting and still enjoying the doll house.
Start with the bottom floor rooms. If you are having ceiling lights
the wires will need to be covered by the flooring in the above
room so it's important that you have the lighting in the each room
before you decorate the room above.
Ceiling roses look very attractive and can complete a light fixture
but these will need to be fitted before the light goes up so now is
a good time to purchase these. You should also paint or decorate
your ceiling before you fit a ceiling light.
Now you are ready to get your socket board, transformer and
lights for your doll house lighting.
Step three
Once you have your transformer and socket board they must be
connected to each other. The socket boards usually available have
terminal connectors that are designed to be screwed onto the terminals from the transformer. These generally need to be changed
as transformers now available in Australia do not have suitable
connectors. If you wish you may take your socket board and transformer to STANBRIDGE’S HOBBIES and we will—free of charge–
solder the wires together for you . Another method is to use some
wire connectors that are available at an automotive store.
Now you have your socket board it is time to decide where it will
be positioned. This is the heart of your doll house lighting system
and should be placed somewhere that is easily accessible. For
front opening doll houses the best place is on the back of the
house positioned centrally and at the bottom. Once you have
done this attach your socket board to the doll house, most boards
have adhesive tape attached but you could use double sided tape.
You will now need to drill holes in the doll house for the wires of
each light to pass through:
Ceiling Lights
You have to drill two holes for a ceiling light, one through the ceiling above and a second through the back of the house where the
wire will exit.. We recommend you run wires along floors and not
ceilings as they are much easier to hide.
Wall Lights
Lights fitted to the rear wall of a room are by far the easiest to fit
but should not be fitted until the wall is papered. Then you simply
drill a hole directly under the wall light to pass the wire out the
back of the house and to your doll house lighting socket board.
For all other wall lights the wire should exit from the nearest position on the rear wall and a hole should be drilled here. Always drill
a wire exit hole as close to the floor as possible and try to drill at a
downward angle to disguise the hole further.
Table Lamps & Standing Lamps
These can be fitted after the room has been papered. The wire will
trail from the light and let you move the light around the room. Drill
an exit hole for each of these lights at the base of the rear wall you
can cover the wire up with flooring if you wish.
Drill holes
Drill holes should only be slightly bigger than the wires themselves.
The smaller the hole the neater it will look.
Grooves
If a wire is to trail down a wall or across the floor you should cut
grooves in the dolls house for the wire to sit in. Grooves should be
a small V shape and can be cut out with a chisel and sanded with a
V shaped file. You can also use a cutting disc on a Dremel tool.
Never glue a wire into a groove or fill the groove with anything as
you may wish to move or get to the wire later.
Step four
Once you have drilled your holes you need to position your lights.
If you are using a ceiling rose remember to put these in place first.
You can stick these down with double sided tape, wood glue or
PVA glue.
Before you can run the wire from the lights through their respective holes and to the socket board you will have to remove the
plug. To do this pull out the two pins with a pair of needle nose pliers and pull on the wire, the plug should slip off. You can now feed
the wire through the holes and along the wire grooves.
The wire is very fine and it is a bit fiddly. You will need your glasses
for this job, maybe even a magnifying glass.
Next stick the light in place using its adhesive pad. You should also
hold the wire in place along its route to the back of the house using masking tape. You are now ready to refit the plug. Feed the
twin wire through the central hole in the plug and then feed one
wire into each of the two holes on either side of the plug making
sure the end is bared. Refit the pins into each hole.
Step five
Plug each light into the socket board and tidy up the wires by using
tape to hold them onto the back of the house.
Plug in the transformer and turn on the switch on the socket board
and your lights should turn on..
What if it doesn't work?
Check that the transformer is connected properly to the socket
board.
Check the plug socket that the transformer is plugged into.
Check that the socket board works. If the fuse has gone the light on
the board will be lit..
Check each socket on the socket board with a multimeter.
Check the plug on each light is making good contact with the wire,
remember the wires have to be bared.
Check each bulb, you may have to replace them to test
Check that there are no breaks in the wire
Do you have a “Short”. This is where the wires from the transformer
are effectively joined together before going through a bulb. Your
transformer may get very hot or cut out—if this is the case unplug it
from the mains and do not plug it in again until you have fixed the
problem. If you cannot work it out then ask the staff at STANBRIDGE’S HOBBIES.
NOW FOR THE HARD PART. TRANSFORMER
We have left the hard part till last. This is the part that everyone
seems to get scared with. It is really very easy to comprehend . We
are going to talk about electricity in some very simple terms.
If you are unsure or do not want to try to work out this part do not
worry—ask the staff at STANBRIDGES HOBBIES—they will have someone who can work it out for you.
You can supply electricity to a doll house with a battery or with a
transformer—either will work—but if you use a battery it will eventually go flat and will need to be replaced or re-charged.
The voltage used ,as previously mentioned is a safe 12 volts. You will
not get electrocuted with 12 volts but you can start a fire if you have
a short circuit. Always turn your lights off when not needed.
BATTERY: You can get a 12 volt battery and charger that will run
most doll houses continuously for 6 hours. These will cost around
$51.95. Ask the staff at STANBRIDGES HOBBIES.
TRANSFORMER: A transformer or AC/DC adaptor or power supply is
an important part of a dolls house electrical system. The transformer
reduces the voltage of your home power supply down to the 12
volt system which runs dolls house lights. If you are not using battery operated dolls house lights, you will need to use a transformer
to supply power to your dolls house. You need to plan carefully so
that your transformer will power all your dollhouse needs.
1. Know What a Transformer Does The transformer takes the
household current and reduces it to 12 volts which is a suitably low
power to run doll house light bulbs. The amount of power your
transformer puts out is usually listed in milliamps or Amps or amperes. 1000 milliamps = 1 amp.
2. Read The Transformer Label If you don't know the power output
of your transformer, the label should tell you some basic information. Example Output 12V 2.5A This transformer puts out 12 Volts
and 2.5 Amps or 2500 milliamps. It does not matter if the transformer is AC or DC for the output..
3. How to work out the number of bulbs you can run from a single
transformer Remember it is the number of bulbs not light fittings we
are interested in. Normal bulbs draw 50 milliamps so if a transformer
puts out 2500 milliamps then it can power 50 bulbs. 2500/50 = 50.
Or if you have a 1000 milliamp or 1 Amp transformer it can power
25 bulbs 1000/50 = 25. Finally if you are not sure please call
STANBRIDGES HOBBIES.
Have fun with your lighting.