Dolls house restoration - repairing MDF delamination

[Jules]

Following a house fire during covid, I have finally decided to tackle the restoration of my daughter’s dolls house. See photo attached of the front.
My first question is re MDF that has delaminated due to water - I intend to glue it back and by clamping it restore its structure. My question is what glue? I was thinking wood glue but it’s quite thick. Has anyone else got any tips?
It cleans up quite well with rubbing alcohol and then I sand it down to remove the last of the damage. The delamination is on bottom right hand of the front and along the top

 

[Tris]

Can you clamp the board back to it's original thickness at the delaminated points?

If so I'd be tempted to try thin CA glue or wet rot wood hardener applied whilst it is clamped.

If not I'd try using a scalpel to remove small amounts of material from the centre along the length until it can be clamped back to it's normal thickness then use the thin CA.

Given the nature of the piece I'd do a test run on some scrap MDF first

 

[Jules]

Can you clamp the board back to it's original thickness at the delaminated points?

If so I'd be tempted to try thin CA glue or wet rot wood hardener applied whilst it is clamped.

If not I'd try using a scalpel to remove small amounts of material from the centre along the length until it can be clamped back to it's normal thickness then use the thin CA.

Given the nature of the piece I'd do a test run on some scrap MDF first

Thx - some good idea there to try

 

[Adam W.]

It looks like a great project, I really like the mouldings.

 

[TomGW]

I just love the derelict, abandoned house appearance. It has a genuine patina that would be almost impossible to replicate.

 

[Jules]

I agree. At one stage I thought about minor restoration to create a dolls house for Halloween but I want any future grandkids to play with it, but be scared!
I’ve finished the clean of the front (bar the very top edge which has delaminated badly) and love the look. I’m thinking of leaving it as a tired old house on the outside, but with everything fixed, and decorated inside.

 

[Jules]

The inside is smoke and water damaged. It’s worse inside the house - sone areas are dark grey. the inside of the front is the least damaged and if it was just this level of smoke damage I might have left it, but with the water damage and much worse smoke damage elsewhere I will repair and decorate. But I need to fix the roof first which is seriously damaged

 

[Jules]

I’ll fix the broken window frames with matchsticks and I need to re-hang the door. I might come knocking for advice re the door frame, as the door pivoted on two nails in the door frame so I might need advice on the best way to loosen the door frame base without damaging it too much - then I can put in some bigger nails to hang the door on and put it back together.
I’m guessing it’s held with modern wood glue - any tips how to do this?

 

[Jules]

This shows the nails it came with - they’re tiny and not kiddie proof. If I drill a bigger deeper hole in the door top and bottom, I can use longer thicker nail which should stop the door popping out. But I need to access the top and bottom - the door frame will come out I think with some care, as it’s loose in places after the fire. So something definitely weakens that glue, would a hairdryer soften that sort of glue?

 

[Jules]

Helps if I attach the photo!

 

[Tris]

You may well already know of these two

https://www.hobbies.co.uk/?utm_sour...BIffJanbhcd2FyFtXxM3bZ9YEUtMI9rUaAiEjEALw_wcB
https://hobby.uk.com/
Very good for scale mouldings, joinery, lighting etc

 

[Tris]

Helps if I attach the photo!

Could you drill the door out carefully and add a couple of watch strap pins, pull out the nails and use the pins instead? Makes the door removable if needed too

 

[Jules]

I think that’s similar to my thought re using nails (basically long panel pins) I think to drill out the existing nail woukd be tricky, but by no means impossible. I was hoping to take them out and use holes as guide holes for my drill. Just need to get through the glue. Failing that, it’s as you say. I could always fill the hole then drill the filler I guess