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Author Topic: The past 3 years I've been trying to "build" the St. Andrews house, help me complete it this year!  (Read 1160 times)

Offline slaphap

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So yeah, every year for the past 3 yrs, I've tried to get the St. Andrews house built, hasn't happened.....yet........I'm a hopeless gingerbread house romantic I guess you could say, I've used different construction gingerbread recipes and without fail I can never get the whole house up without it collapsing, what am I doing wrong???  My family is so over it they won't even help me anymore, which I guess in a way is a relatively new family tradition......lol lol

I am determined to get the darn thing up this year, lol , any tips would be GREATLY APPRECIATED........

Thanks bunches!!!!
« Last Edit: December 05, 2015, 07:51:44 pm by slaphap »

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Offline jimboy880

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Hi   to keep from collapsing you must support each side or sides with any heavy food cans so as to keep them straight upright and let royal icing can dry fully overnight before putting on more pieces.  You should always use a metal bowl to make royal icing as plastic tends to hold oils and other stuff so as to have the best and hardest royal icing you can make. You must not disturb it in any way, until it has fully dried then it will bond and dry hard like candy.  Make sure you make your roof pieces thinner then sides so as to put less strain on structure.  Roof pieces may still be on the heavy side if you use royal icing to glue any shingles or roofing in place keep in mind the white icing (royal) make look nice as snow but can add weight to a roof so use with caution and limit it's weight.   good luck my house is under jimboy880 account here and please vote for me   thanks Jim

Offline annemarielaney

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You could hotglue it together.. that's what i do. I don't eat my gingerbread creations anyway.. so i use hot glue to hold the pieces up then i cover it nicely with icing. i've saved myself several headaches doing it this way.. if i make it for someone else i of course use icing which takes FOREVER because I will sit there and hold the piece.. i also make sure the icing is SUPER DUPER STIFF if I use icing.

Offline jimboy880

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hot glue might be good but it may not hold as well as royal icing i guess but as I said in the previous reply you can glue it together with royal icing and hold it tight with cans put on inside and out of the side wall pieces so you don't have to hold them up and then no worries if you wanna eat or give it away and it can all be edible and i think just as sturdy and better but like I explained in previous email I must set undisturbed for royal icing to set overnight just a foot note depending on how much I glue together in actual sides and roofs it may take awhile this is not a one day project to glue it all and i suggest you take it slowly and you will get much better results patience is needed to do this craft and sometime I have to re make a pieces as it is too brittle or thin and is **** or will crack.   When you roll out your gingerbread dough be careful not to create air bubbles as they will weaken and create cracks.  good luck 

Offline annemarielaney

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I've been making gingerbread houses since 2007.. hot glue is just as strong if not stronger.. I've never had a house collapse and the time it takes to get it all put up is quick. I use a wireless hotglue gun with high temp sticks so.. that might be another reason it holds up well. but if you plan on gifting it or eating it I would def skip it lol. I've never understood the appeal of eating the house though.. it's so stale unless you are going to eat it that day or something.

Offline GingerbreadExchange

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Why is the house collapsing?  Because walls seams come apart, or wall/roof pieces bend/break/collapse?

If the gingerbread pieces themselves are collapsing, you might try frosting the the back sides of all the wall and roof pieces with Royal Icing before assembling the house.  This will add strength the gingerbread pieces. 

Then, before constructing the house, depending on your desired decorating, see if you can frost/decorate the front sides with Royal Icing prior to constructing.  This will also add strength to the pieces.
Loreta Wilson
Exceeding your gingerbread expectations in a sweet way

Offline slaphap

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Thanks everyone!  I think I rush the entire process, so I will take my time with it, also how long after baking pieces can I start to construct, I read where they should sit for 48 hours before the start of construction, true????

Offline GingerbreadExchange

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Depends if you are frosting the back sides of the pieces.  If yes, you can frost the backs as soon as the pieces are cool.  Then wait 24 hours for the pieces to fully dry (that have been frosted on the backside), then you can flip over and decorate the front sides, or begin construction.

Regardless.... after you construct the house, you must wait 24 hours for the wall/roof seems to dry.  If you do not wait for the constructed house to dry completely before you decorate, it will probably crash.

And... make sure you are assembling the house using Royal Icing.  Regular canned, or buttercream will not hold.  You must use Royal Icing.

Loreta
Loreta Wilson
Exceeding your gingerbread expectations in a sweet way

Offline GingerbreadExchange

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If it helps, my flickr page for the St Andrews house includes some construction pictures....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ultimategingerbread/albums/72157622964699699

Loreta
Loreta Wilson
Exceeding your gingerbread expectations in a sweet way

 

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