Gingerbread season - before the oven goes on

Load-Bearing IcingAttack your gingerbread house plan before gravity does

Type in the plan. See the front to scale, every panel on the tray, and which assumption is most likely to bring the roof down - then the cheapest way to test it.

Try a sample:

1 Your plan free

Sizes in cm (1 inch = 2.54 cm), dough in mm. The peak is how far the roof ridge rises above the top of the side walls.

House name Front width, cm Side depth, cm Wall height, cm Roof peak above walls, cm Dough thickness, mm Walls set before roof, h Glue Roof candy Room Days on show A note (optional): where it stands, who decorates it, anything you worry about

2 The house and the tray free

Melted sugar and hot trays burn: let them cool, and keep children away from both.

3 Red-team the plan

One run takes every assumption at medium or high risk, in the page's rank order: the honest case for it, the attack, the cheapest test before you bake, the point to give up on it, and the fix. The page re-checks the reply.

Pricing as soon as the session is ready...

The reply, as it came

The attack - none yet

4 Saved plans

How the risks and the verdict are decided

Walls stand: wall height over dough thickness - over 22 times is medium, over 30 high. Roof stays put: the roof angle from the peak over half the depth - 50 degrees or more is high; 40 or more, or a roof panel longer than 40 times the dough thickness, medium. Glue holds: soft frosting is high; royal icing with under 2 hours before the roof, medium. Roof takes the candy: heavy candy is high on dough under 6 mm, medium otherwise. Lasts the display: a steamy room is medium, high past 3 days; an ordinary room medium past 7 days, high past 14; a dry room medium past 28. Panels fit the tray: a panel bigger than 38 x 28 cm is high, 3 or more trays medium (a simple packing estimate; roof panels get 1 cm of overhang each side).

Each assumption scores impact (walls, roof, glue 3; candy, display 2; tray 1) x likelihood (low 1, medium 2, high 3) x cheap to test (glue and tray 3; walls, roof, candy 2; display 1), ranked highest first, ties in the order above. Verdict, in order: a high risk on walls, roof or glue - redesign; anything at medium or high - test first; otherwise - build it.

For fun and for home baking. The attack knows only your numbers and note; dough and kitchens vary. Melted sugar and hot trays burn - keep children and pets away from them. Not professional or food-safety advice.