It’s true that you can buy ready-made playhouses from several manufacturers, but have you seen the price? Often, they are ugly plastic creations that will annoy you every time you go into the garden! The better wooden versions are often prohibitively expensive.
Better to get a good set of playhouse plans and do it yourself.
There are many playhouse plans available for download on the internet – some are free and some you pay for. Many are obviously written by carpenters and need a degree of know-how before you can understand fully what they are talking about.
Here’s a little preparation and forethought that you can do BEFORE you download your playhouse plans:
- Try to choose plans that require fairly heavy materials so that the playhouse will remain standing when that next storm hits. Safety is very important – you don’t want your kids to get hurt in a contraption built by dad!
- Find a suitable place in the yard or garden to place the playhouse. Make sure the area is clear of any debris/vegetation and is LEVEL – don’t guess – use a spirit level.
- The floor will be the first thing to be constructed and will be a grid pattern of joists, just as in many houses. A tarpaulin might come in handy to keep the wood dry during this phase. Making sure that the floor is square is essential, so use a carpenter’s square (you have got one, haven’t you?). Then, it’s a case of nailing it all together with galvanised nails. Finally, outdoor plywood will be laid on top of the joists.
- Walls come next. Using 2X4 studs, the boards are laid on the ground whilst being constructed and then raised up (you’re going to need some help, unless it’s a small playhouse).
- The roof is a little more difficult and needs to be able whatever the weather (and kids) can throw at it. A gabled roof isn’t that difficult to construct if you have a few gadgets, such as galvanised joist hangers (don’t panic!), to hand. Hanging rafters will become second nature to you with pre-made joist hangers.
- Plywood panels then need to be fixed to the roof (1/2″ plywood) and walls (4′x8′ sheets, T-111 tongue and groove).
- Decorative, outdoor panels can be fixed to the walls and something to go on the roof (vinyl, tin or felt and asphalt shingles).
- Now for the fun part! The finishing touches – picket fences, shutters for the windows, etc. Go wild and enjoy!
So, there you have it: simple steps you can take and think about before diving into the playhouse plans. A little thought and preparation now will pay dividends in the future.
Here’s the best resource we’ve found for Playhouse Plans:
