This one is still a work in progress, I’m hoping to have all the finish work done by next month. I probably won’t get the lighting and stereo and all that installed until the end of the summer. I’m hoping this can be a hangout spot for them and their friends after they outgrow the slide. The huge roof is kind of the keystone of the whole thing. I’ve driven past hundreds of backyard playhouses and I’ve never observed a kid actually playing on one of them. I think a large part of it is because once you’re done with the built-in toys, it’s just not that fun anymore. Plus it’s hot as hell under there, even in the shade. I noticed my covered deck is pretty nice and chill even on a hot day due to having a real roof overhead so I wanted to put the same thing over the playhouse. This thing isn’t a play set, it’s more of an outdoor space where they can hang out, craft, paint, read, play, build, and have their own place to do their own thing. So far they’ve been out there almost constantly.

Here’s the sketchup model I made. It’s my first project using CAD instead of scribbling on notepads and offcuts but it has been extremely helpful and I will definitely be using it again.

I got most of the framing done last fall. The basic frame sits on 14"x48" rebar reinforced footings. The posts are 6x6x10, and all joists are 2x8. The joist hangers are attached to tripled 2x10s. This thing is built like a fortress.

It sat idle over the winter but as soon as the weather was nice I got back at it, there’s a ton of finish work to do. My daughter said she wanted a garage and a workbench just like mine so I got right on that! It’s the first picture up above.

Here’s the original one. Back in 2018 we decided it was time to get a playset for the little one. I looked around and thought “There’s no way these things are worth $1000-$2000! I better get a used one and save some money.” So we found one on a buy/sell/trade site for $100, took it down, and brought it home. Upon trying to set it back up I realized half the boards were rotten. I had a bunch of used deck boards from when I replaced my rotten deck, and I kept the very best looking ones for a future project such as this. Unfortunately I missed a small rotten core somewhere and one of the main structural members rotted out after less than 3 years. So for Round 2 I figured it was time to go big or go home. Just for materials it’s going to end up being 4x more than if I’d just bought one brand new the first time around, but I think they’re going to get way more enjoyment out of this one.