My second building project... this one took quite a while, building in the evenings after the kids went to bed.
The playhouse is based off of Ana's Playhouse Building series, with some modifications to fit the space in my backyard and accommodate climbing wall, monkey bars, and slide.
To put the main deck structure into the ground for sturdiness while protecting from moisture, I dug out 5 holes to fit single hole cinder blocks (4 corners plus an extra 4x4 for the monkey bars; you can see an leftover block on the ground in one of the pictures). I placed some brick in the holes, then the cinder blocks on top. I then partially filled the cinder blocks with sand, put the pre-built deck in the cinder block holes (with help - it's heavy!), and then filled the rest of the cinder block holes with sand. It's worked remarkably well - the deck has been up for about a year now. I also sprayed some clear waterproof sealant on the bottom part of each beam near the ground for extra protection (deck, monkey bars, climbing walls, and swingset A-frame). This has allowed me to still run sprinklers near/around the playset and even grow grass underneath the swings!
Materials used:
* Playhouse: pine, plywood, Suntuf solar grey polycarbonate corrugated roofing panels (I live in Arizona, so little rain to worry about but lots of heat - the sheeting lets light in but blocks most of the UV rays, corrugated shape also provides venting at top when placed sideways)
* Deck/Swingset/Monkey bars: treated lumber, composite decking, pine for railings, monkey bars purchased from Amazon
* Climbing wall: pine, treated lumber, handholds/railing bought off ebay/Amazon
* Swings/slide/bongos/wheel, telescope: purchased from Amazon
Modifications:
* Turned playhouse 90 degrees to be in back of the deck, with swingset coming off the side. This meant the support beam for the swingset had to pass through the playhouse - modified the frame for that wall slightly and created a notch for the beam to pass through.
* Slide comes out one end of playhouse - made the "window" on that end larger than the plans called for in order to give room for the slide.
* Monkey bars come off one side of the deck - used extra 4x4 here to create support for the bars, and used extra bars to make a ladder on this side
* Climbing wall instead of ladder for main entrance
* Put large window in back wall of the playhouse
* Added cross bracing to side of decking on swingset end to make it more solid/cut down on sway when swinging
Comments
spiceylg
Tue, 08/20/2013 - 09:07
Nice!
Love this. Where did you get the stainless steel top? Did you have to special order to fit?
In reply to Nice! by spiceylg
krochelle
Thu, 05/15/2014 - 10:33
Stainless Top
Sorry about the late reply! Yes, I just gave my dimensions to a local steel supplier and they made the top. I think I have about $40 into the stainless. They didn't weld the corners but I've never had an issue with them.
Pursuit of Handyness
Sat, 04/26/2014 - 15:41
Stainless steel sheet metal
I too would like to know your source for the sheet metal.
In reply to Stainless steel sheet metal by Pursuit of Handyness
krochelle
Thu, 05/15/2014 - 10:35
Stainless Top
I just found a local steel supplier, told them what I need and they formed the top. It cost me around $40 (without welding of the corners). I took a fine grit sandpaper to it afterward to scuff it up so it didn't look so bright.
In reply to Stainless steel sheet metal by Pursuit of Handyness
krochelle
Thu, 05/15/2014 - 10:35
Stainless Top
I just found a local steel supplier, told them what I need and they formed the top. It cost me around $40 (without welding of the corners). I took a fine grit sandpaper to it afterward to scuff it up so it didn't look so bright.
AMR4412
Wed, 04/30/2014 - 12:55
Grill table with stainless steel top
I would like to know are there any plans available to make this table? I am very impressed of its design.
In reply to Grill table with stainless steel top by AMR4412
krochelle
Thu, 05/15/2014 - 10:46
Plans for top
No...I didn't have any plans when I built it but it's a very simple concept. I chose to use all treated wood since I knew it would be sitting outside unprotected. However, my 4x4 posts weren't square so this caused a lot of problems and everything was built to fit. I believe I just used 4x4's, 1X6s (for the bottom shelf) and 1x4s for the sides (top and bottom). For the top, I just laminated 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood together to bulk it up and then had the stainless top built to fit. It fit perfectly so I didn't glue it to the plywood. This makes it easy to remove and clean, if necessary. For the galvanized pipe (towel bar), I bought it at Lowe's and had them cut/thread it to fit my dimensions.