Building a Playhouse- The Frame

Last week, after sharing my ideas for building a playhouse, my husband and I started on it! It’s not done yet, but I thought I’d share the weekly progress so you can follow along as we put it together. Let’s start at the beginning (a very good place to start) with building a playhouse, the frame.

Building a playhouse- the frame

SUPPLIES

• 2×6- 16′ – 5 boards
• Wood Screws one box of 300
• 4’x8′ Plywood– 4 sheets
• 2×4-8′ lumber– 42 boards
• 2×6-10′ lumber– 6 boards

step 1- the foundation

Start by choosing the placement of the playhouse. We wanted it nestled right in these trees on the gravel. Our playhouse will be 8’x8′ so we used two pieces of plywood to envision its location. 

Once we were happy with where the playhouse would be located, we leveled the gravel, trimmed the tree, and began work on the foundation.

For the foundation, we used 2×6 pressure treated wood boards. The frame is 8’x8′ and the beams are 16″ apart.

Once that was complete, we just put the plywood on top of the foundation. We used a chalk line to mark where the beams were. Then we used screws to attach the plywood to the frame. And just like that, the playhouse has a floor! Well, the base of the floor. Eventually, I’ll add something cute on top of the plywood!

P.s. it’s been hot here, so you’ll see a canopy in some of the pictures so it’s a little more pleasant to work on this project.

step 2- build the walls

Next frame the walls. Do one wall at a time. The walls are 8′ tall and on the left side we won’t have any door or window, so that went up fast. The studs are 16″ apart. In the back, we framed in a little window that used to be in our she shed. Yay for using materials that I already own!

We also framed up the other two walls doing the same steps. The front wall will have two windows and a door!

Note, my husband choose to keep everything as close to 8′ tall and wide so as to not waste any lumber. Plus, it’s more efficient to do less cuts.

For the door and other windows, we stopped by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Most stores have them- they’re like Goodwill for building materials. We found a closet door that we’ll cut down for the front door.

Don also spotted this little arched window. He LOVES it because one of the pieces of glass is cracked. Don is Halloween obsessed and says this’ll make his house more spooky. The window was $1 so we said yes and will use it on the second floor.  

While at the Habitat for Humanity, we also grabbed hinges and a knob for the door. I also found a cute vintage mailbox for $6. Last, we got two windows. The total was $88.

step 3

And now, with the walls framed, we started work on the second floor. Yes, this thing is huge and there’ll be a loft! Lucky Don. For the second floor, we used 2×6’s for the frame.

p.s. the tarps are for shade from the sun.

Once the frame second story was finished, my husband cut down plywood for the base of the loft floor.

There’s an opening in the back corner for where a ladder will be constructed. Once the roof is on, it’ll be the school room for Don’s play time.

after

Alright, so I know there isn’t a super satisfying after YET, but just you wait!  I found this little demilune table thrifting last year for $4. It’s tiny and looked cute in my room, but I think it’ll be perfect here.

Want to hear how much we’ve spent on this thing so far?  Around $400-$500. Ouch! And we still need to buy the roof and siding. But it’ll start looking like a real house super soon! What do you think? Are you excited to see how it comes together?!

Stay tuned for an update next week on this monster project! Where do you think we’ll be in a week? Will the roof be on? Will it be painted? We’ll see! Thanks for reading how to build a playhouse- the frame. 

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