The Olson Zoo Weblog

I promised that I would build a playhouse for the girls this summer, so earlier this month I got started on it.  I based it on some plans I found on Lowe’s website.  The base of the playhouse is 8 feet by 8 feet.  The interior is about 6×8, and there’s a 2 foot porch in front.  I built it almost a foot taller than called for in the plans because I wanted to have more room to build a loft in the inside.

After levelling the site, I built the floor supports, put in a floor, then framed the walls and porch and framed up the roof.  I put roof decking on and then papered and shingled the roof.  I installed the porch using cedar decking boards.  I then sheathed and papered the walls, installed the windows (3 of them), and now I’m  putting on the siding.

Still left to do: finish the siding; add corner trim;  install rake and fascia boards; build a door; install window & door trim; build the interior loft (on half of the interior space); and paint the exterior.  So I’ll be busy for a while yet!

I started a photo album for the playhouse project, if you’re interested.  Here are a couple photos from the album:

I’m pleased to note that we are more or less finished with our big deck project. You can view photos from the entire project duration in the photo gallery.

Here is a photo of the planter box & bench that sit on the corner of the deck:

This photo shows the wraparound stairway on the east side of the deck in progress, from a few weeks ago.

The only things left to do now are:

• Build doors for storage area under planter box
• Stain & seal (next Spring)
• Add lighting - also probably next Spring

As some of you know, we’ve been building a deck this summer. I have just finished creating a photo gallery with pictures from the deck in various stages of completion:

The Olson Zoo Photo Gallery :: Deck Project 2005

Right now I am in the process of finishing the railings:

After that, I will build two more stairways into the yard, and then probably start on the built-in planter box and bench.

Planter Box frame: