has anyone here ever made a clubhouse?

[pianistimo]

i'm taking about backyard clubhouses and not sandwiches.  do you think a person such as myself could build one?  i am thinking of going to lowe's and just buying a bunch of scrap wood and just sort of piecing it together.  it can't be that hard to build a clubhouse.  it doesn't have to look perfect, right?! 

now, what do you do for the base?  level the ground and then what. make some kind of cement and spread it around?  or do you think sand is just fine?

[rc]

I think you should build your clubhouse in an old abandoned water tower.  From there, with a 3 man slingshot, you could waterballoon anything for miles around!

[pianistimo]

this clubhouse is not for boys.  it is for my five year old daughter.  'we' are having a kitchen in it.  although a sink to fill up waterballoons isn't out of the question.  but, there will be a sign 'no boys allowed' on the front.  of course, that might make the boys that routinely shoot water guns come and squirt the windows. but, that is why we will also build a fence around it.  also, she said she need a swing and a slide.

where can i find a swing and slide for relatively little money?  is there a place to buy parts for clubhouses?  she wants a BIG slide.  and probably a big swing.  you can't buy anything but very small swings and slides here.  she is a thrill seeker.  i'm thinking a slide that goes halfway down the backyard embankment and curves around this way and that.

[elspeth]

This really confused me, on this side of the pond a clubhouse is the building associated with a golf course which normally contains a shop and the bar! Also used for buildings attached to some other (usually outdoor) sporting premises - crown green bowling for instance... not cricket though. Cricketers have pavillions.

[thalbergmad]

now, what do you do for the base?  level the ground and then what. make some kind of cement and spread it around?  or do you think sand is just fine?

I would suggest a deep foundation.

You would need to make it at least 6 foot deep, then fill it full of cement.

Jump in to ensure the cement is setting properly.

Thal

[pianistimo]

six feet?  why six feet.  my daughter is not an elephant.  and i certainly wouldn't be testing the cement.  that would be the cat.  she's only 10" high.

seriously, can you just come over here sometime thal?  i need some help here.  do you know how to use power tools?  maybe a nail gun?  i've promised her a clubhouse for about a year.

the main problem is that it can't be incorporated into a tree because the trees here are pin oak or something.  they are skinny and tall.  the backyard is somewhat sterile right now with no 'real' trees and no place to play.  i was thinking maybe a giant sandbox to start and then start doing something with one side or the other. 

and - no - it most likely will not turn into a pavillion - but i might plant some child friendly plants (no poison oak or holly berries).  another thing i was thinking is that some 'clubhouses' are basically on stilts so that bugs and snakes, etc - won't creep into the thing as easily. 

[jlh]

six feet?  why six feet. 

Don't people normally rest 6-feet deep?

my daughter is not an elephant. 

That's good to know...  I was always curious.

and i certainly wouldn't be testing the cement.  that would be the cat.  she's only 10" high.

Awww! Poor cat... you'd really do that to your cat?

[pianistimo]

the cat does it to herself.  she's always curious and into whatever we are doing.

[pianistimo]

guess what !  i found some plans and also the list of things to get from a lowe's site.

https://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Build/PlayHouse

cool, huh! perhaps this is wishful thinking - but i am going to purchase a few items at a time and just build a little bit at a time.

[jlh]

I would suggest if you are going to do that, then invest in a good tarp.  Either that, or build it between rain so that the frame doesn't get wet.

If I lived near you I could build it in a day.

Josh

[pianistimo]

you could?  perhaps i will invest in a ticket and find out how much you charge.  my husband has grown weary of these 'projects.'  my son is hopelessly disinterested.  only when i threatened to do it myself - did he appear to respond.  but, he laughed.  why doesn't he think i can use a circuitous saw?  you just push it down and up.  i've watched it done before.  (perhaps i should worry about my hands?)

[jlh]

why doesn't he think i can use a circuitous saw?  you just push it down and up.  i've watched it done before.  (perhaps i should worry about my hands?)

Perhaps because it's called a circular saw? 

Or maybe you're talking about a Miter Saw (we call em "chop boxes").