For Christmas 2011, we finally got serious and gave the kids these construction plans. Now our little playhouse is complete and ready for all kinds of fun. Matt built the house himself (tweaking the plans significantly) with some help from the kids. Only one accident occurred during construction and that was when Matt fell off his ladder and landed on his elbow.
Eighty percent of the materials he used for construction were free or bought used on Craigslist, including the windows, wood, siding and insulation. Matt's brother gave us a bunch of wood which Matt used for the framing. Matt's brother-in-law sold us some roofing for super cheap. We were finally able to use the old solid wood door that we bought at a salvage yard years ago. We had intended to use it in our previous house's remodel, but never did.
Early on, we decided to ditch the front porch that were a part of the playhouse plans. Matt wanted to build the structure on skids to avoid having to get a construction permit and it was easier to forgo the front porch. He also wanted the house to be tall enough so that adults could walk into it, so he adjusted the height. He added a loft with a special hole in it's floor for lowering and raising a bucket so the kids can transport things back and forth between the first and second floors. Overall, the design is simpler than the original plans, but has more windows and is bigger.
Even with the inexpensive materials, our budget hit its limit last Fall. We decided to postpone further construction until we could save more funds. Matt wanted to get the exterior weather tight before winter weather hit, so we did that and then quit the project for a few months. We literally were painting the outside of the house as a nasty November storm was descending upon us. Over the last couple of months, Matt was able to insulate the interior and put bead board sheathing on the interior walls.
Grace sanded, primed and painted the old wood door. Matt bought a door knob for it, hung it and then the playhouse was officially done. One really neat feature of the interior of the house is a small red pot-bellied stove. Elizabeth has dreamed of a pot-bellied stove in her own little playhouse for several years. She got the idea when she saw a miniature wood stove in a playhouse where our kids take swimming lessons.
So, for the past three summers, we've looked for a pot-bellied stove at yard sales, per Elizabeth's request. I looked and looked, even though I knew it would be an impossible find. Not only that, she only wanted to spend $40. I thought she was nuts, but I kept looking. Last summer, in desperation, Elizabeth got up the nerve to ask the woman who owns the playhouse at the swimming pool if she would sell the little stove, but the woman said, "no."
We went to a family worship/fellowship time with a bunch of other homeschoolers at a friend's farm last July. Imagine our surprise when we saw the perfect little stove for sale amongst some antiques on the property. We asked our friend about it. She said she just needed it gone. It weighs 400 lbs and her husband was tired of moving it for her. She sold it to us for $35! It was quite a feat to get it into the back of our van, but we had the girth of plenty of young men to help in the loading process.
Grace and Matt were able to wrangle the stove into the playhouse by themselves. I'm not sure how they did it. I'm sure I don't want to know. The red stove is for decorative purposes only. It's always such a pleasure to see the ways in which God works, even to fulfill the desires of a young girl's heart (and therefore her Mama's, too).
1 comment:
That is really neat! I want a play house for myself. Good job on all the work. It looks superb and could almost be a little guest house too.
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