How much does it cost to build a modern playhouse? Here's an estimate of what you might spend to build a DIY playhouse similar to ours. It's a question that comes up relatively often - "How much did it cost to build your playhouse?" I had the same exact question in mind as I viewed other playhouses online. Naively, I initially thought that I could build a modern playhouse, to my liking, for less than $500. But it wasn't long before I set a new budget of twice that amount. There are definitely some cheaper options for various materials, so it is possible to build a similar playhouse for less. The … [Read more...] about Cost Breakdown – DIY Modern Playhouse
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Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 6 – Interior Paint
Painting the interior of our modern playhouse provided the opportunity for some added character and color. I also used paint samples to create some retro (and budget-friendly) accent stripes. After the exterior siding was installed and painted, I moved on to painting the interior. If you recall from previous steps, I did a lot of "pre-priming" before things were assembled. This may seem tedious, but I really think it saved me a lot of time when painting the interior. In retrospect - I highly recommend that you prime as much as possible before the structure is fully built (within reason of … [Read more...] about Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 6 – Interior Paint
Playhouse Made Modern – Pt. 5: Siding & Exterior Paint
Installing and painting the siding on our DIY playhouse finally made it start to feel like a 'house.' The horizontal cedar fence boards were easy to install and should last for years to come. The process of building the roof and installing the siding overlapped for us. Mostly because I was inpatient after the framing went up and wanted to get a glimpse of what the siding would look like. But in the end, the siding was finished after the roof (because of the cutouts needed around the beams). To install the siding we used the following materials and equipment: 35 (approx.) - Cedar fencing boards (5.5" … [Read more...] about Playhouse Made Modern – Pt. 5: Siding & Exterior Paint
Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 4 – The Roof
If there's one thing that makes our DIY playhouse 'modern' - it's the roof. Installing the mono-pitch and Suntuf panels had its challenges, but the result was so worth it! After the deck and walls of the playhouse were assembled, we started on the playhouse's modern roof. From the beginning, I was inspired by Houseful of Handmade's playhouse. I especially loved the roofing material she chose - it's made by SunTuf and it reminds me of a giant sunglass shade. It allows for a view of the sky while providing some shade and blocking harmful UV rays. But before we could install the Suntuf roof, we built a frame … [Read more...] about Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 4 – The Roof
Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 3 – Framing the Walls
Building the walls of our DIY playhouse was made easier with the help of a my SketchUp Free plans, a cut list, and a Kreg Jig pocket hole system. Oh, and my husband who was eager to help! ;) After the deck was built and the paint had dried, we moved on to framing the walls of the playhouse. Each of the individual walls was assembled using the Kreg Jig pocket hole system and 2.5" blue kote screws. The follows cuts were used to build our playhouse walls: Front wall (pink): 4 - 56" 2x4 (vertical studs - pocket holes both ends)1 - 88.5" 2x4 (top)1 - 56.5" 2x4 (top of entry - pocket holes both ends)2 - … [Read more...] about Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 3 – Framing the Walls
Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 2 – Building the Deck
The first step in building our DIY modern playhouse was constructing the deck. When building a playhouse deck, squareness and levelness are next to Godliness. During the design process, the deck somewhat dictated the size of the actual playhouse. My goal was to limit the number of cuts I had to make for the deck boards. So I picked a common board length (in this case, stud length at 92 5/8") which became the width. The length was a little more arbitrary and wound up being 8 feet. We used the following materials and tools to build the playhouse deck: 18 - 2x6 @ 92 5/8" (gray boards in the photo … [Read more...] about Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 2 – Building the Deck
Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 1 – Planning
Building our son a modern playhouse required planning and prep work. This post explains how I got started and includes the cut list I used for the deck and framing. When stay-at-home orders were put into place in our area, numerous travel and overall life plans were quickly crushed. Fortunately, as a toddler, E was oblivious to the changes. I, on the other hand, was feeling quite anxious and in need of control. My solution - build something! In hopes of keeping E entertained at home, and out of trouble in the backyard, I poured my energy into finalizing some playhouse plans for him. I was always … [Read more...] about Playhouse Made Modern: Pt. 1 – Planning