The Brutman Lodge

It took a while to figure out where to situate the playhouse. We wanted it to have some privacy, not be too close to the house, and to be amongst the trees. The southwest corner of the lot above the small fish pond was chosen.

Nobody told me it was solid limestone under the 12 inches of dirt!

The jackhammer was an emergency aquisition. And they are not easy to use when breaking rock below the dirt. The bit (3 feet in length) got stuck often. John (taking the picture) switched off with me on regular intervals so that we were both beaten equally.

I would have gone 42 inches deep to get below the frost line, but we only made it 8 or 9 inches into the rock. Then again, the rock isn't going to move so the frost line is irrelevant.

Not quite complete, but good enough to satisfy some curiosity.

The side rails are 2x8 cedar. The joists are 2x6, held on with metal joist hangers. The decking is 1 inch cedar. The posts are 4x4 AC2 pressure treated, cross-braced with 2x4 cedar.

This load was the wall studs, siding, and roof decking. The original load wasn't quite as large, but it felt just as heavy.

Framing nailers and big compound miter saws are just so nice ...

The walls on the platform. I didn't realize how fun it would be to try to get four walls in position, plumb and level.

The rafter system and ridge pole. The ridge pole extends over the porch, which will be covered by the roof. The rafters are notched to sit on the walls and tied down with hurricane straps.

Siding makes the structure so much stronger. Before the siding, the walls moved quite easily.; After the siding was up it took quite a budging to get it to move.

The windows and doors were cut with a Sawzall, so they'll need some trim boards to make them look nice.

The view of the real house. The front porch of the playhouse is about 7 feet above the ground, which is a hill behind the house. An adult can see over the roof of the house.

Note Bradley trying to escape ...

The pre-inspection visit. After this last piece of siding goes on the back wall, the only entry and exit will be by ladder.

The completed front railing.

Before I constructed the railing I finished the siding, put the roof decking on, added the corner posts, and did a few other odds and ends. The railing is cedar, 36 inches high, and the ballusters are close enough to prevent tragedies. Now if only the kids would figure out that they should not to sit or walk on the railing ...

The front ladder now allows entry by the little people ... who are out in the playhouse in the rain, even as I make this web page.

The front ladder is about 8.5 feet long and constructed of cedar. The side rails and steps are 2x4s. The steps are mortised into the side rails 0.5 inches, glued with a water-proof polyurethane glue, and screwed from the side. It's attached to the playhouse with a carriage bolt to give it some flexibility when the ground moves or the wood swells.

This is what it looks like in the winter with the roof, windows, trim boards, paint, etc.

This picture gives you an idea of where the playhouse sits in relation to this corner of the house. It also gives you a better idea of what a Minnesota winter looks like.