The Wild West Comes to the Backyard!

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We started with the bottom and worked our way up. We alternated the lengths of the boards at the corners, as pictured. Fence boards aren’t as straight as Tonto’s arrows, so count on having some gaps between the boards, and check ’em periodically with the level. Meanwhile, you can also frame your homestead’s roof and attach it. A notch in the joists can help hold it square and in place.

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Next, we framed the porch cover, added a plywood roof, robbed a train, and drank a shot of whiskey.

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The problem we saw with nailing shingles is the roofing nails need to be long enough to hold the shingles in high winds… but at the correct length, the tips of the nails come through the plywood. To address this, after stapling the black felt roofing paper to the top of the roof, we struck chalk likes on the roof to mark where the nails would go, then transferred that measurement to the underside of the roof. We individually measured and cut 2×2 boards and screwed them to the joists. Now, we have protected the Sheriff from scraping her head on a nail.

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We stapled black felt roofing paper to the roof and had our nail lines marked. We used cedar shingles for the roof and created the effect shown here by alternating the width and position of the shingles.

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Your fort needs a name. Get the kids involved in picking a good one that any self-respecting, pistol-toting outlaw would be proud to call their own. Once my varmints picked a name, we found a font we liked and printed it on card stock, cut it out and traced it on a piece of cedar. Then, using a wood-burning tool, I traced the edges and filled in the letters in a rustic pattern.

While you are taking in the sweet fumes of burning cedar, demonstrate how to safely handle the hot wood-burning tool, and if your kids are old enough, let them give it a shot. Finally, at high noon, quick draw that cordless drill out of your holster and pepper the sign with bullet holes. Next… hang him!

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To trim the door frames, I used rough cedar fence boards. For a little character, using a jigsaw, I cut a curvy line down the middle, going around any knots in the wood. These were nailed in place.  The saloon doors were created from scraps of the standard pine fence boards.

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The bell, lantern, antlers, and other decorations you see are things we picked up at thrift stores while we were working on the project.

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We turned the antler tips so they touched the wall and fastened securely to make sure there is no possible way an antler can poke an unsuspecting bandit.

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We added plexiglass to the side windows which can be open and shut by sliding them along groves. Plexiglass keeps the water out, but scratches and does not age well.

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You don’t have to spend a lot of money for the kids to enjoy a playhouse. You just need to be resourceful and work with materials that are found around you. And with a bit of help from the kids  ;-)

If you’d like to view the plans for the DIY Kids Fort, you’ll find them here. Note that the above project varies from the roof plans shown.

Thanks to jhawkins14 for this great project.

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