This summer has been pretty uneventful for our family, but we accomplished one significant thing – we built a fort.
Our kids have been asking for a treehouse for years, and it never seemed to be the right time – or right place, since we kept moving. But our small parcel across from our cabin provided the perfect spot, and now our kids are old enough to help.
My husband was the brains of the operation, but he required help from the kids – and whenever they took a break, so did he. But they knew they’d better keep working or their prized fort would never get built. It was an effective arrangement.
With no electricity, they measured and cut as much as possible at the house, before taking it across the road. But much of the work had to be done by hand or with our rechargeable drill.
Both kids cleared the branches with hand tools.
Here you can see the floor start to take shape. Stud walls and roof would come next.
And with reclaimed siding from my brother-in-laws remodeling project, the fort begins to actually look like a fort. It even has $1 screens in the windows, scavenged from a scratch-and-dent pile at Menards.
The finished project is more of a bunkhouse than a fort, I suppose, complete with chairs, beanbags, a whiteboard and a scrap piece of carpet donated from Uncle Brian. The kids have logged many hours of play in it already.
What a memorable family effort!
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10:27 am
That is so awesome! I had the most dreamy playhouse in my head that my dad promised my whole young life we’d get to that never came to be. Way to go for getting it done! They’re gonna love it! Oh wait, clearly they already do!
Hugs,
Holly
2:01 pm
This is no FORT! It’s the Taj Mahal of forest living. I think they should charge dues or a fee to get in it….or donate another red squirrel tail to the collection anyway.
5:26 am
Is your fort available for rent? I’d like to vacation there
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com
Twitter: AboutParenting
4:13 pm
Very awesome! My kids wanted one but we never got around to it. Now they are too old. A missed opportunity.
4:54 pm
By the way, your photos are great. Great documentation. Tells me two things:
1. You’re a good photographer.
2. You didn’t help much during the building process, didn’t you?
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com
Twitter: AboutParenting
4:25 pm
I guess that part of me never grew up. I’d like a tree house, too.