DIY Backyard Clubhouse

When Sassy Pants (now 12) was about 4, Math Man decided to buy her a playground. We didn’t have anything except a baby climb and slide thing, and she wasn’t using it. He went to one of those prefab places, picked out a backyard clubhouse we thought would be the best, and it was installed by the team.

It held up pretty well. At one point, before the Animal (now 6) was born, Math Man and his dad did a little bit of repair to some of the wood that had begun to deteriorate. They replaced the ladder and the support on the swing set.

Needing something new

As we continued to add more children to our brood, we found that we needed more swings. Off came the “horse” swing and the monkey bars. On came an additional regular swing and a baby/toddler swing.

Our boys (now 6 and 4) loved this playground. They were up and down and in and out all the time. However, as we added one more piece of our family puzzle (Baby Diva, now 2), we realized that the playground we had just wasn’t big enough. To make our needs for a new playground even more solid, Math Man reached up one day and was able to quite literally pull a rung off the monkey bar ladder with barely a pull.

Four kids on a deteriorating playhouse is bad news waiting to happen. Additionally, the untreated wood on the old clubhouse was seeming to be moldy and crusty. It wasn’t pretty. And it was time for it to be retired.

Starting from Scratch

With that, Math Man set his mind on building a new one for them. He had big dreams of quadrupling the size of the clubhouse part and building swings so that each kid would have one and arguments would be at an all-time low (in that arena).

I have to say that he made our kids (and himself – and me, really) crazy happy with what he created. He used no plans. He barely drew out a sketch of what was needed. He did consult Pinterest and other sites for some inspiration. All in all, I’m tickled to death by this enormously successful structure he created. We call it our Clubhouse!

It started by just creating swings for the kids. Math Man started this way to kind of get a feel for what he might need to do and for the spacing in the yard. I love the way he created these, and he had his father’s help, too. The boys were pumped to help Daddy and Pa and to feel like they were responsible for the first phase of our new play area.

Then, it was time to begin building the first levels of the clubhouse. Math Man amazed me by doing all of this himself. I mean, I did hold a board or two (and boy did it burn my shoulders!), but for all intents and purposes, he did it without any help. He’s a strong guy, but I couldn’t believe it when I came home and saw that he had the first ginormous level created.

Next, he put the rails and posts up so no one would fall out. As he was doing this, he realized that it was a little shaky. Slowly but surely, he added some support boards. He kept using his own strength to test the wiggly-ness (technical word) of it.

Making things Stronger

After getting that first level created and building the huge climbing wall/ladder, it was time to build the section for the slide. This is a shorter section that makes me more comfortable for Baby Diva. He made this portion pretty quickly since he had the first and much larger section as an example.

He added the slide and built a ladder/steps. The kids were amazed and so excited. With the added supports and climbing areas, my fears were beginning to subside.

Next it was time for a roof for each area. This took him less time than I think he anticipated, but it wasn’t necessarily easy.

Have I mentioned how proud of him I am? I keep saying it to his face, but I really really really am so proud of what he’s made!

Math Man added the doohickies and climbing supports and rails from the old playhouse. His final step was to create a sandbox for the kids, and he went to buy “good” sand for them to play in. Baby Diva pronounced that this sand was, “like the beach!” and asked us where the water was. Ha!

Needless to say, this has made our family extremely happy. This new clubhouse is nearer to our carport, so mom and dad can happily sit and watch the kids play while in our comfy chairs. Even Baby Diva has made herself comfortable watching her brothers play.

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This month’s theme with my Blog with Friends buddies is Happiness Happens. Check out these other posts from my bloggy friends and see what they have to share with you!

Baking in a Tornado with Lemon Raspberry Ice Cream Cake

TaylorLife with Spreading Positivity Rocks

Spatulas on Parade with Parmesan Chips

Part Time Working Hockey Mom with #100HappyDays

The Lieber Family with Happiness is…Back to School

Southern Belle Charm with Happiness is…Strawberries

Tags: blog with friends, diy, outside, parenting, summer