Chapter 689

June 11, 2025

Playhouse

to shed conversion

Made a playhouse log cabin for my kids in 1981 out of some cheap sawmill slabwood. Shawn was the first resident but Christie also served from her tea set in there. It was supposed to be an heirloom but it didn't quite last, was falling apart so I chain sawed it up recently for Colleen to burn for home heating. 

When I made it I was channeling spirit from my carpentry talented ancestors as in Neal Diamonds song.

Built it during a hot August spell, just on a whim just ad libing as I proceeded. Neighbor kids Kevin and Meagan Dugan were often around. Yes I made it two short stories with an interior staircase. 

Chop wood and Carry water is a way to enlightenment. It was a zen buddhist mindful feeling the whole time living in the moment, focusing on the simple manual hands-on tasks and deriving satisfaction from the accomplishment.

Had some windows and bird houses attached. Second floor outside view from peephole.

Built in cupboards, shelves and some furniture.

Colleen thinks it's funny that I used to store my Porsche in there during winters years ago. Had to remove one gable end wall , drive in with inches to spare, then crawl out through the car window and playhouse door.

In 1991 we put a metal roof on purlins on the  Stoner Lake camp. I used that technique this time on the shed conversion. Shawn & Tyler with Joey and Chris in foreground. Maybe Paul, David, Pete, Michael and me background.

Don't believe I mentioned the free trailer that Tony gave me. I had to restore it. The piles of free cedar siding came from a nearby neighbor who tore it off his house and put on new. He was glad to get rid of it. There are also some 2x6 boards I got free on Facebook. Thought I might use during reconstruction, but have used yet. The asphalt roll roofing had deteriorated and I had to straighten the framing with a winch.

Note how large the maple tree in front of the house has grown from it's size 44 years ago.

I kept most of the original framing but added some $3 concrete blocks. I notice the Quartz granite stone here left over from the building of my house fireplace in 1975, and it also appears in the 1981 photo at the top of the page. It might come in handy some  day to build "something".

Manual labor doesn not come without a cost. I got 3 staples to close the head laceration.

I photographed the undisturbed scene of the crime after I drove back from the ER. Had the 2x4 over my shoulder trying to get it into the house. Had to back up to do that. Some fool had left the stumps behind me which caused a backward fall hitting the red concrete blocks that were for an original threshold entry to the playhouse. I see the crease in the hat where I was cut. Felt the blood and immediately removed gloves and drove to the ER.

Replaced some rafters and cross bracing. Removed the bottom floor and second floor. On the north roof I did use purlin strips of the cedar siding tongue and groove boards over the poor original plywood. On the south roof there was some better plywood so I just put the metal right on it. Never had in mind a permanent structure- just a cheap usable building to only "last a lifetime" (my lifetime).

Another guy nearby was tearing apart his recently bought house for reconstruction. He offered me this cedar panelling free so I accepted. Had been trying to get something cheap for roofing to no avail. Ended up at Home Depot spending $160 for corrugated metal roofing.

On the back South side I had run out of panelling but still had enough tongue and groove cedar siding boards. The weathered outside face looked pretty bad so I used the inside face instead. The trick was matching up pieces of splintered tongues with unsplintered grooves so there was little daylight showing through. Looks good to me.

Learned a few tricks along the way. Love the strong exterior screw fasteners with Tork-25 six star heads. Easy assembly with cordless drill and unassembly when needed. Hate the phillips head ones. Corrugated metal cuts easily and smoothly when you put the circular saw blade in upside down.

There's still work to do grading, adding stone flooring , shelves, some kind of door at the far end. But I have a somewhat usable shed after battling the non stop monsoons of the spring of 2025. Do I need a storage shed? Not really but it was a satisfying learning experience.