Snuggle Acres: The Chickin Koop

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Chickin Koop

"The Chikin Koop"
Homemade playhouse

When we moved to Snuggle Acres there was an old garden shed located in the backyard. We thought about converting it into a playhouse for the kids. BUT, once we looked closer, we realized that it would be a dangerous place for the kids to play. We also realized it wasn't very sound when we pushed it down. The next problem was to find supplies for the Koop. The Longest once again came in to save the day. Ricky had a stockpile of plywood stashed and I had a stockpile of old 2x4's. I went by the local hardware store and asked for any 2x4 culls. (This is a great hint for project people; hardware stores sell 2x4's and all other lumber that people do not pick. If you are working on a garden project or another project where the board does not have to be perfect, there is cheap lumber out there for the taking). I traded some cans of stain for a couple packs of shingles with a friend, and collected some cedar planks from a friend who didn't finish working on a sailboat. After paint, screws, and corner posts the total cost of the playhouse was less than $200 and was built with a ton of reusable supplies.

Pumpkin from Dorie growing up the side!!!

This summer, I had to do some upgrading to the floor and I sprayed the inside with a new coat of paint. I finally built some shutters and two doors to keep more rain from coming in and rotting the floor. Once the paint was dry inside it was time to release the kids inside with their paints to start decorating and making it their own. At Abigail's birthday party we let the kids paint inside the playhouse, instantly there were handprints and footprints all over the inside.