A Victorian Playhouse

Here is a front and side sketch of a true Victorian playhouse. Any interest??? and no I'm not sure how much it would cost, but I'd do the first one for $9,700 in cedar, but you'll have to paint it (I'll help choose colors, but with so many possibilities I'll leave the final choices to the "winner")

Playhouse Checklist

This is a comment I gave to a mother of 6, who asked about the playhouse prices. IF anyone is interested send me an e-mail and we'll do that else where. The point of this blog is playhouse safety. I encourage everyone interested in playhouses to read the following and look at what is beign produced locally. Don't miss the punchline at the end.....

****** MOM, (her screen name)
You're out numbered..... LOL
IF you're truly interested in prices toss me an e-mail and I will flip back you a list. They range from $950 up to the Mollie Madison which was $12,600.... There is no average price. I build them one at a time. I’m fairly sure that if you check locally you find that there is someone building “playhouses”. BUT even with delivery my prices are usually better AND mine are built with an eye towards safety. Do your self a favor and find a commercial builder and look at the quality being offered.

1. are the corners rounded -
2. do they use metal drip edge of the roofs (look especially where the roof edges meet)
3. are the playhouses vented (sofit and ridge vents)
4. Are surfaces sanded and sealed
5. are floors made of treated wood
6. are the windows "kid friendly" (are there any windows at all)
7. are there two doors - one swinging in, one swinging out
8. can the interior be finished, if so how much
9. Are their overhangs at the roof edges or does the water run down the sides of the house
10. Construction materials, full 2x4's for the walls good quality hardware

This is just some of the things to look for. This list ignores workmanship, quality of materials and the reason they build playhouses. Are they a shed builder who makes something that looks like a “playhouse” or are they a playhouse builder? Do they know anything about imaginative play for children?

There is a program by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) called the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS). The goal of the NPPS is to make playspaces safe for children. It is a good program and they have done some remarkable work with every school district in the country.

Are you ready for the punch line?

I am the ONLY playhouse builder in the whole USofA that has ever worked with them.


For those of you haven’t seen it, what a roof corner should look like. ($1,890)


Bad corners from a British builder this 6ft wide by 4ft deep playhouse they get 2500 pounds for (or about $4,000) and it doesn't even have real wondows. scheesh

Why a playhouse?

Why have a playhouse? Well the truth is you don't NEED a playhouse, but children NEED a place for imaginative play. A playhouse has advantages, but blankets over a card table work too. Like social development a child's imagination needs nurturing. It is part of the reason you read to your children. A child with a dynamic environment develops language skills faster and better and is more cognitively capable than deprived children. This is not new, Dewey knew this in the 1920's, Piaget knew this in the 1930's.
One of the interesting things about a playhouse is it can also teach responsibility. Having a child sweep and clean (and even wash windows) is something even a young elementary student can do within their attention span. I know you want them to clean and sweep the house where you all live, but that house is "yours" the playhouse is "theirs". Likewise, the creativity can be fostered with having a child decorate the playhouse. Perhaps they'd like a "haunted house" or Christmas lights can be hung (one two strings and your done without even much of a ladder). Allow them to plan the decorations (a few corns talks and some pumpkins and the playhouse is ready for a Thanksgiving “feast”. With both the cleaning and the decorating, the sense of accomplishment will do wonders for a child's sense self-worth and success breed more success.
BTW Blogging from my mother’s house…. (changing light bulbs, unstopping a drain, and doing some minor restoration work at my childhood church) Any ways not much for pictures for the next day or two……