onebluestocking: bjds, designs, crafts and assorted nonsense

i got the back wall done. i glued small square dowels to the top and bottom of the frame and then trimmed the skewers the right length before gluing them on. it’s a good thing i didn’t make the wall any higher or i would have had to piece it. the skewers were just long enough to fit. i really lucked out there since i didn’t think to check before making the frame. i think i need to glue a crossbeam across the middle of that wall to even out some of the warping. i picked the slats that were the straightest end to end, but didn’t check for bowing.

noah insisted on helping, but was so tired towards the end he fell asleep.

i finished up the base by cutting a piece of foamcore to fit in the hole of the frame,then glued it down. you can see it fills the space pretty exactly. this is so neither the flooring or the base will bow when i attach the tree stump

then i added back the hardboard backing and glued this to the foamcore, using a stack of books as weights to hold it all flat as the glue dried.
i trimmed the boards so that they were close to the frame, then cut 1/2″ square strips of wood 11-1/2 inches long for the side supports. i first attached them to the corners of the second frame then the corners of the floor. i tried screwing them in but didn’t have the right size square head attachment for my drill so ended up drilling holes slightly too small and then hammering the screw in. odd but it worked.

here kiri and noah demonstrate the size. i probably could have made it a smidge shorter, but the proportions are nice this way so i’m happy with it.

i have several large bushes with severe die-back from a storm, and that combined with this picture from a japanese mook, inspired me to make a treehouse for my tinies.

of course being me i’m not sure the house will be recognizable by the time it’s done and it has already grown from just fitting my realpukis to being big enough for my pukifees and littlefees to play in. i promised the rps a smaller one later. anyhow i thought it might be interesting to chronicle how i made it as possible inspiration for someone else or just for my own interest 😉

i found some great flat frames at the dollar store to use as the floor and roof supports, and flat bamboo skewers to use as planking.

i glued them down in sections, periodically checking that they are staying reasonably straight, the skewers themselves aren’t perfectly straight – though i did discard the really warped ones – so i’m planning to make it look as though a child helped build it.

here is the floor laid down and glued in sections (just ’cause my weights are too small to do it all at once.) i’ll be cutting the points off later

last picture today is of the “weights” holding the wood as flat as possible t omake good contact while the glue dries