My Version of a Kids' Play Structure

The Challenge:
I had a lot of wood I couldn't burn inside (i.e., cedar and pine), and I wasn't able to burn it fast enough in the outdoor fire pits. We also adopted a slide from grandparents and need to put it to use or give it away. I didn't want a monstrosity of a structure dominating the yard, so I came up with my own design with nontraditional materials, I suppose.

The Solution (for now):
I added a second log stack (supported/flanked by 4 t-posts) and connected it to the existing (taller) one with a pre-cut, 3-step staircase. I used standard posts for railing, leftover cedar shingles (from roofing the adjoining hut) for a small shelter on top, and tongue-and-groove cedar for the floor.



To access the slide, I staggered longer logs on the back to serve as climbing steps (above). I also added a climbing wall (below) as a second access point for the covered tower (on top of the taller log stack). I connected climbing holds to signboard (MDO, not to be confused with MDF) with the usual 3/8" t-nuts. The planters in front of the stacks is a nice addition for summer snacking on tomatoes and mint.


Overall, I'm happy with the results. It was a good use of the materials I already had, and the smallest members have given their seal of approval. I am told the tower "is the perfect reading spot" and great for relaxing out of the sun. The biggest challenge was positioning the log stacks so the pre-cut stairs would line up. A little 10th-grade geometry came in handy--thanks Mr. Herder.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

"Tree" House

Another amazing spot we found in St. Louis is the Missouri Botanical Garden. Last summer, they hosted a special event, "Extreme Tree Houses." Local designers and architects created unique structures, many from upcycled and recycled materials, that adorned the already amazing grounds. I always love going places that are inspiring, in a design sense. In some cases, I feel inspired (and bold) enough to say, "Let's try to build one of those."
Prior to the visit, I had been drawing up planes for an uber-modern playhouse for the kids--think corrugated sheets of metal hung horrizontally on a simple rectangle structure.
Then I saw this....




I was in awe of the simple, yet smart, design. The skeleton of bent boards provided an excellent frame for weaving branches to form organic walls. As you can see from the photo above, they also bent branches for arched doorways.
This was it. Instead of buying and cutting up a lot of materials with scraps that would end up in the dump, why not upcycle the branches that always fall in our yard after a storm? Further, we are always trimming back overgrown branches from various vegetation. Instead of paying to have them hauled off (and hopefully ground up for composting), I would have a continuous supply of materials.
The next weekend I got started. (Like I said, I was pretty inspired.) Below is my version that is the result of months of casually weaving branches as they became available in the yard. (Next to the hut is a stacked wood climbing wall with holds.)




So how was it done? The most important piece is the top that holds the bent frame. Below is a photo of what I came up with for this "cap." Eight thin boards were attached to this top to create what looks like a giant spider.




To get boards that are pliable enough to bend without breaking, I ripped leftover 10-foot, treated (not the greenest or toxic-free option, I realize) 2x4s into half inch strips. I then created a makeshift "tub" out of a tarp to soak them for about 30 minutes (see photo below).




After I connected the boards to the top frame ("cap"), I measured out evenly spaced stakes for attaching the bottoms of these boards. I also placed pavers in the top of the "cap" to weigh it down and create a yurt-like structure instead of a cone. (The wet boards makes this more possible.) After that, it's preparing the roof for cedar shingles and creating frames for weaving a lot of branches.




I'm pleased with the results. The house continues to evolve as we add more branches to strengthen and thicken the walls. The organic look works just fine with a modern aesthetic, and more importantly, the kids love it.

Oh $#@%, My Captain!

Taking on Water (the engine and pontoon in the foreground is sinking)

Day 1: Tuesday, July 20
Last Tuesday morning started like any morning. I got to work early hoping to get some writing done. The am hours were clipping along quite well until I receive a call at 10 o'clock. It was the marina manager who told me, "I hate to tell you this, but your boat is taking on a lot of water." I immediately left for the marina, drove who knows how fast, and arrived to find the boat dramatically tipping up on the front right-hand side.
"What do I do?" I wondered. What would you do? I had no idea. Fortunately, the water had not reached the deck, but who knows how long until it did. I knew that I had to drain the pontoons, but how? I was going to get that lesson from the previous owner when they returned from a trip to Mexico. That wasn't until the 25th, and this was the 20th. I searched through the closet, found what looked like a miniature pump (it had two places to attached a hose, one labeled "in" and the other "out"), loosed what I knew to be the pontoon plug, and got to work.
In the meanwhile, I needed to figure out how I would get the pontoon fixed. That required getting it out of the water, but we don't have a trailer. The marina manager suggested Wain (not Wayne), a guy who works at a nearby welding shop. I called Wain, but he didn't think his trailer would work. I call three other places: one was retired, another had a trailer but it was out west, and the third didn't think his trailer would fit our boat. I called Wain back, and he agreed that we could give his trailer, with some modifications, a try the next day.
The rest of Tuesday, I prepared the boat for an overnight stay. I was able to fix the air conditioner. (I can't give myself too much credit, because I really don't know what I'm doing. I just opened the cover and pushed on what looked like a suspended drum. That apparently loosened it enough to get it spinning and cool air blowing.) This was the first night any of us had slept on the boat, and this wasn't the type of occasion I had in mind. I just wanted to be able to monitor the amount of water that came back in the pontoon.
The "slumber party of one" was fine. I dug out my old Nintendo Entertainment System (the old 1985 console) and a few games, hooked them up to an old tv and basically just hung out. That morning, I boiled water for the coffee percolator on the grill. I also baked a few eggs over some sausage I cooked in a cast iron pot. Under other circumstances, it would have been the perfect morning meal on the boat.

Getting the Boat out of the Water

Day 2: Wednesday, July 21 Wednesday was pretty low key. I pumped more water out of the pontoon, went back to the house to get cleaned up, and began assessing what work I would want to get done on the boat while it was dry docked. The marina gave me a one-week permit to be parked near the dock. After that, I would have to beg for a few more days or move the boat elsewhere. What could I do in a week? Well, I knew I wanted to:

1. repaint the railing and railing panels,
2. repair the outside decking,
3. lay new carpet, and
4. fix the gas line for the oven and hot water tank.

The interior needs work, too, but I figured the four tasks I listed above would be easier to accomplish with the boat out of the water. And I was actually looking forward to beginning the restoration process. In fact, I recognized that I was building a weird relationship with this vessel that had just about did me in. It was as if I had been presented with an immense challenge I was determined to accomplish. It was either the boat or me. (I never read Moby Dick, but I imagine that the sailor had a similar fear/respect/admiration for that karn-sarn whale. The sailor doesn't die in the end, right?)

That evening, Wain called for me to meet him out at the dock. There, he had the trailer hooked to the front of his tractor, which he was able to drive further into the lake to load the boat. It just took two tries for me to get the boat on the trailer. It was a tight fix, and navigating that boat is definitely an acquired skill. He slowly pulled the boat up the ramp to the spot where it finally rested.
Now, the next challenge was bracing the pontoons on the left-hand side. Since there was still so much weight in the boat, it was buckling the entire structure. The only part of the boat resting on the trailer was the middle section. The pontoons hung out on the sides, unsupported. I raced to a few different stores and finally found the proper 3 ton floor jack. I picked up a couple of friends and headed back to the boat. By dark, we had the pontoon properly blocked.

Day 3: Thursday, July 22
Around 1:30 am, my dad arrived from Missouri. My mother had already been here helping us take care of our daughter while her daycare is closed for a two-week vacation. That morning, my dad and I got to working labeling and removing the railing and panelings around the boat, tearing up the carpet, and assessing the plywood decking. That afternoon, I wasn't able to work on the boat because I had to finish writing and submitting a conference presentation proposal. Later that evening, we took a break and went to 17th Street BBQ for dinner and another hardware store to check about outdoor carpet. I finally got a hold of my engine guy, Jerry, and made plans to meet him at the boat on Saturday morning.

Day 4: Friday, July 23
Today, we continued to take off the railing and panels. I went to check about paint and borrowed an electric pressure washer to clean the pontoons so Wain could assess where our leak was. We soon discovered that the electric washer would not do the trick as quickly as I had hoped. So, my dad and I are now the proud owners of a 2700 psi gas-powered pressure washer. That night, I finished spraying the grime off of the pontoons. Washing the outer sides of the pontoons was no problem, but washing them on the insides underneath the trailer made it a miserably wet and uncomfortable process.

Day 5: Saturday, July 24
We met Jerry at the boat at 7am. While he assessed the motors, we scraped the sides of the boat. Fortunately, the engine work will be minimal, at least when compared to the rebuilds we feared. That afternoon, we went to a birthday party at the Trail of Tears park in the Shawnee National Forest. It is absolutely beautiful there.

Culprit #1: Crack in side of Pontoon that Allowed Water to Reach Culprit #2

Culprit #2: Crack (center of photo) on Top of the Pontoon

Day 6: Sunday, July 25 Today has been the most pleasant day (weather-wise) so far. This morning we scraped the panels. Around 10:30am we went to the boat to begin supporting decking. Wain and (another) Jerry finished welding the cracks in the pontoons. As you can see from the photographs, the spot where they had to weld supports is where the engines are attached. They had not been attached properly and had been pulling on the old welds. We took measurements for boards to support the rest of the flooring and headed back to the house. Right now, we've been resting and I've had enough time to update this blog. I'll continue to post updates as the restoration progresses. Here's to Moby Dick.

The Naked Boat (Let's Hope She Looks Better in a Week)

Growing food and community (and chickens in town, we hope)

All things food and community have been under way this spring in SO IL. Two months ago, the local farmer's market opened for the season, and last month we started receiving our weekly CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) deliveries from Clearcreek CSA. A bonus with the CSA this year is visiting with the other members each week. We volunteered our house to be the drop-off/meeting point for the bi-weekly deliveries. Stocked with a cooler full of beverages and the occasional homemade fixings, we've been able to enjoy visits with Adam and Anne (Clearcreek proprietors) and the CSA members who have the time to visit. It's amazing how well a "cooler full" can coax a person to sit down and chat for thirty minutes or so. Who says barley and hops can't build community?

via Modern Coop

On other things food related, we're still anxious to hear the city council's decision about raising hens in town. Last February, there had been some press in the local paper about the matter (even the addition of miniature goats to the proposed city ordinance apparently made oh-so-informative USA TODAY), but it's been pretty quiet lately. Regardless, I've been looking for chicken coop ideas. Fortunately, there are even a few ideas out there with a modern/contemporary aesthetic. For example, Modern Coop uses reclaimed cedar. (Well, well, well...it so happens that I have a leftover cedar board or two from the finished courtyard fence--I'll make a post about that one soon). The Cocorico Hen House also got me thinking about alternative uses for the super-flexible PVC pipes used for outdoor electrical conduit. Other store-bought varieties are produced by Omlet in the UK and the stateside ChickenCribs. Oh, the possibilities.

Cocorico Hen House by Maxime Evrard via Yanko Design

Giant City this Fall

Did we mention that we love hiking in Giant City, and that it feels like it's practically in our back yard? (Ok, I suppose we have in a previous post.) Once again, we have made it a priority to hike our favorite stomp this fall. Here is a recap of the fun with friends and family.

Future Rock Climber

Thus, the name, "Giant City"

I guess everyone had cold hands...

Always a helping hand...

Preparing for Spring Planting

The backyard before...

New fence and garden plots

Garden plots - another view

Galvanized tank ready for herbs

The threat of a late frost has almost passed and it is time to get the plots ready for planting. Recently, I took the old fence that once surrounded the rear courtyard and placed it along the back side of the yard t0 designate a new garden area (the before and after pictures will clarify this better than I can). We have two new plots filled with last year's decomposed piles of leaves and lawn clippings (our first attempt at composting), and a new galvanized tank, originally intended for watering livestock, resting in our courtyard ready for herbs. (The tank should help us keep the dog and all of his business out of the basil.) There's a lot to do before April 1. Happy Spring, Everyone!!!
—Grant

I'm a lumberjack (and I don't need medical attention)!!!

Last weekend, Grandma and Pop-pop were in town to visit their granddaughter. Fortunately, Pop-pop knows a thing or two about felling trees, and the dying specimen in the backyard had been threatening the power lines for too long. A $50 pole chain saw rental (11' fully extended), a regular chain saw, and an overcast Saturday was all it took. (The tree in the left-hand side of the bottom picture is the one we removed.) The only casualty was the phone line (oops). Fortunately, Pop-pop knew how to fix that, too. In the end, we couldn't be more thrilled. No more fallen branches hanging on the power, phone, and cable lines after a big wind storm. Plus, we now have a nice supply of wood for the outdoor fire pit.
—Grant

Yes, we have a castle, too.

We were a little surprised (and later quite impressed) to see that our community has an amazing castle for kids to enjoy--free of charge. Rochman Memorial Park was built in the 1990s in memory of Jeremy "Boo" Rochman, a teenager killed in a car accident. I can only imagine the hours I would have spent here as a child. There is a lot of space to let your imagination run wild. The giant dragon is a crowd favorite.
—Grant

Two Hikes: Giant City and Cache River

Although extended backpacking trips in the White Mountains are not as accessible for us as they once were, we have been able to find a few saunters in Southern Illinois. Two recent favorites include Giant City State Park and Cache River State Natural Area. The former was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the New Deal of the 1930s and is part of a network of trails, picnic areas, and--the crowning accomplishment in this area--Giant City Lodge, a cool little stone and timber lodge that serves a mean all-you-can-eat fried chicken dinner on the weekends. Our other favorite trail is in the Cache River preserve. It includes a boardwalk that meanders through wetlands filled with cypress trees. Fortunately, the options for hikes don't end there. We hope to trek through Garden of the Gods and bike the Tunnel Hill Trail this spring, too.
—Grant