Free Pallet Playhouse Plan | DIY Project
If you ever worked at a grocery store, hardware store, warehouse or countless of other locations, you're bound to come across the standard wooden pallet quite often. You would also know that left to their own devices, they can add up and overstay their welcome. The fact that you're here suggests you've asked yourself, “can I turn these pallets into a wicked cool playhouse”? Yes, yes you sure can!
The standard north American pallet consists of two 4' 2x4s and twelve 1x4s and 1x6s. Cut from oak, maple and other highly durable material, pallets can make for a great rustic, home made playhouse enterprise! My motto is, “if it's good enough to carry oil drums for the military, it's good enough to help you kids to carry on a tea party.”
Below you'll find the step by step plan to build yourself a nifty 10' x 10' clubhouse that only the most pretentious elitist would turn their nose up to. If you have 25 or so pallets laying around and a saw, you can build this! A PDF for this plan is also available for download.
Before beginning, I have provided a lumber list for you to carefully go over. Because Paul's Pallet playhouse has a footprint of 10 feet by 10 feet, it's recommend that it be built and used in a flat, level area of at least these dimensions.
To make sure your framing is square, cross measure the corners to check if they're equal or use the 3,4,5 rule. When it comes to framing, use two, 3” decking screws to connect 2x4s together, three decking screws for 2x6s, etc. Check out this page for more comprehensive framing instructions. Make sure to paint all the exterior lumber to keep it safe from the rain and other elements. Be advised that if an exact 8', 10' and 12' piece is required, you may still need to cut it as they can vary in length by up to an inch. Don't forget to also look at the FAQ page too. Happy play housing!
Lumber List:
Pallets:( 22 ) 40” x 48”
Framing:
2” x 4” x 8'
2” x 4” x 10'
2” x 6” x 10'
Flooring:
( 4 ) 1/2 Plywood Sheets
Constructing Paul's Pallet Playhouse:
Step 1: Framing the Floor Joists
From (8) 2x6x10s, cut and build the floor joist unit shown in the below illustration. Cross measure the corners, or use the 3,4,5 rule to make sure the box is square.
Step 2: Flooring
From (4) ½” sheets of plywood, cut and install the six pieces to the top of the joists as depicted in the below illustration.
Step 3: Walls Pt 1
From (9) pallets, assemble the first part of the walls as depicted in the below illustration.
Step 4: Walls Pt 2
From (2) 2x4x10s and (6) 2x4x8s, cut and install the ten pieces to the top of the pallets as shown below. From (1) pallet, install the door as shown in the 2nd below illustration.
Step 5: Walls Pt 3
From (5) pallets, build the unit shown in the below illustration. Install this unit to the top of the playhouse as shown in the 2nd below illustration.
Step 6: Rafters
From (7) 2x6x10s, cut seven of the rafter shown in the below illustration. Use (1) 2x4x10 for the single 10' piece. Install these rafters and 10'piece to the top of the playhouse as shown in the 2nd below illustration.
Step 7: Roofing
From (5) pallets, attach approximately forty five 3' 4” pieces to the rafters as depicted in the below illustration.
Step 7: Railings
From (2) 2x4x8s, cut four 4' pieces. From (1) pallet, install the rails with a 4” space between them. See the below illustration.
A 2nd, mirrored rail will also be required. Install these two rails to the front of the playhouse as shown in the 2nd below illustration.
