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Bring timeless character to your backyard with the Randy’s Ranch Playhouse Plan, a beautifully detailed American Craftsman-inspired design. With its sturdy lines, thick porch posts, and classic gabled roof, this playhouse channels the charm of early 20th-century architecture in a kid-sized footprint. The inviting wraparound porch adds a welcoming touch, perfect for quiet daydreams, creative play, or even a little front-porch lemonade stand.
Inside, there’s plenty of room to personalize, with space for a reading nook, pretend kitchen, or cozy club house. The Craftsman-style trim and attention to architectural detail give it a grown-up feel while still being playful and approachable. Whether nestled into a garden corner or set as the centerpiece of a backyard, Randy’s Ranch blends craftsmanship and imagination for hours of fun.
Standard Plan
Features:
- Two story, elevated playhouse with a total of 264ft² in usable space
- Wrap around porch allows room to attach many playhouse accessories
- 8' in maximum head space inside the playhouse portion
- Includes instructions to build a dutch door, rock wall and ship ladder
- Designed for children aged 3-12
- 60 page, step by step PDF plan
Plan Category:
Dimensions:
- 11' Wide
- 12' Deep
- 13' 7" Tall
Framing Details:
- Joists: 2x6 - 16" O.C.
- Walls: 2x4 - 16" O.C.
- Rafters: 2x6 - 16" O.C.
Glass Shed Windows:
- ( 8 ) 2' x 3'
Roofing Details:
- 30° gable roof pitch
- 160 ft² of total roof coverage. Typically, 10% should be added to the roofing material order to account for waste and overlap.
Lumber List:
Make sure to take advantage of any volume discount from your local lumber yard!
Decking:
(27) 5/4” x 6” x 12'
Framing:
(24) 2” x 4” x 8'
(5) 2” x 4” x 10'
(25) 2” x 4” x 12'
(7) 2” x 6” x 8'
(12) 2” x 6” x 10'
(27) 2” x 6” x 12'
(2) 2” x 8” x 12'
(3) 4” x 4” x 10'
(8) 4” x 4” x 12'
Trim:
(2) 1 x 4” x 8'
(11) 1 x 4” x 12'
Plywood:
(6) 4' x 8' x ½” Plywood Non-PT
(2) 4' x 8' x ¾” Plywood Non-PT
Siding:
400' Cedar Bevel Siding or (9) ½" Plywood Sheets
Hardware List:
- (15 lbs) GRK 3” R4 Screws
- (15 lbs) GRK 2.5” R4 Screws
- (Optional) GRK 4” RSS Screws
Deluxe Plan
Features:
- Two story, elevated playhouse with a total of 360ft² of indoor space and 720ft² of total usable space
- 360° wrap around porch allows room to attach many playhouse accessories
- 8' in maximum head space inside the playhouse portion
- Includes instructions to build a dutch door, rock wall and ship ladder
- Designed for children aged 3-12
- 49 page, step by step PDF plan
Dimensions:
- 18' Wide
- 20' Deep
- 16' Tall
Framing Details:
- Joists: 2x8 - 16" O.C.
- Walls: 2x4 - 16" O.C.
- Rafters: 2x6 - 16" O.C.
Glass Shed Windows:
- ( 10 ) 2' x 3'
Roofing Details:
- 30° gable roof pitch
- 410 ft² of total roof coverage. Typically, 10% should be added to the roofing material order to account for waste and overlap.
Lumber List:
Make sure to take advantage of any volume discount from your local lumber yard!
Decking:
(31) 5/4” x 6” x 8'
(28) 5/4” x 6” x 12'
2x Framing:
(28) 2” x 4” x 8'
(20) 2” x 4” x 10'
(54) 2” x 4” x 12'
(2) 2” x 4” x 16'
(22) 2” x 6” x 8'
(23) 2” x 6” x 10'
(20) 2” x 6” x 12'
(10) 2” x 6” x 12'
(12) 2” x 8” x 8'
(27) 2” x 8” x 10'
(2) 2” x 8” x 18'
(4) 2” x 8” x 20'
(3) 4” x 4” x 10'
(8) 4” x 4” x 12'
4x Framing:
(2) 4” x 4” x 8'
(2) 4” x 4” x 10'
(3) 4” x 4” x 12'
(12) 4” x 4” x 16'
Trim:
(1) 1 x 4” x 8'
(1) 1 x 4” x 10'
(22) 1 x 4” x 12'
Plywood:
(22) 4' x 8' x ½” Plywood Non-PT
(2) 4' x 8' x ⅝” Plywood PT
(6) 4' x 8' x ¾” Plywood Non-PT
Hire a qualified professional.
I purchased the plans as a starting point for a backyard treehouse for my three girls. Everything was very well laid out and easy to follow, and the cut list and lumber list were accurate and helpful. I spent about 4 months building the treehouse from start to finish, including some extra time to frame everything around a tree in the backyard. Our kids and all the neighborhood kids love the new treehouse!
I would highly recommend this playhouse to anyone. I'd consider myself an entry-level carpenter and managed to pull off this build (mostly on my own) over a 6-month period while working a 40+ hr/week job. Stained and painted to match the house, our playhouse (pictured with the yellow tube slide and flower baskets) was a favorite in the neighborhood. My favorite part was how modular the wrap around porch is for adding/moving the ladders, rock wall and slide from what was shown on the plans. In hindsight, the only change I would have made would have been to put a short 6" eave off the back side to give it some depth since we have neighbors all around. I did beef up the interior framing where the swingset attaches to the side of the playhouse. Swinging causes a lot of pulling on the top bar but this playhouse is so sturdy that I'm sure it was overkill. I watched it withstand 60-70+ mph thunderstorm winds (before I could get it anchored) and it never even budged. The bucket concrete (cast-in-place) piers worked great for my sloping yard. I ended up cutting out the bottom of the buckets that stuck out and dug down another 20" and threw in some rebar before pouring.
Thanks to Paul for this great design!
10/10 would build again :)
This plan was easy to follow and make it easy for the everyday guy to build something great for his children. I would recommend using Paul's Playhouse to anyone looking to build their own playhouse. I made a few slight modifications and plan on adding a sandbox on the bottom soon. My children love their playhouse and it makes it even better that I can say I built it.
I couldn’t be more pleased with our experience with Paul and his Playhouse plans. I had questions both before purchasing, and during the subsequent build. Paul was prompt, and very helpful. The plans themselves were fantastic. The pictures and instructions made it clear what each next step was. This was the largest building project I’ve tackled on my own, and it would have been impossible without Paul’s Playhouse Plans.
I bought Paul’s Playhouse plans to build backyard playhouse for my three boys. The plans worked great, easy to understand, and easily modified to add a swingset to meet our specific needs. The bill of materials was extremely helpful bidding and pricing materials.
