As soon as she could navigate the backyard under her own steam, my daughter, Lily, began staking her claim to ever-increasing pieces of property. Under a canopy of vines, she and her friends forged alliances, rewrote the rules of civilized behavior and generally had a heck of a good time. But then came the day when Lily and her friends needed shelter from the elements; they needed four walls and a roof over their heads; they needed . . . a playhouse.

We settled on lattice as the main building element and colorful canvas for the roof. To make our job even simpler, we opted for highly durable plastic lattice, which can be cut with a circular saw, requires no painting and virtually no maintenance, and is splinter-free. The lattice would enable Lily and her friends to attach a variety of neat "extras" to the playhouse using nothing more complicated than a series of S-hooks.

We were able to build the entire playhouse in under ten hours. And even using durable pressure-treated lumber, we still kept our costs under $300. Here are a few tips we learned while building:
• Grade the site before beginning construction.
• Using screws and a variable-speed drill, instead of nails and a hammer, makes construction easier.

Approximate Cost of Materials:
Pressure-treated: $250
Cedar: $340

Leslie Garisto Pfaff is a FamilyFun contributing editor.