PROJECT: Building a clubhouse
GOAL: To learn or practice basic carpentry skills
For most kids summer is the season of free time-- for watching clouds, playing marathon games of Monopoly or just hanging out with friends. What could be a better place to while away summer's idle hours than a private, kid-ruled hideaway? I worked with five 10- and 11-year-old girls to construct this basic clubhouse--a 5-foot cube that, with careful planning and supervision, they were able to frame almost independently. The girls had little carpentry experience, but they surprised themselves: One of them looked at me as we raised the side walls and said, "Before we started, I thought this would be really hard. But this is really fun."
MATERIALS
• 6 2-by-4s, 5 feet long• 2 4-by-8-feet sheets of 5/8-inch plywood (cut as shown)
• 4 4-by-4s, 5 feet long
• 18 1-by-4s (8 at 53 inches; 8 at 58 1/4 inches; 2 5-foot lengths for windows and other extra features)
• Plywood and planks for siding (1-by-6s work well)
• 3 lb. "6-penny" (6d) nails
• 3 lb. "8-penny" (8d) nails
• 16 3-inch L brackets
• Box of 3/4-inch flat-head, wood screws (if you buy brackets without screws)
TOOLS
• Masking tape• Tape measure and pencils
• A small crosscut saw
• 13-oz. or lighter hammers
• Screwdrivers
• Hand drill (for kids)
• Electric drill (for adult use only)
• Safety goggles
• Builder's square
• Level
• Sawhorses
• Stepladder
BUYING SUPPLIES
The key to smooth clubhouse assembly is adult planning and, to the extent you judge it necessary, precutting of the lumber. If you want to give the kids a lot of practice using a saw safely, have all the 1-by-4s cut to 5 feet and help the kids trim them to the right lengths. Otherwise, you can cut the wood ahead of time or have it done at the lumberyard (keep in mind, though, that this will cost extra). Before heading to the lumberyard, ask friends and neighbors for scrap wood to side the clubhouse; with luck, you won't need to buy any siding.At the lumberyard, ask your salesperson to show the kids where the wood is stored. Explain to the children how lumber is sized and sold--in lengths that are 1-by-4 inches, 2-by-4, 4-by-4, 1-by-6 and so on. Let them participate in placing the order and involve them in picking out the brackets, nails and any tools you may need to buy. Ask your salesperson about any scrap wood you could have, and inquire whether the lumberyard will deliver the wood to your house (it may not fit in your car). When the wood arrives, have the kids unload it and set it up neatly near the building site.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Have the children organize their tools in the building area--preferably a hard, flat surface on your driveway or patio close to the clubhouse site. If you have scrap wood, give the children hammers and invite them to practice sinking nails into the scraps. Talk about safe handling of tools and the importance of wearing safety goggles. Remind them, too, that when they are done for the day, they will need to put the tools away.
THE FLOOR PLATFORM
With a tape measure, a square and a roll of masking tape, the children can tape off a 5-foot square on the building area. For an easy test of squareness, measure the two diagonals of the square; they should be equal. On two opposite sides of the square, have the kids mark off increments of one foot, starting from the corners of the square. For floor joists, have them lay down the six 2-by-4s on their edges, with the two outside lengths exactly 5 feet apart on the tape lines and the four middle lengths centered on each of the interior 1-foot markings.Take the first of the 1 1/2-foot plywood floor pieces and lay it over the 2-by-4s, perpendicular to the floor joists. Using 8d nails, the kids can nail the flooring to the 2-by-4s, spacing nails 5 to 6 inches apart. Repeat this for the remaining floor pieces. When your platform is complete, move it out of the way.
THE WALL FRAMES
To make the clubhouse sides, your kids will construct four wall frames, each of which looks like a Roman numeral II. First, they should place two 53-inch lengths of 1-by-4 on opposite sides of the masking-tape square. Then, they should measure in 14 1/2 inches from each end of each beam and make a pencil mark at these points. Next, for studs, they can lay two 58 1/4-inch lengths of 1-by-4s between and perpendicular to the first two beams, centering the ends on the pencil marks (the studs will be approximately 23 inches apart). To finish, they should nail each frame together. After assembling all four frames, the kids can set two of them aside, keeping two on hand for the next step.These two frames will need to be bracketed to two 4-by-4 posts. To do this, have the kids lay two 4-by-4s down on either side of one frame. As you hold the brackets into the corners where the 4-by-4s abut the frame, have a child mark where you will drill holes to screw on each bracket. Use a power drill or let the kids use a hand drill to make the screw holes, then attach the brackets. Remember that screw holes must be the same size or slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw shaft. Repeat these steps for the second frame.
FINAL FRAMING
Help the kids transport the wall frames and platform to the final clubhouse site. Next, demonstrate how the level works, and let your young carpenters use your level to position the platform until it is as flat as they can get it, shimming it up with pieces of scrap wood if necessary.To start the final assembly, two or three kids can raise one of the wall frames braced to the 4-by-4s and hold it in place on the platform. Then, another pair of kids can hoist and position a second wall frame (one without 4-by-4s), at a right angle to the first. The remaining kids can mark and drill for the brackets, then screw them in to join the two frames together. Repeat the process, adding the third frame and then the fourth, until all four frames are raised and joined. Then, using the longer and heavier 8d nails, the children can nail the wall frames to the floor.
ROOFING AND SIDING
Once the frame is complete, the two 2 1/2-foot widths of plywood can be nailed on for the roof (if you wish, seal the crack with caulk or other sealant). The kids can designate one side of the clubhouse as the front and decide where the door will be. The clubhouse can be sided according to their own design; 1-by-6s work nicely, as will almost any scrap wood. To make window frames, the kids can measure and cut pieces of 1-by-4s to fit between the studs. Nail these pieces in, then nail the siding to them.At last, the construction crew can decorate. Once the sides were up on our clubhouse and the kids could see its shape, the girls began planning who could come in, how they would have sleep-outs in it and what they would call it. My daughter Anna took inspiration from one of the songs blasting from the house as we worked: "We'll get a table and chairs, and call it the Sugar Shack and make a plaque to go over the door, and then we can all come inside and dance!"
