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This book is a shelter-building journey for grown-ups as well as kids. I encourage everyone, kids and new builders alike, to get a feel for carpentry tools, discover salvage yards, hardware stores, and lumberyards, and then find a site, build a shelter, and finish it inside and out.
So you’re older now . . . so what? You can still take the journey and build your own “clubhouse,” be it a studio, office, guesthouse, potting shed, hermitage, hideout, shack, or cabin. In this part of the book, I’ll demonstrate how to build an 8-foot by 15-foot permanent structure — an affordable project that anyone who can swing a hammer can build with his or her own hands. Once you see how it all goes together, you can use this design, change the measurements to suit your needs, or build something altogether different.
Many of the building methods used for the Classic Clubhouse described in part 2 are the same ones you’ll use to build this larger shelter. If you feel overwhelmed, build the Classic Clubhouse first, give it to the kids, then tackle your own project.
At only 120 square feet on the ground, this 8-foot by 15-foot retreat is adaptable to many uses, while the shape allows it to fit in a relatively tight space. The roof will be a gable design to allow room for a loft and to give it an elegant look both inside and out. This house is also portable: The self-bracing plywood construction will support this little house should it be lifted or built onto a flatbed or trailer. With a road height of less than 14 feet, it is low enough to pass under bridges.