Forget boring old tree houses, how much will your kids love you if you build them an authentic-looking Western-inspired saloon fort? This fort is mostly constructed from regular fence boards. It’s big enough for and adult to stand up in—so you get to play along—and the roof is sturdy and strong enough to hold the weight of both you and the kids for a night of stargazing.
As you may have guessed, a lot of work is going to go into this project: a bit of digging is needed, anchoring if you live in a windy city, and the power tools will definitely have to come out. Apart from the hammering and tool work, you can actually get the kids involved when it comes to raising the wall frames and decorating (depending on their ages, of course); this will teach them a bit of responsibility and give them a sense of accomplishment once it’s all said and done.
The pictured example took about three months to build and the estimated cost of materials came to about $650, so you buckaroos better be in it for the long haul! But anything worth its weight in gold is worth sweating over, right? And if you don’t have all the tools and don’t want to spend the cash on something you may not use again, don’t let it stop you; borrow, borrow, borrow!
Skill Level Intermediate Free Plans: Instructables – Build A Western Saloon Kid’s Fort With Standard Fence Boards
Debbie steven says
Do you have the actual plans and materials list please?
Jerry Hawkins says
Hi, I’m Jerry Hawkins, the author of the Instructable – that’s the western saloon kids fort I built with my kids. There are general plans that I sketched out on some paper within the Instructable itself which you can download. I did not keep track of the specific number of part, cutting list, etc. I just bought what I thought I needed as we went along. Please don’t let that discourage you from trying it. Just buy what you think you need for the next step or two and return to the lumber store as needed.