How to Build a Fort

Location, location, location

Thinking of a fun way for a father-son bonding experience? Or maybe you're just into building things and enjoying the fine piece of work you just did. Why not try building a wooden fort or two? It's a nice alternative to building those generic tree houses, and it's easier too.

First things first, before you set out to find the needed materials, you'll need to locate a suitable location where you can build your fort.

A wide open space is preferable, but your own backyard will suffice if you want it to be placed conveniently near your house. Just keep in mind that the fort's size will be restricted by the area where you will build it at.

Laying down the foundation and support of your fort

Now that you've found a proper spot to construct your wooden fort, it's time to plan how large and what shape your fort will be. To make things simple and help you save on costs for the building materials needed, a 4 feet by 4 feet square shaped fort is recommended.

Next thing you need to do is to drive four wooden 5 foot tall 2 by 4's on the ground. The 2 by 4's should be spaced out evenly in a square shaped pattern. They should be separated by 4 feet of open space. This will serve as your pillars that will support your wooden fort.

After you're done with that, you should next lay down a 4 feet by 4 feet plywood on the ground within the pillars of your fort. Make sure the plywood fits snugly inside your supporting pillars. Use 3 inch screws to bore horizontally through the base of your 4 wooden pillars horizontally. The screws should attach themselves to the four corners of the plywood floor.

Now that you've laid the groundwork and support of your wooden fort, it's time to attach the walls of your fort. For that, you'll need four pieces of 4 feet by 4 feet plywood. This time, instead of screwing the plywood to your wooden pillars, you will nail them instead. Make sure the walls are perfectly level when you nail them to the posts.

Finishing up

Once you're done nailing the walls to your wooden fort, there will be one side of it that you should designate as your entrance. After choosing that side, you'll simply need to cut a 2 feet by 4 feet hole on the wall.

This cut out piece of wood will then be used as the door. Attach one hinge on top of one side of the board, and another on the bottom of the same side of the board. The two hinges should then be attached one side of your door wall.

Make sure to attach a handle on the door so it'll be easy for you to open and close the gate of your fort. After you're done attaching the handle, congratulations!

You now have your own fort. With a minimal amount of materials and tools needed, building your own wooden fort is really easy as long as you follow the steps mentioned above.

Autor: Kenny Leones

Please click these links if you want to know more about how to build a fort or how to build a fort in general.

Added: October 3, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/