A big thanks to FSMumford for drawing this in Sketchup. I had to re-draw it to take into account metric wood dimensions and bed sizes here in NZ, and also to remove a foot or so from the length.
We just gave it to my daughter today, and already I need to make some modifications. I immediately put some vertical grab rails at the top of the steps and slide. The steps are too big for a toddler (she's 3 today) and I didn't take into account how thick a pillow top mattress is! I really needed to make the end guards higher. In fact, were I to make it again, I'd probably make the towers taller and lower the height of the bed by 8-12 inches. While this would lower interior room, it might make the steps a more reasonable height for a littlie. If you're building for a 5 or 6 year old, this may not be an issue. Also, it would make the angle of the slide shallower (it's a bit steep, I reckon). I used 7 sheets of 16mm MDF but if I'd laid them out like FSMumford did in her plans I would have used less. Our (one car) garage is too small and the whole build process, including painting, was a royal pain in the bum. Fun, but a pain. Speaking of painting, next time (riiiiight) I'd try to paint as much as possible before assembling. I built mine in modules but even so it's hard to get a nice coat of paint on the insides of things. Edges of MDF need to be painted and sanded at least twice to look nice. Don't underestimate the time needed to get a good finish - I spent a third of my build time finishing (mostly, again, due to limited space). A narrow foam roller is great for cutting in but doesn't seem to get enough paint on to cover well on larger areas. In places I have three coats and can still see my pencil marks. I used Dulux Aquanamel.
Comments
dananryan
Sat, 01/26/2013 - 09:59
Shingles roof
I love your modifications. What a great idea to use shims for the roof! I might have to copy this. Great job.
Ana White
Sat, 01/26/2013 - 10:15
Oh I love this!!!! I can't
Oh I love this!!!! I can't tell you how giddy up happy I am to see the horse stable! Love the roof and the gold hardware too - so cute! Thanks for sharing, truly made my day!
linseylouwho
Sat, 11/23/2013 - 19:18
Oh those shingles!
Oh, I'm in love with the shingles!
My daughter is getting her third AG doll, Saige, for Christmas and my sisters are getting her the horse too. Well, you can't have a horse without a stable too, right?
I've got all the supplies to build the stable and now all I have left to figure out is how you attached the shims to the plywood for the roof. Any suggestions would be fantastic and much appreciated!