Hobbit Playhouse

I wanted a playhouse for my girls and the other kids that come to visit at various occasions. I never liked the all-plastic houses that you can buy and the wooden ones are not that pretty, too. So I decided to build my own and while I was at it, I might as well do it a little different. I wanted a Hobbit house.

Since I was 'in the zone' working, I didn't take pictures of all parts, but I will add sketches for some details

Please note that I build the house in the order I got the parts, that's why I didn't add the windows in the first step.

Parts used:

• Plywood
  
  • 15 strips, 8mm thick, 80x150 cm
  • 4 boards, 8mm thick, 100x150 cm
• Several lengths of roofing battens (2x4's)
• Fake grass (bought some more expensive stuff, that looks more like the real deal)
• Artificial flowers and plants
• An old metal door knob
• Scrap PVC foamboard boards (Forex)
• Scrap foamcore boards (Kappa)
• Round acrylic
• Wood Scews

Tools used:

• Electric Jigsaw
• Plunge Router
• Chopsaw
• Cordless drill/screwdriver
• Staple Gun
• Hot Glue Gun

This is a work in progress. Some details and steps are still missing. I hope to add them soon.

English isn't my native language and I did my best writing it all down. If a native speaker is willing to do some proofreading for me, I would be very happy. Please feel free to contact me.

Step 1: Planning

I knew the house had to be easily taken apart, so it fits in the shed and doesn't take up room when it wasn't needed and I wouldn't have to worry about it being weather proof. So I set the limit to a maximum footprint of 1x1,5m. The first sketches were done pretty quickly and I was working out on how to connect the parts. I was planning on using wing screws, but I went with another solution (more on that later)

Step 2: The Walls

First, I started with the side walls. I used an old wood and brass compass my dad had bought on a flea marked, but a simple screw, some yarn and a pencil would have done the job just fine.

I scribed the alls the lines and redrew them so I could clearly see them even with all the sawdust when cutting.

Using an electric jigsaw, I cut out the rounded roof and with a plunge router and a 5mm bit I cut all the lines to add some dimension to it. I cut it all freehand so I got some jiggly lines, but that's okay - just look at the 'real' Hobbit houses.

Next I worked on the front. The door is 100cm diameter and offset from the top by about 8cm. Afer i drew that, i drew in all the other lines. Again, I used the jigsaw to cut out the door. Later I noticed that this resulted in too tight a fit so I had to cut the door a little smaller using the router. Then I milled out the other lines as I did with the side walls. The back wall was done the same way (but without the door obviously)

Step 3: The Joints

The house needed to be modular so that it can be set up and stored away fast and easy. It's a quite small package when it's disassembled, so it can be stored in the shed.

The walls are held together by 2x4's with a slot cut downs the length of the small side. The pieces are connected in such a way, that only the right walls fit together.

Everything is held together with 2 hinges on each side with removabe pins. Just pull out the pins, and everything comes apart easily.

Step 4: The Roof

The roof is a fake grass carpet (150x200cm). I glued plywood strips to the underside, so that it could be rolled up for storage. The front and back where cut in a bit wavy way to simulate the natural growth. (Images will follow)

Step 5: Test Fitting

First test fitting of all sides, the roof and the door. It works! :)

Step 6: The Windows

*soon*

Step 7: The Door

The inside design of the door is based on this lovely isnstructable: Hobbit Door (With a View of the Shire)

I loaded the image in Illustrator and redrew the shaped. I then printed it on a large format printer in full scale. The shapes where cut with a jigsaw following the pattern. Afterwards everything was spraypainted black.

For the nails/rivets I cut a piece of PVC foamboard in a long angled strip and then cut out the indivudual rivets. The rivets where then painted black as well. With some arclyic paints I added a metallic effect to all the 'metal' parts.

The door itself was cut from plywood. The lines i cut in with the router. The outside was painted green, the inside stained oak. The knob is an old brass knob from the flea market.

The hinge had to be sturdy but yet removabe. I decided to run a metal rod down a 'hollow' 2x4. This works quite well. Details will follow.

Step 8: Painting

*soon*

Step 9: The Floor

*soon*

Step 10: Adding Details and Enhancements

*soon*