A Post Apocalypse, Post Global Warming Igloo OR the Playhive - a Climbing Frame for Baby Goats or Children

I found this idea on the internet here and thought that with a bit of modification I could make something that was practical, useful and most importantly CHEAP

http://www.play-scapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012...

Their version was for children and was all screwed together, I have built mine to entertain and amuse my 2 baby goats (Baaabara and Margoat!) so have nailed it all (cheaper and quicker!)

I have modified a little as I wanted a different shape and a platform for the girls to lie on.

So it is all made from short bits of 2x4 and a load of nails!

All I had to buy was the nails (I used about 4.5 kg of 75mm (3 inch) galvanised nails, so total cost was about $25 (NZ)

Step 1: Gather Materials

This is a really simple project. Just about all of the wood is offcuts from framing timber that I have gathered from building sites, skips, and framing companies - they were happy to give it away as they just have to pay for disposal and it goes to landfill.

An added bonus was that a lot of the pieces were already cut to the lengths that I needed, saving me a lot of work!

Step 2: A Jig to Make Drilling Easier

I made a little jig to allow me to pre drill the nail holes (just less effort when it comes to nailing it all together)

It's just a bit of ply with a right angle screwed to it to allow accurate location and then clamped in my pillar drill.

In the end it wasnt really necessary (only a few knotty pieces resisted nailing)

Step 3: The Wood

Most of my wood was already cut at the correct lengths, however I had a few longer bits that I just chopped down on my Compound Mitre Saw

Step 4: Layer 1

It's important to get the first set up correct, so I put a 6inch nail in the ground and marked out a 6 foot diameter circle with a piece of string.

I then layed out the first layer of wood "bricks"

These are at 30 degree intervals and I located each into the ground using a 6inch nail through the centre of each, Thoughtbarn says to leave a gap for the door, I decided to have a step over instead

Use the templates in the pdf ^ for the gaps between each "brick" - I printed out all the templates and ran them through the laminator then cut around them so they don't disintergrate in use!

Step 5: Layer 2 Etc...

So Layer 2 is offset to join the "bricks" of layer 1 (again use the template) - to be honest you can do it without the templates as you just position "by eye"

Layer 3 I aligned by eye above Layer 1

Rinse -repeat!

Step 6: Layer 4 Onward

On this layer I started to build the entry door, Instead of the 12 inch "bricks" I cut some 4 inch one for the door jambs. I also used some larger 12x6 pieces as "stepping stones" to climb the outside

Step 7: Layer 8+

Above layer 8, I started to reduce the block size (initially to 11 inches) and I started to taper inwards. There is a different spacing template for each layer above layer 8 so I made sure I had the correct one each time!

Step 8: And Carry On....

So I departed a bit from the plans and built the 9 inch and 8 inch sections but then capped off with a flat platform for the goats to "contemplate their empire" --- seems to have worked