Synopsis of Rugged Ruckus Big Fort

Here's a peek at one of Barbara's latest projects, from start to finish:

Barbara started with a design sketch that combined rustic tree stumps & limbs with rugged construction to create a rough & tumble outdoor play structure.

Early on in the process, Barbara & Jeff went on site to choose logs to be cut into stump steps and limbs to be used as "pickets" for the railings.

Next, Barbara & Jeff did their traditional "stick-out", making sure the structure would fit within the boundaries of the play area.

Once the final design was approved, construction started. The exterior was stained with a "natural wash" so that the structure would blend into the surroundings.

The interior, however, really POPS with Wild Orange walls, Russet floor, Parakeet doors and shutters with Parsley trims and Red Earth Drop Leaf Table & 2 drop seats. Oh, and the ceiling is Cape Cod Blue!

Barbara and Jeff spent lots of time checking out the play structure during the detailing process and, inspired by Rugged Ruckus, took time out to create a little ruckus themselves...






Meanwhile, out on the dock were lots of tree limbs and branches. Marco is lead on selecting,

cutting, grinding to shape and then...

attaching the sturdy branches to complete the railings.
Each opening is tested with the white "Safety Probe". If it goes through, then the opening is too large and too dangerous for young children.

It's like a jigsaw puzzle but Marco likes doing it and he's good at it! Almost done and proud of his work.

Install was scheduled to start in a week so the guys were hurrying to finish the Public Use Play Structure in Lafayette. Plus Jeff and Aubrey had to break away to deliver the Garden Potpourri playhouse to the Coyote Point Museum for auction that evening. We were stretched thin!

Once again, everything went great and we finished in time. The play structure is a huge success with parents and kids. We love the natural look and the fun log climb. Hope you do too:

Crooked Gap Clubhouse installation

Crooked Gap Clubhouse starts out in the design phase with Barbara's sketch:











During the initial design process, Barbara, Jeff & Marco spend a day doing a "stick-out" on site, using rough strips of wood to layout the shape of the Clubhouse on the hillside.
Then later, after building, staining & detailing the structure in our shop, we bring in the pieces to install. The deck goes in 1st, matching the original stick out to a "T".









On this site, the truck is parked below and every play structure piece, along with all tools and materials, are lugged up the hill!









The Gable roof is in 2 pieces, and like everything else, has to come up the hill, across the bridge









and then up into place.











The crew, happy but weary at the end of the day from a job well done.

Castle Play Structure: Day 1 Installation

Castle Play Structure: Everything is built and the site is ready!
Barbara does a quick layout inside the newly graded space to verify that the play structure, with appropriate Use Zone, will still fit.








Installation Day1: Monday is a hot, sunny day. Things heat up quickly when carrying all the play structure pieces, equipment and tools up a long, windy steep slope to the site.

The guys store everything in a barn near by.









1st step is to set up shade tent for the week.

Next step is to set up the scaffolding that will hold the big deck up in the air.





Then get out the post hole digging tools because there are a lot of holes to be dug!







This is very rocky soil so we use a variety of instruments: the 2-man auger (Marco & Armando), the demo hammer (Aubrey) and the rock bar (Jeff) plus post hole diggers, shovels, and lots of grit & determination.









Once the holes are dug, the guys install the posts
making sure that everything is level.










Then the knee braces go up







surrounding the big deck in half-moon curves of brilliant magenta.












Barbara is happy with the progress. All pictures, by the way, are taken by Barbara (which is why she doesn't show up in any). But she is there, making sure everything goes smoothly and correctly.

Today was all the structural stuff - hard, dusty work and it still looks chaotic. But tomorrow, things get really interesting. Stay tuned.

Next Project already underway...

New Castle Play Structure design:

Barbara's latest design started with traipsing through the woods to find the perfect spot for the play structure. Her goal is to find a spot close enough to the house to keep an eye on young kids (from the kitchen window or a porch) but not so close that it feels intrusive when they are older.




After brainstorming ideas with the client, collecting information about what play features to include, taking lots of photos & measurements, (and usually climbing a few trees), Barbara heads back to the shop where she sketches her ideas.




Next, Barbara and Jeff do a "stick-out" of the shape of the play structure (Jeff is standing on the bridge-over-swings). This lets everyone visualize how the structure will fit in the space and provides a chance to chance sizes (e.g., make the Clubhouse smaller and the deck bigger, etc.).




While on site, Barbara arranged the client's favorite stain color chips on a bench - the best way to look at the stain colors is in natural light.

Sometimes, the hardest part is choosing the colors! We make our own non-toxic stains at our shop and offer 59 colors to choose from. Color talk starts during the design process but is usually finalized after construction begins.


Once the design is finalized and the AutoCAD construction drawings are completed, we will started to build. More to come...