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This is one part of the Simple Playhouse series (the deck, back wall, gable ends, and roof are their own plans), and it's the wall with the personality: the door and front window. It's built exactly like a real house wall at 2/3 scale — plates, studs at framing spacing, headers over the openings — except the 'studs' are 2x2 furring strips and the sheathing is 1/4" plywood, because the only load this wall carries is imagination and the occasional leaning kid.
The money-saving trick is in step 1, and it rewards a careful hand: trace the door and window openings onto the plywood, and cut the DOOR opening cleanly — because that cutout becomes the door itself. One sheet, zero waste, and a door that matches its opening's grain like it grew there. Score your cut lines and go slowly; a ragged cut here costs you the free door.
The framing math builds in the fun part: the arched door header gets cut to a curve, and the door is trimmed out in 1x2/1x3 with pocket holes. Trim is measure-as-you-go per the source — furring-strip walls wander a little, and trim cut to the wall you actually built always beats trim cut to the wall on paper.
Size note for parents: the door is kid-scale on purpose. Adults enter on their knees, which the kids consider a feature. Use exterior plywood and exterior fasteners — this lives outside — and hang the door on hinges sized for its featherweight (light gate or heavy cabinet hinges both work).
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Exterior plywood, 1/4", 4x8 sheetWall skin — the door comes out of the door opening cutout. | 1 each |
| 2x2 furring strip, 8 ftWall framing. Cull the twisted ones ruthlessly. | 6 each |
| 1x2 furring strip, 8 ftWindow and door trim. | 3 each |
| 1x3 furring strip, 8 ftTop/bottom trim and door frame. | 3 each |
| HingesLight gate or heavy cabinet hinges — the door weighs almost nothing. | 2 each |
| Exterior screws, 2"Wall framing. | 30 each |
| Brad nails, 1-1/4" | 100 each |
| Brad nails, 1"Door skin to door frame. | 30 each |
| Exterior wood glue | 4 oz |
| Exterior paintThe kids get a vote on color. You will lose the vote. | 1 qt |
Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Top plate2x2 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 90" |
| Studs2x2 | 6 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 45" |
| Window top and bottom2x2 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 29" |
| Bottom plate, long2x2The bottom plate breaks at the door opening — no plate across a doorway. | 1 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 57 1/4" |
| Bottom plate, short2x2 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 14 3/4" |
| Door header2x2 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 18" |
| Window header stud2x2 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 7 1/2" |
| Wall skin1/4" exterior plywoodDoor and window cut out to match the framed openings — save the door cutout. | 1 | 1/4" × 48" × 90" |
| Top trim1x3 | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 90" |
| Bottom trim1x357-1/4" and 14-3/4" — breaks at the door like the plate. | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 57 1/4" |
| Side trim1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 43" |
| Door trim, sides1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 36 1/2" |
| Door trim, top1x2 | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 21" |
| Window side trim1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 16 1/2" |
| Window top/bottom trim1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 32" |
| Door frame sides1x3 | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 33" |
| Door frame middle1x3 | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 13" |
| Door frame bottom1x3 | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 18" |
| Door frame header1x4 scrapGets the arch. No 1x4 scrap? Use a 1x3 and lengthen the door sides to 34". | 1 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 18" |
Buy 16 boards at 8 ft.
6 boards
Frame the wall flat on the ground — plates, six studs, window box, door header — with 2" screws and glue, checking square by diagonals. Note the bottom plate breaks at the door opening; nobody trips over a threshold in a playhouse either.
Trace the window and door openings onto the plywood from the framed wall, and cut the DOOR opening carefully — that cutout is your door blank. Then glue and nail the skin to the framing with 1-1/4" brads.
Run the 1x3 top and bottom trim and 1x2 side, door, and window trim, keeping outside edges flush. Measure each piece against the wall you actually built rather than pre-cutting the list — furring-strip framing wanders a touch, and trim's whole job is covering that gracefully.
1-1/4" brads and glue throughout.
Cut the arch into the door's 1x4 header piece with the jigsaw, then pocket-screw the door frame together — sides, middle rail, bottom, arched header. Glue and nail the saved plywood cutout to the back of the frame with 1" brads (hand-nail if your gun won't go that short). Do not skip the glue; the skin is the door's rigidity.
Hang the door on its hinges with an even gap, and check it swings free through the whole arc — kids will test it roughly a thousand times the first week.
Sand every edge and corner to kid-grade smooth, then paint. This wall joins the deck, back wall, gable ends, and roof from the rest of the Simple Playhouse series — build order: deck, walls, roof.
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Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →