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Tips and Advice For Saving Kiddos Wooden Playhouse

732 Views 13 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Sean Price, 
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Greetings All,

MIDWEST, specifically cold winter WI, and mid humid like summers at times.

Thanks to current events I'm finally in a spot where I have more time than $$$ so I can finally work on some projects I've had on the books for years now.

Kiddos playhouse is falling apart and I will finally address it this week. From my woodshop class back in the day I recall stain or varnish helps wood be protected against the elements right? Bear with me as its been many years since I messed with any of this stuff, aka high school days.

Anyone got a quick guide or advice on how to proceed?

i.e.

MOLD - ?? difficult to see but at base of house there is some green plant like substance creeping up... how to get rid of?

Stain or varnish - which one and about how much?

Sand paper - guessing I need to sand 1st, but which grade or how much to sand?

nails - house has this odd square shaped "nails" that are about 1/4", is that proprietary or what should I use instead?

Liquid Nails - yeah or ney? Feels like i should use liquid nails along with the nails to make sure it doens't come apart again in a year or 2 right?

Overall just looking for a guide or direction on how to proceed here.

Thanks in Advance

Sean P

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H
Are the nails you're talking about flooring nails?
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huesmann said:
Are the nails you're talking about flooring nails?
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SPOT ON!

Thank you sir, will make a trip to Menards or Home Depot tomorrow so that wil help.

You agree flooring nails and LIQUID nails should keep it from falling apart right?

In past I re-used the nails and within year they were out again, then wifey tried liquid nails which lasted even shorter period.... so hoping both together will really "seal" the deal.


Guess I'm on my own regarding the varnish process tho...
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H
I dunno...I'm not sure those are the right fastener for the application...I'd be tempted to get some stainless steel screws.
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huesmann said:
I dunno...I'm not sure those are the right fastener for the application...I'd be tempted to get some stainless steel screws.
Click to expand...
screws would rip the wood apart tho... not a wood guy but even to me feels and seems flimsy at baseline..

House was gift from mother-in-law, purchased at Sam's... her heart was in the right place I guess.

I'll see what I can do.
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H
Can you show a pic of one of these nails where you think a screw would rip the wood apart?
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3onthetree
Is that cupola flashed right? What about attic venting? Which side is your vapor barrier on?


Just kidding! Cool playhouse, will be nice after a good wash. Not so sure about the Liquid Nails, looks like the siding is maybe sandwiched so should move and rack with the whole house. I would think at least the main skeleton would be screwed together and countersunk or with plastic caps.

Will defer to the paint guys.
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R
I would treat it the same as a deck.

On surfaces to be paint I would lightly sand and repaint.

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huesmann said:
Can you show a pic of one of these nails where you think a screw would rip the wood apart?
Click to expand...
Here is one where I tried to use screw instead of nail.

I think the issue is the house has been out in the sun too long and wood is now more brittle as it was originally put together with some screws for sure. However adding them now seems to crack it as happened last year when I tried.

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3onthetree said:
Is that cupola flashed right? What about attic venting? Which side is your vapor barrier on?


Just kidding! Cool playhouse, will be nice after a good wash. Not so sure about the Liquid Nails, looks like the siding is maybe sandwiched so should move and rack with the whole house. I would think at least the main skeleton would be screwed together and countersunk or with plastic caps.

Will defer to the paint guys.
Click to expand...

bwa haha, that brought out a good chuckle from me! But yes, neat little house, feels like just yesterday that I slapped it together, but wifey says that was now 9 years ago.... TIME FLIES!

Anways, since parks are a no go in these trying times, and kiddos itching to get outside with the nicer and nicer weather had to do something. Since I did find another tube of Liquid nails in my inventory I decided to get on it Friday evening.

Pulled out those staple like "flooring nails", straightened them out as much as possible, slapped some liquid nails on, then went to town putting it all back together. Even added a missing shingle roof piece from some wood I was going to toss!

Not sure how it will hold, or should I say how long.. but "holes" are gone and now kids can play without fear of a hand landing on an exposed nail or screw.

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You should not have used square flooring nails to hold structure together. Now you need to use either stainless ring shank nails, or stainless screws. I would go with the screws. They offer better hold and strength. No glue. Use the correct fastener for the job. If you want to hold wood together with glue, use wood glue. After you clean and sand the two surfaces. But still use the correct size nail or screws. And always stainless steel for anything to be stored outside.


We make buildings and sheds for children just like you have shown. We also make raised planters and raised garden containers. Plus many more items from wood. I always use cedar and stainless steel screws or nails. I still have one of the first that I created when I was a teenager in the 70's. All because of the wood, fasteners and the paint.
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HandyAndyInNC said:
You should not have used square flooring nails to hold structure together. Now you need to use either stainless ring shank nails, or stainless screws. I would go with the screws. They offer better hold and strength. No glue. Use the correct fastener for the job. If you want to hold wood together with glue, use wood glue. After you clean and sand the two surfaces. But still use the correct size nail or screws. And always stainless steel for anything to be stored outside.


We make buildings and sheds for children just like you have shown. We also make raised planters and raised garden containers. Plus many more items from wood. I always use cedar and stainless steel screws or nails. I still have one of the first that I created when I was a teenager in the 70's. All because of the wood, fasteners and the paint.
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Gotcha, but does it matter that these are the "nails" that came with the house? Also they are all inside of the structure, under the roof and so not directly exposed to elements or sun.

Maybe they aren't exactly square flooring nails but they do look exactly like the ones Huesman linked in his picture.

Paint you say? I was wondering if it would be easier to paint and better than staining it?
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H
It does not matter. Why would it? If that is what came with the kit, they sent you what they had. Are you sure they are not 6 or 8 penny nails? It does not matter the type. I just cannot understand the use of square iron nails for an outdoor item. You can really use any type of nail or screw as long as it is protected from the weather. I use stainless when and where I can since this is a product we are selling. We want it to last as long as it can.


Paint or stain, just protect the wood. That is when failures occur. When bare wood that is not designed to be outside unprotected. I would probably paint it with a good oil based paint. Much better and longer wear than stain.
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HandyAndyInNC said:
It does not matter. Why would it? If that is what came with the kit, they sent you what they had. Are you sure they are not 6 or 8 penny nails? It does not matter the type. I just cannot understand the use of square iron nails for an outdoor item. You can really use any type of nail or screw as long as it is protected from the weather. I use stainless when and where I can since this is a product we are selling. We want it to last as long as it can.


Paint or stain, just protect the wood. That is when failures occur. When bare wood that is not designed to be outside unprotected. I would probably paint it with a good oil based paint. Much better and longer wear than stain.
Click to expand...
Best way I can describe them is they were small square nails, bout 1/2" in length, if that. Did some googling and I guess they could look like like either the flooring nails or per Google, cut nails.


Agreed with you on the paint, read a few blogs and stuff and seems paint is the "easier" option. When you say oil based paint, do you mean just get one rated for exposure to the elements? Will pick up from either Menards or Home Depot so jus looking to make sure before I head out there.
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