Playhouse Rocketship - Lessons Learned

The Rocketship is not complete. I still need to finish up :

• adding a cone on top
• adding trim pieces to cover the joint where the two halves meet up in the body of the rocket
• adding some stickers or painting the rocket - Canadian flag
• adding a periscope that sticks out of the top

I've got somewhere between 10-15 hours into the project but if I was to build it again I would make some changes.

First, the things that worked.

• Rocket engines made up of 2x material
• Bandsaw circle jig - doesn't cut perfect circles but close enough for this kind of project
• White hardboard - cheap and easy to bend
• Cargo strap clamps
• Titebond III
• Cheap roto-zip clone for cutting white hardboard
  

Things to improve for next time

• Rather than overlapping halves for the inner ribs I should have just made two circles halves then bolted them together
• When gluing the White hardboard on the rocket body, I neglected to put masking tape on the upper base circle which led to the hardboard gluing to where I didn't want it to. This made separating the two halves very difficult

Still, it's been a fun and somewhat challenging project. Joshua played in the rocketship with his cousin on the weekend and they had a great time. I'm not sure when I'll get to finish it up as Rosemary has me working on other things, but in the meantime at least he's got half a rocketship.

Kerdi Shower Install

I started working on adding a bathroom to our master bedroom almost a year ago. When I installed the hardwood before we moved in (almost two years ago) I left a blank spot in the large master bedroom so that we could add a bathroom. Almost a year later I started work on that, hiring a plumber to run the supply and waste lines - it was a difficult job to run the lines through the crawlspace and I didn't feel up to it.

After that was completed, I started with the framing, then hired someone to hang and finish the drywall (with me as assistant). After painting I took on the floor as my first tile job ever. It took me forever - well three days anyways. I put down an electric heating mat and Ditra to ensure a waterproof and stable floor. After finishing I thought it was horrible until I added the grout. Now the floor looks great.

The toilet and vanity were installed mostly without issue and I hung the mirror.

Now a few months later it's time to start on the shower. I ordered the Schluter shower kit about the time I started the bathroom a year ago and it's time to start the install.

I had to start by cutting down the drain pipe. The plumbers left it proud of the floor about 6 inches by for the pre-formed shower pan it needs to be about 2" below. I had an old cut-off wheel for my electric drill that was about 3" in diameter. I trimmed it down with a bandsaw to fit inside the drain pipe and then cut that thing down in about 30 seconds. I spent more time thinking about how I was going to get it done than the actual job. I was worried that I'd have to attack it from the bottom which would have been much more messy.



Next I mixed up the mortar and spent the rest of the day hanging sheets of Kerdi like wallpaper. Pretty simple stuff, just follow the instructions and make sure you overlap all of the sheets by 2". The kit I purchased did not have enough Kerdi to cover the entire shower so I'll have to buy some more before I can move on to the next step.

At the end of the day the local inspector stopped for for a visit. I think she approved it :)

Playhouse Rocketship - Part 10

After letting the rocketship 'cook' (dry) in the clamps for 24hrs, I removed the clamps and screws then attempted to pull the two halves apart. No dice. More persuasion did not help.

I climbed inside and slid a thin blade around on the first half or back of the rocket which should have only been glued to the bottom circle. Ahh, not so. There were two spots where glue must have squeezed out from the bottom circle onto the top one and securely fastened the side to the top circle. I freed up some of the mess with a flush cutting saw and eventually had to use a chisel to completely free it. I should have used masking tape on the top circle for that half. In any case I eventually got it apart...


It took a little help from my persuader which slipped and bashed a nice crack in the side of the rocket. A curse or two may have been heard in the shop after this incident.


Presto - a crack becomes a back 'escape' hatch.


I used my hand card to move the rocket halves separately to the house. They are pretty light but are large and so awkward to move single handely - as you can see I had some assistance.


Here's the complete-enough-for-now rocketship playhouse fully assembled in Joshua's room. I attached the rocket engines to the bottom circle with 2.5" wood screws before sliding in the top half. Plenty of room for Joshua and I to go inside and read some space books - the first one we read was 'Astronaut Handbook'.

Railroad Clock Kit - Finishing...

The clock kit that I started more than 6 months ago is back in my office after having a short stay in the workshop.

It was in the workshop for a bit of final sanding and then two coats of Watco oil and two coats of Minwax wipe-on poly. I really like how it turned out. Now I need to add the clock mechanism, glass and hinges. It should be done within the next 6 months...

Playhouse Rocketship - Part 9

A short one today. After the first half had dried I struggled with the clamps and installed the second half. There are two plywood circles in the base, this section was glued to only the top circle. To protect the bottom circle from squeeze-out I covered it in masking tape and was very careful when applying the glue to the top circle.

After I had everything in place I had Joshua come out and inspect the end result. Now this is really starting to look like a rocketship. (Or a grain silo)