Round tower build

[Sune]

Hi, I'm going to build a playhouse for my daughter and as I hate simpel easy builds I'm going for a no square cornered house with a tower attached.

So what I am seeking is advice on how to construct a round tower that looks like its made of bricks.

It has to be durable and round. Really round not 6 or 12 edged or similar



Any ideas

 

[uncletater]

When my son was younger we built him a castle. To get the stone look we painted the plywood grey. then masked off a grid pattern to make it look like mortar joints. we then took three colors of paint added sand to paint and applied the paint with a sea sponge. Removed tape looked pretty good. It almost looked like real block from a distance.

 

[rockwithjason]

scribe a circle on the ground and frame it then wrap it with 1/8 ply wood, then paint to taste

 

[Sune]

Thats very nice! Maybe I need to give her a drawbridge too - would keep the suitors out ..a moat...a moat!!

But my real problem is in the construction of the round part - how to make it round



I can't use board as that would make a square tower and bendable mdf won't do in the rain

 

[Sune]

scribe a circle on the ground and frame it then wrap it with 1/8 ply wood, then paint to taste

The radius is only going to be about 25 inches, I'm not sure the 1/8 ply can bend that hard, and it is not that rain resilient either

 

[LXCam]

Sonotube

 

[Sune]

Sonotube

Cardboard?

 

[Jhmt]

Hi, I'm going to build a playhouse for my daughter and as I hate simpel easy builds I'm going for a no square cornered house with a tower attached.

So what I am seeking is advice on how to construct a round tower that looks like its made of bricks.

It has to be durable and round. Really round not 6 or 12 edged or similar



Any ideas

Looks bit like https://www.google.fi/search?q=muum...&sa=X&ei=d7rYVJCgJMitU5qngYgK&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

 

[Sune]

It will be attached to the playhouse and not much higher - so I don't think we have a phallic issue

I was thinking about using roofing felt to put around a kind off wood structure

 

[uncletater]

25" is way too small. I would go at least 60. Plywood would then bend and once it is painted and sealed it will hold up for several years.

As for a moat. We did ours with blue play sand to look like water. All in all it was a really fun build.

Framing it wound is pretty easy. Do some searches on how they frame skate ramps to get the concave shape with 2x4s and plywood.

 

[Sune]

25" is way too small. I would go at least 60. Plywood would then bend and once it is painted and sealed it will hold up for several years.

As for a moat. We did ours with blue play sand to look like water. All in all it was a really fun build.

Framing it wound is pretty easy. Do some searches on how they frame skate ramps to get the concave shape with 2x4s and plywood.

Great idea about the moat. I'm not sure 25" is too small it is just a part of the house which is going to be about the size of a 10 by 8 garden shed. The tower is just attached as a part of it..

mumitalo - attached to a house

 

[DonPowers]

You could always make it out of light weight concrete using something like vermiculite for an aggregate or swimming pool grout. Form it with welded steel wire mesh and chicken wire then trowel it on.

This way you can form all the windows & doors anyway you want and scribe any shape block pattern you want.

 

[Sune]

You could always make it out of light weight concrete using something like vermiculite for an aggregate or swimming pool grout. Form it with welded steel wire mesh and chicken wire then trowel it on.

This way you can form all the windows & doors anyway you want and scribe any shape block pattern you want.

Not a bad idea - will be permanent, and able to stand up to a siege

 

[JamieK]

Got you a solution. 55 gallon drums are about 24" in diameter, and are plentiful and cheap. And you can get plastic ones, so there are no sharp edges. Car washes usually have a few laying around, so you may even get one for free.

 

[DonPowers]

Not a bad idea - will be permanent, and able to stand up to a siege

The walls don't have to be very thick,only the base to make sure it won't tip over during a siege.

When I was going to school in the 70s, we made concrete canoes and raced them every spring. They were light enough for two people to carry and most could survive hitting a rock.

You could also use spray foam as a filler with grout or stucco for the top coat.

 

[king nero]

The radius is only going to be about 25 inches

55 gallon drums are about 24" in diameter

Don't confuse the diameter with the radius!

I'd roll metal strips (1/8" thick by 1 or 1 1/5 wide) into a circle of the correct size, and use that as a base for either thin plywood or something similar.
self-tapping screws and a grinder (flap wheel) for removing the protuding part of the screws from the inside.

 

[Stuart in MN]

For the upper and lower plates you could cut out a bunch of plywood arcs and screw/glue them together into circles. How will she climb up to the top of the tower, with a ladder or will you be including a spiral staircase?

 

[SilverSS1969]

What about that plastic/vinyl 4x8 sheets that sell at Home Depot and Lowes? It's the sheets they use for industrial shower stalls. Could use a heat gun as you wrap it to get a tighter bend it needed.

You would still need some kinda of wood structure to wrap is around.

 

[ZRH`]

Scribe arcs on sheet plywood, laminate as necessary to make a full circle (you can also do it on framing lumber but it requires more planning as the pieces are smaller).

Provided your tower is more of a cylinder than a cone you just need a top and bottom plate. You can then make the vertical framing members out of 2x3s and wrap it in 1/4 ply (the minimum bending radius parallel to the grain on SPF ply is about 2ft so it's gonna be close).

 

[Lippyp]

How about a length of plastic pipe/culvert if you can live with a non tapering tower.

 

[Thumper68]

Back in the 90's I found used coragated plastic culvert to make a tower on a playset for a client.

 

[Kevin54]

How about a length of plastic pipe/culvert if you can live with a non tapering tower.

^^^^This^^^^

 

[rowerwet]

most people won't believe this will work, but I built a boat out of it so I know it does. build a frame of 2x4's inside, make round frames to attach to the 2x4's for the tower skin. get 4x8 sheet(s) of 1" pink or blue foam insulation board glue cotton drop cloth to the outside using TitebondII as described here http://www.instructables.com/id/Poor-Mans-Fiberglass-make-nearly-anything-weatherp/ then using ratcheting cargo strap(s) and a heat gun on the inside, wrap the foam board around the plywood ring frames. The foam will not snap as the fabric will take the tension load, putting the foam in compression. (apply gorrila glue to the plywood rings first to adhere the foam in place) glue more fabric over the joint(s) in the foam to keep them stuck together.
this will work best if done in a hot area.
Then fill the cotton fabric with cheap oops paint in any color, apply the final color you want once the fabric is full (the fabric continues to shine as it is full of paint) let it dry. apply the final color you want for the tower skin, paint on bricks or stones.
apply fabric to the inside of the tower foam and preserve with paint.
The tower will stand up to a lot harder use than you would think. read about people building campers this way here http://www.tnttt.com/viewforum.php?f=55

 

[toplessHO]

use corroplast about $8 a 4x10 sheet at the sign supply places

 

[Sune]

most people won't believe this will work, but I built a boat out of it so I know it does. build a frame of 2x4's inside, make round frames to attach to the 2x4's for the tower skin. get 4x8 sheet(s) of 1" pink or blue foam insulation board glue cotton drop cloth to the outside using TitebondII as described here http://www.instructables.com/id/Poor-Mans-Fiberglass-make-nearly-anything-weatherp/ then using ratcheting cargo strap(s) and a heat gun on the inside, wrap the foam board around the plywood ring frames. The foam will not snap as the fabric will take the tension load, putting the foam in compression. (apply gorrila glue to the plywood rings first to adhere the foam in place) glue more fabric over the joint(s) in the foam to keep them stuck together.
this will work best if done in a hot area.
Then fill the cotton fabric with cheap oops paint in any color, apply the final color you want once the fabric is full (the fabric continues to shine as it is full of paint) let it dry. apply the final color you want for the tower skin, paint on bricks or stones.
apply fabric to the inside of the tower foam and preserve with paint.
The tower will stand up to a lot harder use than you would think. read about people building campers this way here http://www.tnttt.com/viewforum.php?f=55

Sound very interessting. Thanks for all the replies! I will keep you posted on the build process

 

[thewatusi]

Sonotube

Cardboard?

Several coats of fiberglass resin should make it weathet resistant.

 

[Sune]

Just wanted to share the latest sketch