Home Depot Orange Tank Reveal: Upcycle DIY Playground

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

Can you believe how this playhouse used to look?!? It has great bones so I knew this could be reused. I love to upcycle things, and put effort into not allowing things to go to waste at a landfill.

I made this upcycle DIY playground for my son who lost his two grandfathers this past year, and his veteran dad was diagnosed with rare cancer so we had to stay home for safety from COVID. It was also an effort to keep him away from technology like how my childhood was. I ask my son what his favorite playground spot is and every day it has a different answer. HAHA! But in all seriousness, it warms my heart on this particular spot… Although my son is too young, the surfboard is a beautiful treasure to cherish because my mom’s husband is all he has left now and he is a surfer in Brazil so I thought it would be a beautiful memory to remember him by.

I did not know how big I wanted the playhouse to be based on the supplies we already had on hand, but I knew I wanted a big deck with storage so it can be useful for many years to come. I also wanted the playhouse to be tall enough for the adult to fit in there with the kid. The first thing I did was tear all the abandoned pieces apart and see what I can do with it. I was determined to make the most use of wood so all of them were reused except for the rotten ones. I had so much fun solving the puzzle with the playhouse and it took me many times to put it together; but in the end, I finally figured out exactly how I wanted it to be. I knew it had to be fun, safe and functional for my kid.

Go check out The Home Depot website for the full deck with storage project tutorial! It is massive and I love everything about it. You will need at least two people or more for this part though because I tried to do it all on my own and it was too much hassle. In order to do the deck with storage, you will need those supplies:

• Safety glasses
• Measuring tape
• Speed Square
• Drill
• Circular saw or miter saw
• 2.5-3 in. exterior construction screws
• #10 X 1-1/2 in. HCR-X T-Star plus flat undercut interior/exterior multi-purpose screws
• Cross braces and brackets
• (24) 2in. X 6in. X 8ft #2 prime kiln-dried southern yellow pine lumbers (deck walls and
  storage support) Internet #202088154
• (4) 2in. X 4in. X 8ft #2 ground contact pressure-treated lumbers (joists) Internet #202088731
• (3) 2in. X 6in. X 12ft #2 prime ground contact pressure-treated lumbers (diagonal)
  Internet #206889270
• (17) 1in. X 6in. X 8ft ground contact pressure-treated boards (deck floor) Internet #206949868
• (2) 4in. X 4in. X 10ft #2 pressure-treated timbers (deck base support) Internet #100024224
• (6) 2in. X 2in. X 8ft #1 pressure-treated southern pine lumbers (deck wall decor) Internet #100023713
• (11) 2in. X 10in. X 8ft #2 prime kiln dried southern yellow pine lumbers (storage floor)
  Internet #202529673
• Exterior paint/stain and sealer
• (1) 120 sq ft 10ft X 12ft X 0.006in. Roll of 6 mil moisture barricade polyethylene underlay
  film
• T50 5/16in. Leg X 3/8in. Crown 18-gauge galvanized steel staples
• T50 Heavy duty Staple gun
• (4) 26in X 8ft clear PVC roof panels Internet #100038031
• (1) 1in. Fasteners box (for the roof panels)
• (2) 24in. Horizontal plastic closure strips (6 pack) (for the roof panels)
• Swing-N-Slide Playsets Summit Slide
• Classy Caps Solar Gray Stainless Steel Integrated LED Deck Rail Light
• Swurfer Swing Board Stand Up Wood Tree Swing with Rope Internet #308334951
• Bell + Howell Solar Powered gunmetal stainless steel outdoor integrated led super bright
  in ground path desk lights
• Handy Brite 500 lumens cordless motion activated sensor led spotlight multi location
  Internet #314923110
• Swing-N-Slide Playsets Multi Colored Plastic Climbing Rocks
• Swing-N-Slide Playsets Green Safety Handles
• Kidkraft white vintage kitchen playset

The job I disliked the most doing this project was sanding the wood.. Oh my goodness, so much sanding!

See what I mean about reusing woods?!? Whoever abandons their playhouse, thank you!!!

After deciding on what I want the playhouse to look like, I went ahead and put them together. I wanted the window to look modern so I used a 45 degrees angle mitered cut on each corner (make sure the angle is the opposite on either end). I covered up any holes with exterior wood
filler, primed them and painted them.

The woods on the roof were fragile, but I had a plan to not waste them! I had the leftover
shingles from my house roof to add on top of the woods to give it protection.

My favorite part of the project was putting everything together and adding the finishing touches. It is those final details that make a space look different and like a real home. I found a free kitchen toy on the curbside of the road so I snatched it up because it was perfect for the vision I had for the playhouse. My kid loves to play with the kitchen so much especially at night, too, so I added three types of lights that would be used inside, in front of the playhouse and on the grass. The slide was a must so it is included for quick get out when I call him if I am in a hurry to leave and the surfboard is so fun to play with. I added rock climbing and a walking net for my son to have more fun with. I included a curtain to block out the heat and have little privacy. There is a bed sheet I used from the house to put under the storage for the projector to display the movies. The outdoor couch and blanket are perfect there too! I added a welcome home sign, flower pots, a truck toy, and a wreath just in time for Christmas! What a wonderful time of the year and it is my greatest joy to give this to my child. This was such a great project that really added to the whole scene.

So here it is, my upcycle playground in all its glory! I took photos spaced out throughout the day (with and without styling the space) so you can see how it looks during the day and evening. If you enjoy seeing this project, visit my page www.findourjoy.com for more projects! Special thanks to The Home Depot for giving my child the childhood he deserves!

It was so much fun building, styling and making my kid the childhood dream he deserves! I am grateful for this incredible opportunity with The Home Depot. None of this would have been possible without The Home Depot mobile app! The app makes it easy to browse, explore and find instructions. It tells you how many are in the stock, where it is located in the store, provides customer reviews and gives you options to purchase the item online to either have it picked up at curbside or delivered to your door/store (sometimes for free shipping)! The mobile app will give the product details that come with instructions/assembly which is helpful if you accidentally lose the manual. The user friendly direction shows you the way to take care of your product. It also shows on comparing the similar product, specification, customer reviews and questions to answer on selected products. As a bonus, sometimes the app provides accessory ideas on the bottom of the app. All of this could be at the touch of your fingers with the convenience of downloading The Home Depot App. Don’t forget to see more on this project over on homedepot.com. You can also follow along with all my projects by following me on Instagram.

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