The DIY Pallet Fort From Pallets and Scrap Wood

My husband has taken a short break from working on the outdoor kitchen to build the kids something to play on. We’ve used nothing but pallets and old scrap wood we had laying around. Can’t beat free!

I love it because it symbolizes the way we build everything around here. Backwards. We don’t sketch out what we’d like to build and then go buy the materials to build it, as is normally the standard approach.

our DIY pallet fort
our DIY pallet fort

Instead, we look at what materials we have already on hand, and then design our structure with those pieces in mind.

We didn’t really have any idea what exactly we wanted the fort to look like when we first started pulling pallets into the yard, but as we built one side, and then the other, it just sorta took shape on its own. The kids love it, which is what matters most.

There’s still a lot I want to do on it. We have a ladder going from the bottom right side to the top, but I’d like to get a cargo climbing net for the kids to climb up to the top from the left bottom side.

I’d love to incorporate a climbing wall, probably on the back-side of the fort. Jada is looking forward to setting up her telescope on the top floor.

I plan on putting together a play spyglass/telescope for the little ones to use, out of PVC or something. I wish I could do a swing somewhere, but there isn’t a good spot.

DIY pallet fort side view
DIY pallet fort side view

It would be fun to put a big wheel in the top, so they can pretend they’re driving something. I had hoped we could attach their zipline from the top of the fort to a platform in the yard, but my husband thinks the jerking would make the structure wobbly eventually.

We’ll have to come up with a creative solution for incorporating the zipline in the yard. Maybe I can go from a tree to the fort! That would be awesome.

Underneath the center part is open on the bottom. I was thinking we could enclose this area and turn it into a sandbox.

underneath the pallet fort
underneath the fort

Some monkey bars on the underside of the top floor would be great for them to hang upside-down on.

The kids love to pretend playing Robinhood, so I put a stand-up deer target in the woods beside the fort so that they can practice their archery from the top stand:

archery target deer
archery target deer

We’re not going to paint it, ’cause I want it to somewhat blend with the natural surroundings.

Once the structure is finished, I’ll proceed to plant edibles around it for the kids to snack on as they play. I think that’ll be a fun addition. An edible playscape.

Anyways, just brain-storming here. What would you do if it was for your kids?

Categories DIY

13 thoughts on “The DIY Pallet Fort From Pallets and Scrap Wood”

  1. I am just perusing the internet for fort ideas and this is one of the best yet. Can you tell us about how many pallets you used and did you use any other wood pieces to stabilize or hold pieces together. Could you elaborate a bit on how it was constructed?
    Love, love it!

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  2. The fort is really neat! My little ones would love something like that on our little homestead. I love how NOTHING goes to waste….and that it was FREE! 🙂 Great job!

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  3. A long piece of Pvc pipe that one kid could talk into one end and another could listen at the other end would be fun. My kids love those talking pipes at our playground.

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  4. I love seeing this! My husband also made a pallet fort for our children, and we also wanted to do a zip line. He was thinking of attaching it to a separate post cemented into the ground. An archery target nearby is a great idea! We’ve planted bamboo nearby that should eventually hide the fort from the road, but it’s also food for our bigger animals (they love bamboo). Thanks so much for sharing!

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  5. Mount a boat steering wheel in the top cubicle and an old spyglass. The kids will travel thousands of miles and fight off the pirates to bring their bounty home.

    Embrace the imagination…

    🙂

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  6. What a fun idea! I would have loved something like that when I was little. (I would’ve created a private, little “book nook” reading corner. I was always the child who climbed the tree and spent the afternoon reading.)

    Planting an edible landscape sounds fantastic, too. Lucky kids! 😀 I hope you’ll share more photos as you go!

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  7. That photo of the kids in their fort put a big smile on my face. I would have loved having that when I was a child. Good job!

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