Build your own treehouses, swing sets, skate ramps, Ninja courses, and more! Kids and families of all ages are rediscovering the great outdoors, including their own backyards. It is more important than ever to be able to entertain our kids at home, teach them about nature, and give them a great time building, exercising, staying in shape, and working together. All of these actions help foster independence, confidence, and growth. In Do-It-Yourself Backyard Playgrounds, authors Jean and David Stiles offer user-friendly plans (all hand-drawn by David) and step-by-step instructions to help you build something great in your own backyard. They offer a range of easy, timeless projects that can be made in an afternoon--trolley ride, treasure chest, circle swing, lemonade stand--alongside more ambitious projects, like the warped wall and treehouse. Learn how to build a complete Ninja adventure course and see how the treehouse can double as a home base for the adventure course that radiates from it! The book includes photos of projects (during construction and completed), and explanatory step-by-step illustrations.

A dreamer's handbook for kids--and parents--offering practical results All kids love the idea of a hideaway--a place that is theirs, no parents allowed. But how on earth can they actually build one? In "Forts for Kids," an inspirational yet practical guide, David Stiles, the most trusted authority on DIY building projects, shows them how. Assuming no previous experience from the fort builder, the book starts with the basics for kids and their parents: how to buy wood, and essential skills such as sawing and nailing. It includes a brief history of forts and more than twenty projects ranging from the simple (a blanket and umbrella fort) to the more challenging (a stockade fort). The book even includes forts made of snow, sand, or branches. An accessories section features projects that can be made in just a few hours, such as a slide, swing, catapult, periscope, cannon, and water balloon launcher.

This book explores the kinds of Christian service or diaconia that develop in non-institutionalized practices for supporting survivors of indigenous ritual servitude or Trokosi in Africa. Drawing on empirical research from Ghana, it examines the possibilities of freedom, equality, and dignity for liberated Trokosi and the manner in which these women's experiences constitute a repudiation of dominant patriarchal family systems. With close attention to the work of indigenous parachurches - which function outside of institutionalized churches - in challenging the contemporary practice of ritual slavery and offering its survivors a lived space in which they need not remain "hidden" as they seek restoration and integration into wider society, Ritual Servitudes and Christian Social Practices in Ghana will appeal to scholars of sociology, theology, and religion with interests in gender, contemporary ministries and African religion.

'Procrastinate no more: Sheds: The Do-It-Yourself Guide for Backyard Builders will get you fired up and hammering before you’re even back from a lumber-shopping spree' National Post. 'Even if it’s never before occurred to you to build [a shed], reading this book may provide a sudden rush of inspiration' Globe and Mail. The fourth edition of this classic guide is expanded and updated to include 23 sheds to suit all needs and tastes. It covers all of the issues, from design principles, obtaining permits and safety to basic construction skills, precise explanations of what to buy, how to cut it, where it goes, what to do if it goes wrong and more. By following the book carefully with patience and care, even inexperienced DIY builders can succeed. The how-to section is heavily illustrated with plans, assembly cutaway drawings, specifications and finished sheds. The projects list materials, tools, a daily schedule and step-by-step directions. A primer on construction covers framing, foundations, roofing, insulation, windows and more. The designs are based on a basic 8×10-foot shed. In addition to the new designs are the basic sheds (e.g., gardening, firewood), and the more elaborate ones like the Irish Garden Shed, Japanese Boat Shed, a shed on posts and special-use sheds like a pool shed and a wood shed. The authors help the DIY builder think through all of the issues involved in the project, including intended use, size, cost, placement, degree of difficulty and much more. This new edition will inspire homeowners to create the ideal functional addition to their property. It will help them decide on the right plan, finesse it for their needs and tastes, shop for materials, organise their time, and put together their one-of-a-kind shed.

Authors David and Jeannie Stiles give readers all the information they need to build their own cabins -- whether it be as a wilderness retreat or a backyard studio. The authors describe each step in the process from buying land to obtaining services, from finding qualified construction help to deciding on and developing plans for a structure that suits their lifestyle and budget. Cabins is packed with detailed illustrations, plans and common-sense advice.

Chapters include classic construction methods: how to build a log cabin, pole-built and stick-built cabin, post-and-beam, stone, cordwood and kit cabins. Construction methods are clearly illustrated in photographs and drawings and the advantages of each are explained in detail. Foundations, windows, doors, insulation, roofing, installing utilities, water and sanitary systems and heating are all discussed.

Many designs are presented as inspiration and to help readers select the cabin that is perfect for them: homesteader log cabin, writing cabin, guest cabin, Japanese moon-gazing cabin, lakeside retreat, pyramid and A-frame, and hillside Mediterranean cabin. The authors include personal reminiscences from successful builders and cabin owners, and discuss furnishings and accessories that can help readers get the most enjoyment out of their newly built wilderness retreat.

This massive collection was originally published by Popular Mechanics in 1931, with projects for the home, garden, transportation and recreation. Clear, illustrated instructions show readers how to:*build a porch swing*make a telescope*make a leather belt *and more!More than 700 projects and more than 800 illustrations, this redesigned paperback is slated to have a new introduction by David Stiles.

This is a coloring and planning book that the entire family can enjoy: relaxing together while also getting inspired to perhaps design and build their own tree house in the future. There will be a few pages at the end with beautiful trees that have a space for readers to draw their own tree house designs, and a large pencil-wielding hand directing them to the empty space. A source page at the end of the book lists other tree house coloring books as well as simple directions on mixing watercolors and choosing brushes.

"Ideas and techniques for designing and building workspaces inside and outside the home."

Workshops are not just for carpenters and builders. The workshops in this book have been designed for writers, artists, furniture makers, boat builders, gardeners, collectors and those who like to maintain and restore old cars.

And workshops don't have to be expensive - one of the workshops in this book was constructed inside a closet. Even the most elaborate separate building can be put up for a very reasonable cost if you follow the instructions in this book and do the work yourself.

Based on the success of their previous best selling books - "Cabins," "Sheds" and "Playhouses You Can Build" - the author team of David and Jeanie Stiles have combined their skills and experience to walk you step-by-step through the selection and construction of a workshop that will give you years of enjoyment and add to the value of your house when you come to sell.

Just a few of the other fact-filled chapters in this book include: Why and Where to Build -- how to design and plan a workshop in your basement, garage, attic, or building an addition or separate building Building the Workshop -- construction and design fundamentals Portable and Mini-Workshops -- no matter how little space you have, you can make something worthwhile Skill Review -- a basic primer on woodworking skills that covers all the basics - no experience necessary.

Workshops You Can Build is packed with over 300 detailed and beautiful illustrations by the author which show every step of the building process in detail.

A treehouse is a wonderful idea, but how in the name of creation do you actually build one? In this delightfully illustrated handbook, David Stiles, the unofficial world grandmaster of the treehouse, shows how. Not assuming anything about the treehouse builder, Stiles starts with the basics: how to nail, how to buy wood, what kind of screws and nails to use. Then it's on to an A-frame design so simple that it can be built in a weekend out of four sheets of plywood, followed by lean-tos, a tree hut, and a Tarzan-style jungle hideaway. There are also forts of every description, including a 21-foot-tall lookout tower modeled on one George Washington built to keep an eye on the redcoats. Stiles also adds a design for a snowball catapult, an igloo and even a Nerf-loaded cannon. Written for children, with an adult peeking over their shoulder, Stiles's TREEHOUSES, HUTS, & FORTS is a dreamer's handbook, offering practical results.