Instructional carpentry guidebook to build a fort. Some of us are not as creative or skilled enough to design our own forts. This instructional document is to help the novice or semi-experienced carpenter to create their own fort for their children or even pets. This fort was specifically designed in a certain manner. It is called a Zig-Zag Fort because is has three platforms positioned to look like a Z. The picture on the front cover is the fort that was designed for this plan. Some modifications were made to simplify this plan for the novice. This fort was designed to be a solitary 8x12x10 fort. This fort has a ladder leading into both 2x8 sections on the front and back. The deck is four feet from the ground and the roof is four feet from the deck. I would like to point out that the instructional drawings are not to scale. They are renditions to help visually explain certain details, not to be taken as scale models. They are approximate shapes and patterns but very easy to follow. I would recommend thoroughly reading the entire instructions before proceeding with construction. There are options, choices and special notes that may be of interest to you. Cost: The price for the materials to build this project would be dependent upon what material that you purchase. Some lumber is more expensive than others. However, the original structure was designed with standard pine so the general cost would be around $400, that would include hardware.