COME OUT AND PLAY WITH ME REMARKABLE BACKYARD STRUCTURES, BUILT WITH LOTS OF TLC, ABOUND IN THE VALLEY.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

When Rick Polizzi discovered that the Costco swing set he bought for his children was too big for his Sherman Oaks front yard, he vowed not to disappoint his two young daughters.

So he put up a platform between three trees for Hannah and Bryce, now 12 and 8, and they loved it. But Polizzi wasn't satisfied.

Two months later, a wood shake house materialized in the branches of Polizzi's sweet gum triangle. Four levels high and equipped with Looney Tunes-like contraptions - talk tube, bucket-and-pulley system, hidden door - it reflects the complexity and quirkiness of its creator, a producer on ``The Simpsons.''

``I can't do anything small,'' Polizzi says, as he climbs into the playhouse in which kids of all ages play. ``Everything's got to be a big production and a big hassle - that's my curse in life.''

You don't have to be Polizzi to build such a manse, or other elaborate play set, for the kids. The San Fernando Valley is full of custom-designed tree houses, forts, cottages and near-amusement parks. When we put out the call, readers responded in droves, eager to share their own backyard creations.

In a small back yard in Mission Hills, Dennis Walcott, a 60-year-old woodworker, watches his grandkids ride the gravity-propelled roller coaster that he built for them.

Walcott's twin 12-year-old grandkids, Ken and Amanda Robone of Thousand Oaks, are strapped snugly into the two-seat rail car, emblazoned on the sides with ``Back to the Future.'' As the car leaves a wooden tree house, it grips the elevated track, dipping and climbing and then circling back around the tree before the 45-second ride slows to a stop.

``It rides really smooth,'' says Ken, fresh off the ride that he asked his ``Papa'' to build.

The roller coaster was constructed piecemeal over three years. When it was ready to be assembled, Walcott sent his wife on a long weekend so that when she returned she would be surprised.

She was, he says.

``It's mostly for the kids, though,'' adds the doting grandfather of 14. ``The kids tell all their friends and then they come over. So there's always little kids here to ride it.''

Backyard projects such as these range from humble to grandiose, from rustic to well-appointed and even whimsical. But they all have one element in common: They're family projects.

Manny Godoy of San Fernando transformed a playhouse into a miniature fruit stand for his 1 1/2-year-old daughter Evelyn with the help of his parents and in-laws.

``I think it was my mother-in-law or my mom that didn't have a playhouse as a kid but had always wanted one, so she realizes how special it is for Evelyn to have one,'' says Godoy, 29.

The stand, which sports a sign reading ``Evelyn's Market,'' is the first thing you see stepping out the back door of the Godoy family's historic 100-year-old San Fernando home. With its green-and-white-striped awning-style roof and an abundance of citrus fruit in wood-slat crates, the little booth evokes the era of fruit labels and the sunny side of Southern California's agricultural past.

Taking a spoon that Evelyn hands him, Godoy says the family had fun designing the market with clearance items off discount store shelves, found objects and garage sale discoveries.

``My wife, she's a bargain shopper, so everything's been cheap in terms of personalizing the house,'' he says.

The impulse to be frugal is another quality shared by families that take up the challenge of do-it-yourself projects, no matter how elaborate.

Throwing open the trap door to his kids' tree-top cabin, Jonathan Goldstein, a 41-year-old landscape designer from Studio City, climbs inside. The wood flooring, pine walls and distressed redwood ceiling give off a warm glow in the dim light of lanterns, no two of which are alike.

Goldstein opens the painted red Dutch door and steps onto the balcony, which overlooks the rest of the structure that he built around a giant avocado tree for his three kids, Camille, 12, Jason, 10, and Gregory, 4.

Back in the tree house, Goldstein climbs up the ladder to the loft, where he often reads to Gregory.

``I end up falling asleep before he does,'' he says. ``I get so relaxed up here. I'm really proud of this place.''

Sandra Barrera, [phone]

sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.com

The housing market

No matter what size your budget, there's a playhouse for you. Here are some to consider:

--Magic Doorbell Playhouse by Little Tikes, for kids ages 5 and under. The interior includes a kitchenette with counter, stove, cupboards and fireplace. The exterior features a mail slot, picture windows with shutters and a working doorbell that makes six sounds. $149.99 at Toys R Us.

--Koko Cottage, a 5-by-6-foot playhouse with Dutch doors and windows on the sides. The price ranges from $900 to $1,350, depending on the exterior style. Your choice of plywood, log or tongue-and-groove cedar. Play-Well, 686 Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. Information: [phone] or www.play-well.com.

--La Petite Maison's luxury playhouses are a favorite of the wealthy. Wired and plumbed, these cottages are custom built on site to the specifications of the family. Anything goes, in addition to the hardwood floors, recessed lighting and 8-foot-high ceilings to accommodate adults. Houses range from $8,000 to more than $75,000, depending on the complexity of the architectural style and number of rooms. Information: [phone] or www.lapetitemaison.com.

- S.B.

CAPTION(S):

8 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Child's Play

Readers share their kids' outdoor retreats

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2 -- 7 -- color) 1) The Polizzi family of Sherman Oaks has an elaborate treehouse. 2) Dennis Walcott's backyard roller coaster is ridden by Dimetrius Baccellia and Amanda Robone in Mission Hills. 3) Manny Godoy built this playhouse for daughter Evelyn in San Fernando. 4) An example of playhouse builder La Petite Maison's handiwork in Brentwood. 5) A whimsical playhouse in Reseda. 6) The Polizzi family gathers in their treetop hideaway.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer

(8 -- color) Custom-built luxury playhouses from La Petite Maison go for up to $75,000.

Box:

The housing market (see text)