Overheard a guy at the recycling center say his cardboard castle held up for 6 months

I was dropping off some old moving boxes and this dude next to me was bragging about a full castle he built for his kid out of appliance boxes, said it lasted half a year before the cat finally caved in the tower. Made me wonder if I'm wasting my time with all these elaborate tape jobs and supports on my forts. What's your longest a cardboard creation has survived before turning into a soggy mess?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.victor1mo ago

Gotta hand it to him, six months is legit for a cardboard structure - most of mine barely make it through a rainy week before the tape starts peeling and the whole thing gets that weird saggy look. I think a lot of it comes down to where you put it, like if it's indoors away from humidity and direct sun, you can probably squeeze a solid year out of a well-built fort before the corners start going soft. Maybe the secret is just using thicker boxes from appliance shipments and keeping the cat out of the equation entirely, because once they decide it's a scratching post, it's all downhill.

brooke4841mo ago

Read somewhere that museum model makers use acid-free corrugated and special water-based glue to make display pieces last years. Might be overkill for a fort but explains why that guy's castle held up so long.