Most of the work local attorney Mark Murphy does in his day job is related to real estate.

These days, he’s been really busy dealing with “real estate” in his free time, too – building playhouses and dollhouses.

It all started when the Andalusia Ballet – which his wife, Meryane Martin Murphy, founded – had Robert Foreman build a playhouse for Candyland last year.

“We decided to build a playhouse behind our house for our granddaughters,” he said. “Then someone very close to me thought it would be an excellent idea to build an extra one for the ballet auction. Of course, I said, ‘OK.’ ”

This year’s auction fundraiser for the ballet is set for next Sat., Aug. 27, in the Church Street Cultural Arts Centre.

The grandchildren’s playhouse is done except for the trim. The playhouse to be auctioned is in Murphy’s workshop in pieces.

“We can’t assemble it until we find out who the buyer is,” he said. “It’s small and cute, but it would be difficult to get in the backyard and deliver it already assembled.”

Murphy said that with the Foreman’s help, the playhouse will be assembled, and finished out in custom colors to match the new owner’s home.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Murphy wanted something at the auction to help people visualize what they’d be bidding for.

“So I built the same house to quarter-scale,” he said. “Basically, I made reduced-size 2x4s, reduced-size siding, and spray-painted sandpaper to look like shingles. It’s a scale model of the larger playhouse, and after the auction, we’ll set it up in the grandchildren’s room for when they can’t play in the playhouse.”

Murphy said he began doing building projects as a teen.

“My father would turn me loose on a new deck, or whatever we needed,” he said. “When I married Meryane, her father’s hobby was woodworking. We did a lot of stuff when we’d go up and see him.”

But the kicker that really got him doing woodwork was the purchase of a 100-year-old home.

“There were a lot of custom pieces we needed to replace,” he said. “When we needed spindles for the stairwell, it made me get a lathe.

“Once, I went out and bought a piece of word to replace a board I was going to replace in the house. Bought the wood, took it by to one of our local places to get it planed down to right width. That cost me $20 in 1979. The board only cost about $1. And, so I got a hand plane, and learned to do the work by hand until I could afford other equipment.”

Through the years, he’s built doors, windows, beds and tables. He’s also made jewelry boxes and other pieces for the ballet auction.

Now with four granddaughters – Amelia Anne, twins

Clara and Avery, and Evie Cate – he expects to stay busy. Even though the playhouse at the Murphys’ home isn’t quite, it’s already grandchild-approved.

“The oldest is 3,” he said of Amelia Anne. “She is the only one actually talk and say anything. The others are still in that toddling, babbling stage.

“But when Amelia Anne came down to see it, she said, ‘It’s boo-ti-ful.’ We couldn’t get her out of it.”

Tickets to Saturday night’s auction are $50 each, and include dinner and entertainment. Other auction items include rental of a vacation home in Tuscany; a hunting trip; a Vicki Popwell portrait; a week’s stay in a beach condo; a Harbuck knife; an Italian jewelry set from Christopher’s; and a certificate for an architectural painting by Roger Powell.

For ticket information, call the ballet at 334.222.6620.