World's 7th greatest Swingset*
*(Post Title is completely arbitrary. We watched a YouTube video called World's Greatest Swing Set that we used as a basis for designing our playset for our family. Hence, the inspiration for the title.)
After researching playsets (on Walmart.com, Lowes.com, Amazon.com, etc....every brick-and-mortar or online store that sells toys and outdoor things), we got a clear picture of how much a playset costs and what things we wanted it to have.
However, it is so hard to tell size in pictures online! And there aren't many places that have playsets set up to see in real life. (I have found a few in town since then, but even they only have a few options actually set up.)
What I learned:
For what we wanted in quality and size, the cost was outrageous (and still might not include everything we wanted).
We decided (after a change of mind) to design and build it ourselves.
The kids weighed in on what they wanted (as did I...not for myself but for what they have loved at playgrounds and what is all-time favorite for playgrounds).
We wanted - swings and slide (everyone, of course), rock wall (Alee), monkey bars (Kaitlyn), and the list grew as we looked up ideas.
Rob started in Google Sketchup and came up with this:
It would have 2 towers with a parallel bridge and monkey bars side by side. One tower would have a ladder to climb and slide. The other would have the rock wall and swings.
(The sketchup does not include all the safety and fun features - just a skeleton to visualize what we wanted for shape and size.)
This is how the final project looks:
If you're interested in a photo progression, keep reading. If you want to see a quick video of photos progressing, scroll to the end of the post.
We chose the week of spring break to make this happen.
We started on the Friday before Easter (our first day off of school and work). We began with an empty backyard. (You can see where the trampoline has been!)
We put up the second tower, and Rob and Seth got the joists in place.
First, we got the green bendy climbing thing installed (which involved cutting away some of the frame so that the decking didn't bulge up).
Rob and Seth got the rest of the bridge supports put in. Seth was in charge of getting the joist supports installed.
Next the fun part - adding swing beams!
This part involves some story bits.
1. I accidentally ordered 2 A-frame brackets when I meant to order one! (I think it was because Amazon app kept not responding when I would click "add to cart". I believe something got added twice.) Instead of returning it (since it was my mistake not to notice 2 in the cart) and having to pay to ship it back, we kept it and added on to our design to use both.
2. We asked my sister in law (very pregnant) to come over and help tend to Gideon so that all 3 of us could work. (The wonderful babysitting girls were all gone and Gideon missed them a lot.) Gideon and his unborn cousin struggled for the same lap space during naptime in the rocking chair, but he accepted her for a while so we could get work done.
3. When my friend came to pick up Seth to hang our with his best friend plus another boy, we asked them to help us with the swing beams. They stayed longer than planned since we didn't have the brackets fully installed. (The 3 teenage boys needed some manual labor anyways, right?) :)
We couldn't have gotten the swing beam up and in place without their help!
Second swing beam up!
Here's the swing beam as we face our own house (I'm standing in the backdoor neighbor's yard again).
Here's a view from the first tower end. They are close at the corner where they almost meet, but the shorter one will hold a disc swing and the taller one will have the trapeze bar nearest the tower, so it is more for hanging and flipping and less for swinging.
The playset as it stands at mid-afternoon on day 3. There's no way we're finishing this by tonight. We could ... if we still had the first day energy. But we don't. We're tired, we need more wood and hardware from Lowe's, and Gideon is tired of not having Mommy.
Rob laughed after he took this picture because he thought it looked like a picture advertising the saw and what it could build. :)
Same angle...but without the saw.
The bridge was set up next, but we need more hardware to secure the flooring.
She went up the step ladder...and (yep!) down the slide.
Another angle:
We also ordered a new net for the trampoline. (This is net 3, I think. Maybe 4?) The net is very expensive, but worth the safety it provides.
By Wednesday before activities (at church that night), we got the handrails and slats in place, mostly, and while they were at church, I bought more hardware so that Rob could finish securing them while I went back to pick up the kids.
Now what's left? Really, just the swings. We decided to get the step ladder done some other day. There are 2 other ways to climb up, so it's not urgent.
In hindsight, we should have installed all the brackets on the swing beams BEFORE we raised them 8-10 feet into the air. "Hindsight is 20/20"
After the family pictures Thursday evening, we rented a very tall ladder from Home Depot for a few hours to install the swing brackets. Just like several other nights of our project, we were racing dusk.
We did manage to get them installed and the swings were hung.
Friday morning, the girls were excited to go out and try out the new swings.
It's mostly finished - we had to wait for the disc swing to be delivered later on Friday. They do have a fun hanging ball/punching bag thing under the slide tower.
The one thing that I'm still figuring out is the climbing rope. When I altered our plan to include a second swing beam, we decided to put in a disc swing and on the very end a rope to climb on. But the rope came with a smaller strap that I realized, so it needs a bracket (which I have yet to order), and it might be better to put it elsewhere since the end of the beam is right between the A-frame in a tight space. See the rope on the ground?
Alee using the hanging ball. Natalie messing with the rope.
Just lots more pictures of the playset in action on Friday.
(For now, we hung the rope from one of the rungs of the monkey bars. Kaitlyn is the one who wanted the rope and the monkey bars, so they're together.)
(The spot beside the climbing bend is where the step ladder will go.)
Yea! The disc swing came in and they love it.
I love that we made it so that it's all sturdy enough so adults can handle it. (In fact, most components I picked out have a 300 lb weight capacity or better.) My brother and sister in law jump in on the action Friday night and play with the kids!
After researching playsets (on Walmart.com, Lowes.com, Amazon.com, etc....every brick-and-mortar or online store that sells toys and outdoor things), we got a clear picture of how much a playset costs and what things we wanted it to have.
However, it is so hard to tell size in pictures online! And there aren't many places that have playsets set up to see in real life. (I have found a few in town since then, but even they only have a few options actually set up.)
What I learned:
For what we wanted in quality and size, the cost was outrageous (and still might not include everything we wanted).
We decided (after a change of mind) to design and build it ourselves.
The kids weighed in on what they wanted (as did I...not for myself but for what they have loved at playgrounds and what is all-time favorite for playgrounds).
We wanted - swings and slide (everyone, of course), rock wall (Alee), monkey bars (Kaitlyn), and the list grew as we looked up ideas.
Rob started in Google Sketchup and came up with this:
(The sketchup does not include all the safety and fun features - just a skeleton to visualize what we wanted for shape and size.)
This is how the final project looks:
If you're interested in a photo progression, keep reading. If you want to see a quick video of photos progressing, scroll to the end of the post.
We chose the week of spring break to make this happen.
We started on the Friday before Easter (our first day off of school and work). We began with an empty backyard. (You can see where the trampoline has been!)
(I'm standing in the neighbor's yard to take this photo.)
We built a base for the first tower.
We leveled it.
We added vertical corner posts that were perpendicular.
We did 4 of those 4x4 posts and then added more horizontal 2x6s for the platform height.
Tower 1 basic form done!
Can we play on it now??
The twins and Beth went to buy some play accessories from a local dealer (specifically the slide that we knew would be expensive to ship otherwise).
We got a great deal from Lexington Pinestraw. The slide and green bendy climbing thing in the back were both used, so we got a discount and got both for less than the price of a new slide!
We still haven't installed Gideon's steering wheel and might wait to see where he would like it before we do. (Either under the deck or perhaps on a separate little play structure for him next year.)
The kids were so eager to play!
(A 3-minute video of the kids trying to play on the new equipment before the flooring is put in place.)
Day 2 (Saturday) was a short day because we had General Conference to watch at noon. But Rob at least got the next step done so the kids could play on it a little that day.
Play things had to be removed so that we could add decking to the first tower.
(Flooring done - except we decided to move the climbing structure to the other side later before finishing the project.)
We can safely go up!
And down!
The floor is 5 feet from the bottom, so younger kids can stand underneath.
Or meditate (?) on top...
I'm not actually sure what she's doing here?
Loving the slide!
The second tower's base is done, but the leveling there took a really long time.
I ordered the rest of the equipment (or so I thought...so many Amazon checkouts and trips to Lowe's). We have a pair of swings, a trapeze bar, rock wall holds, monkey bars and 2 A-frame brackets. (more on that later!)
Day 3 - Monday
Carolyn had left to go to my mom's for a teen girls beach trip and the 3 younger girls were getting ready to leave for Rob's mom's for a spring break vacation at her house.
We put up the second tower, and Rob and Seth got the joists in place.
One of the connecting pieces is installed for where the monkey bars will go.
Beth and Seth laid out and installed the monkey bars.
I like the set we bought, but my one complaint is that they came with screws that had a star hole, but no bit was included (like all the boxes of deck screws we bought did). I probably ruined the bit Rob found that was "good enough."
They're 8 feet off the ground so even big kids (that are adult height) can do them.
When the kids got home and saw how high they were, they were a little nervous. In fact, Alee was a little afraid at first, but I assured her she'd grow into them.
Kaitlyn had asked for them and she's almost a teenager.
By the second day home, Alee had mastered them.
Maybe one day I'll build my weak arms back up and master them too. :)
Next we added more connecting pieces to start on the bridge.
At the end of day 2:
(Same, start of day 3)
Day 3 - Tuesday
Rob had taken Monday and Tuesday off to do this, so this is our last planned day to push through this project. (Seth worked with us Monday while the girls were gone. We wanted to give him fun too and let him go with friends at noon today, so we're pushing to make fast progress.)First, we got the green bendy climbing thing installed (which involved cutting away some of the frame so that the decking didn't bulge up).
Rob and Seth got the rest of the bridge supports put in. Seth was in charge of getting the joist supports installed.
Next the fun part - adding swing beams!
This part involves some story bits.
1. I accidentally ordered 2 A-frame brackets when I meant to order one! (I think it was because Amazon app kept not responding when I would click "add to cart". I believe something got added twice.) Instead of returning it (since it was my mistake not to notice 2 in the cart) and having to pay to ship it back, we kept it and added on to our design to use both.
2. We asked my sister in law (very pregnant) to come over and help tend to Gideon so that all 3 of us could work. (The wonderful babysitting girls were all gone and Gideon missed them a lot.) Gideon and his unborn cousin struggled for the same lap space during naptime in the rocking chair, but he accepted her for a while so we could get work done.
3. When my friend came to pick up Seth to hang our with his best friend plus another boy, we asked them to help us with the swing beams. They stayed longer than planned since we didn't have the brackets fully installed. (The 3 teenage boys needed some manual labor anyways, right?) :)
We couldn't have gotten the swing beam up and in place without their help!
Second swing beam up!
Here's the swing beam as we face our own house (I'm standing in the backdoor neighbor's yard again).
Here's a view from the first tower end. They are close at the corner where they almost meet, but the shorter one will hold a disc swing and the taller one will have the trapeze bar nearest the tower, so it is more for hanging and flipping and less for swinging.
The playset as it stands at mid-afternoon on day 3. There's no way we're finishing this by tonight. We could ... if we still had the first day energy. But we don't. We're tired, we need more wood and hardware from Lowe's, and Gideon is tired of not having Mommy.
The bridge was set up next, but we need more hardware to secure the flooring.
We did finish our Lowe's run and get the bridge complete.
What's left?
Handrails, safety slats (like fence around the outside), swings installed, rock wall, step ladder.
Day 4 - Wednesday
I had to go get all the kids back home, and Rob was supposed to go back to work. Since he was completely worn out from all the work, he took an extra day off. He used half of it to recuperate and half of it to move forward with the project a little more, alternating rest and work.
Before I left for Florence to pick up Carolyn and friends, I laid out the rock wall pieces on the wood that would be used to build it.
Does that look random enough?
Trying to avoid making a pattern is harder than it sounds!
Gideon "helped" by occasionally moving a piece.
This is how it looked Wednesday morning before we left (I had my other sister in law and her kids riding with me to switch places with the teen girls.)
See the rock wall supports near the swing tower?
By the time we got home, the rock wall was in place.
We also ordered a new net for the trampoline. (This is net 3, I think. Maybe 4?) The net is very expensive, but worth the safety it provides.
All together again! Hurray! My babysitters and helpers are back! Gideon wasn't the only one missing everyone.
By Wednesday before activities (at church that night), we got the handrails and slats in place, mostly, and while they were at church, I bought more hardware so that Rob could finish securing them while I went back to pick up the kids.
Now what's left? Really, just the swings. We decided to get the step ladder done some other day. There are 2 other ways to climb up, so it's not urgent.
In hindsight, we should have installed all the brackets on the swing beams BEFORE we raised them 8-10 feet into the air. "Hindsight is 20/20"
After the family pictures Thursday evening, we rented a very tall ladder from Home Depot for a few hours to install the swing brackets. Just like several other nights of our project, we were racing dusk.
We did manage to get them installed and the swings were hung.
Friday morning, the girls were excited to go out and try out the new swings.
It's mostly finished - we had to wait for the disc swing to be delivered later on Friday. They do have a fun hanging ball/punching bag thing under the slide tower.
Fun fun fun
I'm so proud that it turned out so nice!
The one thing that I'm still figuring out is the climbing rope. When I altered our plan to include a second swing beam, we decided to put in a disc swing and on the very end a rope to climb on. But the rope came with a smaller strap that I realized, so it needs a bracket (which I have yet to order), and it might be better to put it elsewhere since the end of the beam is right between the A-frame in a tight space. See the rope on the ground?
Alee using the hanging ball. Natalie messing with the rope.
(For now, we hung the rope from one of the rungs of the monkey bars. Kaitlyn is the one who wanted the rope and the monkey bars, so they're together.)
(The spot beside the climbing bend is where the step ladder will go.)
Yea! The disc swing came in and they love it.
I love that we made it so that it's all sturdy enough so adults can handle it. (In fact, most components I picked out have a 300 lb weight capacity or better.) My brother and sister in law jump in on the action Friday night and play with the kids!
The End
Anything left?
Besides the step ladder and figuring out where the put the climbing rope, I plan to add canopies over the two towers for sun shade before summer. Over the years, I'd like to add other fun things - like maybe outdoor xylophone or a chalkboard or telephone or sheets on the bottom like a tent. And we may build something small for Gideon since this is way too big for him for a few years. But very little of that is to be done this month.
Here's a quick video (a minute and a half) that shows many of these same pictures in a fly-by viewing with music.
Enjoy this? Well, come play with us!
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