How to Build This Backyard Swing Set

How to Build This Backyard Swing Set

May 11, 2012 6:30 AM Text Size: A . A . A

You can hire a contractor to build an outdoor play set on your property, or you can try to figure out the project from scratchâ€"but we don’t recommend either approach. The first is expensive. The second is risky: Do you know what constitutes hardware that’s strong enough to support a swinging child? That’s where this project comes in. It combines hardware that comes as a kit from a reputable company with lumber you source and cut yourself. We used the ­three-swing Pathfinder hardware package and wave slide from Backyard City (backyardcity.com; about $ 600), which had everything we needed for two swings, a trapeze bar, a sandbox, a 10-foot wave slide, and a ladder up to a canopy fort. The kit also includes detailed construction plans, bolts, screws, and brackets. We spent about $ 350 on lumber and got to work. Two peo ple can put up this play set in a day and a half to three days, depending on their skill level. But we suggest you take your time and get the kids involved. For them, the only thing better than playing on it may be knowing they helped build it.

Build the Fort

I cut most of the swing set parts in the garage. Where possible, I bored holes for lag screws and bolts and test-fitted subassemblies, then carried these outside.

To build the elevated fort, take four 4 x 4 posts, two 2 x 4 tarp boards, and two 2 x 6 sandbox boards and fasten them together into sub­assemblies, each consisting of a pair of posts, a sandbox board, and a tarp board.

Stand these subassemblies up and brace them in position, then span a horizontal 4 x 4 deck support between each pair of posts. With the holes prebored in each deck support, level it and clamp it into position.

Use the bolt holes in the support to mark the position of the holes in the posts. Remove the support, drill the holes through the posts, then bolt the deck supports in place.

Materials:

• 7 - 4 x 4 x 8 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 2 - 4 x 4 x 10 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 2 - 4 x 4 x 12 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 5 - 2 x 4 x 10 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 8 - 2 x 6 x 10 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 10 - 2 x 6 x 12 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 6 - 5/4 x 6 x 8 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 1 - 4 x 6 x 8 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 1 - 4 x 6 x 12 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 3 - 1 x 4 x 8 ft Pressure-treated lumber
• 1 -inch decking screws
• Play sand
• Bark mulch

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