Play Equipment

[Wes Bischel]

Well, it's almost that time of year and I need to get my rear in gear on some outdoor play equipment. Specifically a swing and sandbox for my son. I have a few questions about the design - kinda the "what's worked/ what hasn't" with regards to them.

Any features that have worked well, or not worked? (i.e. sandbox covers - canvas versus plywood, other details etc.)

How about location in the yard - what considerations (beside being able to see the kids) should I consider?

Any plans that anyone has used worth looking at?

I figured I would check with this crew before reinventing the wheel.

Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

Wes

[John Weber]

Wes,

Our kids are 1-1/2 and 4-1/2, last year I built this Play Star system. It has a lot of features and was a lot more reasonable then the Rainbow type play sets. We have a Little Tykes play set on the deck, but our daughter quickly out grew it, I think our son will use it some this year and next - although he wants to play on the big set with his sister. We also keep the sandbox on the deck and it's a plastic turtle our neighbor gave us. It was used but works great, not big but the plastic cover works great. I usually add about 100 lbs of sand a year. Having it on the deck also has advantages, easy to clean I just sweep the sand between the deck boards, close to the house, and no muddy mess in the yard. Fortunately the deck is big, so it's not that crowded. Whatever you do I think you need a cover. We have lots of trees and plenty still gets in the sandbox, plus you want to keep out the rain (I only left the cover off once), and cats. I've seen some really cool sandbox designs, and was planning to build one, but so far the plastic freebie is doing the job.

John

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/pond/playset3.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/pond/playset2.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/pond/playset1.jpg

[Wes Bischel]

John,
HOLY COW!! (actually another "C" word came out - edited for G rating)

That there is one heck of a swing set! Or should I say play system? Thank goodness my son didn't see these pictures - I figured on a simple, ubiquitous swing and sandbox and I'd be a hero. Now if he sees this, I'm toast! :p

We don't quite have that much real estate to work with so that automatically makes my plans a little more modest. Where did you find the Play Star products? I don't recall ever seeing anything like it at my local stores. Honestly, I don't think the parks around here have anything as nice - great job!

I hear you on the sandbox cover. We have a few cats in the neighborhood that are allowed to stay out all of the time. I do want something Sam can take off himself, and put back on - ha ha. He was 2 in January, so he has plenty of years to use the swing set etc. Just today he was digging in the "mud" so the sandbox is a must.

Thanks for the inspiration and advice, Wes

OBTW, nice pictures - everything looks so green and perfect - I miss summer.

[Steven Wilson]

In a fair number of locations they require that play sets be set on a soft material 9" thick; something like sand or woodchips. Well, being a woodworker I can make woodchips. So, I use the play area for disposing of woodchips from the dust collector and lathe. Helps make a soft landing area and lets me get rid of my chips.

[Arvin Brown]

Lowes and HD sell Playset and swing set kits - everything from the basic swing set to a palace as already posted!!! I've built 4 or 5 of these kits from Lowes - they come with very good plans and the kids love them. For a sand box, I surrounded the play set with 8x8 timbers and filled underneath the entire play set with sand instead of mulch or grass. Make sure to use a weed block under the sandbox or dirt will come up through the sand. Here is a link to the system that Lowes sells. Good luck - my kids (and neighborhood) have loved theirs!

http://www.swing-n-slide.com/home.asp

[John Weber]

Wes,

The Playstar kits are available at Menards, and maybe a couple of the other lumber yards, I can't remember if it was 84 Lumber or Carter or maybe both. They have many different sets to choose, and each set comes with 3 different levels you can choose to build. I think ours is the Champion set and we built the Gold level. The really great thing about buying at Menards when you buy the kit they print out a bill or materials and you just go out to the yard and pull the lumber you need. They also let me sort a bit, but with so much to buy I wasn't as picky as usual. I sure more of the sets are the same, but the Playstar set really optimizes the lumber usage. With all the cutting and lumber I had, I bet I had less then a trash can of sawdust and cutoffs. Since I've seen your work, whatever you settle on I sure will be awesome.

John

[Doug Littlejohn]

For those of you who can use Costco, they also carry a very nice set. We bought one from them a couple of years ago for the grandkids and it has held up nicely. Not to mention all the neat stuff it has on it.

[Dan Mages]

One thing you may want to consider is to locate the sand box in the shade. There is nothing worse than a kid with a bad sunburn.

Dan

[Christopher Pine]

Against my better judgement and the coaxing of my better half.. I bought a relatively inexpensve swingset kit from toys r us. It is wood.. But it allready is showing signs of wear from my older two kids.. Bolts loosening up etc.. I had semi plans to make them a clubhouse on stilts and attach a stroger heftier swinset off of the side. Are the brackets very complicated for the "a frame" end of the swingset? Seems like a piece of 1/4 or so thick steel cut into a traingle shape and use lag bolts to secure the 2x lumber for the legs would work? What do you who have built these kits think?
Chris