Although this blog will mostly be focused on home automation, I want to cover some of my other projects and experiences over the last year or two. One memorable project that I finally wrapped up was building a playground for my kids. After deciding where the playground was going to go, I had to remove a tree that was extremely unhealthy. I paid to have it downed by a professional ($$$) and then chained the rest myself to be burned in the fireplace and firepit.
After renting and running a stump grinder, I prepped the area and did measurements so I could work around the healthy trees that provide great shade for our yard.
Once I gathered requirements for the project from "the boss", I started researching kits. Since the sandbox was supposed to be at least 6'x6', that made most playground kits too small. Overall, I found most kits to be extremely expensive and constructed from weak materials. Other requirements included a fort, slide, rock climbing wall and 2 swings. I decided to design and build my own, which worked out well in the end.
While I was planning the build, I created an
Amazon
wishlist that we shared to family and friends with all the accessories required for the project. As the kid's birthdays and other holidays passed, we collected most of the accessories that were needed! Definitely a great idea for bigger projects, but you will have to send pictures in the thank you cards. Not a bad trade-off at all.
The yard slopes significantly away from the house, so I elected to use concrete pads to level everything. I decided to use 4x4s for the support beams. I dug 4 holes 2 ft deep and poured concrete in the holes to provide a solid base. Next I put a
post base
in each hole with screws before the concrete dried.
I used #2 type pressure treated lumber from Home Depot because it was convenient to source and as a Veteran, I occasionally get a discount. I used 4x4s, 2x4s, 2x6s, 1x6s, standard decking and a 4x6 for the swings. The total cost of lumber was $278 and I ended up using the excess on other projects. Most of the boards were of good quality, but I did return a few for replacements.
Since I did this project by myself, it was certainly a challenge to level and balance each 4x4. I worked one at a time and used scrap 2x4s and
Irwin clamps
the build little braces to hold them. Once they were drilled into the base, they were surprisingly easy to work with. I used 2x6 boards to create the fascia and sandbox as pictured. I measured each run before cutting the boards to compensate for imperfections in the lumber and imprecision on my part.
I will cover the fastener hardware in the
next post. Please feel free to ask me questions about any of my projects!
-Chris
. It is dark red and matches our deck. In this picture, you can see the rock climbing holds
on the ladder, the yellow handles
and after a nephew whacked his head on the 2x4 crossbars I added two safety pads .
, but right now it just seems to expensive.
was simple to install on top of a 4x4. I used carriage bolts to mount the scrap 4x4 to the fort and then screwed the slide in on top of it.
with carriage bolts through the 4x6 and attached the swings. For the cross member support, I used the steel frame
to ensure safety.
and Irwin clamps to hold the cross member in place after leveling.
. I used 1/2 inch carriage bolts
to attach wood to wood for load bearing. Other areas I used a combination of joist hangers
and FastenMaster HeadLOK fasteners
which are really easy to use. With some careful measurement, I could lay the deck boards onto the joists:
and both saws have newish Diablo blades
. I also used my Black & Decker 20-Volt MAX Drill
kit pretty heavily for a lot. It was a great Christmas gift and so far has stood up to some serious abuse.
camera is $50 off as well! I am going to pick one up to review on this site later. Dropcam is owned by Nest and integrates into both their system and Smartthings. The integrated burst and picture features with Smartthings don't require the CVR monthly service cost which makes the Dropcam a great, affordable home automation addition!
thermostat for $199.
