Building a Playground without Spending a Fortune (Part 2)

In the previous post, we prepped the site, poured the concrete footers and mounted the supports for the fort. I elected to cut the 4x4s after everything else was done. For anything that is not load bearing, I used deck screws. 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:

Now I just needed to cut the deck boards to length, drop them on and screw them in.

Once the deck boards were in place, I cut a scrap 4x4 piece to be the header and base for the rock climbing ladder. I used to 4x6 pieces on both sides and as the steps on the ladder. 

To ensure that kids don't climb out of the sandbox into the area with the swing, I used evenly-spaced 1x4 lumber to close off the sandbox. I put 2x4s on the top and bottom to hide the fasteners and clean up the look. 

Next I continued the 1x4 pattern on the top of the 6'x6' fort and chopped off the top of the 4x4 support posts.

I used scrap 4x6 boards to make 2 seats in the sandbox and 2x4 boards to cover the fastener points on the deck boards.

This is where I called it quits for the first day of actual building but second day of the project. The first day was digging, measuring and pouring concrete.

In the next post, I will go over adding the swings and playground accessories.

-Chris