The previous post saw me constructing the “A Frame” and placing the main swing beam into position and whilst finalizing the swing beam and “A Frame” it did give the swing set a whole new dimension but there is still plenty to do, needless to say I felt that the momentum was back. With the Jungle Fort I had to install extra bracing to compensate for the swing momentum so that would mean an additional four braces installed underneath the decking to reduce lateral sway. I had already cut these items to a set length during the big “cut to size” weekend and now I had to modify the length because of the floor beam interference. I decided to cut the corner off of the brace where it fouled up on the joist hangers which meant cutting off a slice of about 3/4 of an inch.

Each brace was individually marked for position, while the lag bolts, clearance hole and counterbore were drilled on the drill press. The only exception was counterboring the hole that is placed on the edge face of the brace. This will be done in-situ once the lag bolts have secured the brace to the cross member first.

To keep a common look to the fort I made sure to line the bottom edge of the brace to correspond with the height of the bottom edge of the outer brace, then I proceeded to pilot drill and bolt the brace to the cross member with 2 1/2 inch x 3/8 inch lag bolts. Once I had the brace secured to the cross member I found that the twist in the timber would either make the opposite end bend into the fort or bend out beyond the upright. I wanted the brace to remain flush to the 4 inch by 4 inch upright.

To correct this I either pulled the brace flush with a clamp and secured with a decking screw before locking it down tight with the lag bolt. If the brace was sprung inboard I would use a G-clamp placed on the outside of the upright and use this as a means to pull the brace into position with a second clamp, then again securing with a deck screw. Once in the correct position I could counterbore the hole to accept the lag bolt and ratchet down until tight, making sure that the head was sunk beneath surface. Continue reading Installing the Swings plus Lateral Bracing →

For everyone who has been following this series of posts on my building of the activity come playground set I’m glad to say that I’ve started to get some traction into the build. I’ve continued with the Fort Swing Set wall after last weekends mishap, the progress went forward with no new mind lapses and the spacing of 3 1/4 inches worked out well with the overall width. I made sure that I lined up the bottom edge of the slats with the bottom edge of the cross member which ensured that the top edges of the slats stayed consistent in height. To keep them in place I clamped each slat with quick release clamps that I got from Harbor Freight, again they were very cheap at $1.99 each but the quality just wasn’t there. If you applied too much pressure to clamp the wood in place you just stripped the plastic from the side that retained the trigger, rendering the clamp useless. So I guess, not everything cheap will get you by, if the plastic had been a harder type rather than the ABS that they were made from then they would have held up to the job.

Now that I’ve got over that hurdle, I’ve made sure just to apply enough pressure to hold the part in place then use a framing square to check that they were square to the deck before drilling. I had a set up of three corded drills from a triple socket extension cord, this allowed me to arm each drill with the drill bit, countersink and the screw bit. You may be asking if it would be simplier to have cordless drills instead but the cost of the corded drills from Harbor Freight worked out at $13.00 a piece at sale price. Even at full price they’re under $20.00, so even if they just survived this one project, it’s cheaper than buying one cordless drill. There’s no concern about batteries running flat and consistent torque with the corded drill gives good results every time. Continue reading Hoisting the Swing Set →

With the integrity of the structure now assured I can now strengthen the upper level of the Jungle Fort before placing in the decking. The first task was to bolt in all the upper beams that would provide support for the slats that would make up the walls and provide support for the additional structures such as monkey bars, rock wall and swing set. These cross members were drilled to accept the large 5 inch coach bolts leaving no doubt that they were there to stay.

During the construction I had changed the design so that the largest beam would be on the left side overhanging the front and rear of the Jungle Fort. This would provide enough space for a rope ladder and possibly a disc swing if we decided to go that route but as of now that decision has still not been finalized. I couldn’t ponder on this issue too long with this beam being a structural part of the fort so I just had to make provision for the additional items, on the assumption of, that is what we’ll do. In the event that we decide not to go that way I can either cut off the additional length that overhangs or leave it as it is. The optional length of this beam also needed a brace to prevent sway, this was placed underneath and installed with lag bolts but again this is easily removed if in fact it isn’t used. Continue reading Upward Bound with the Jungle Fort →

While I have been constructing the frame work I have been considering the best way to hold this structure in place, that is, stopping it from possibly swaying once the swings are in full flight. The plans suggest using some of the off-cuts of the preserved timber to produce stakes of between 12 and 18 inches in length and pounding them into the ground next to the base frame and securing them with galvanized deck screws. I had on the previous swing set used this method for holding it down but was a little disappointed with the result, the base did move when the swings were in full flight so I decided to use the steel mixer type ground holds. These items are screwed into the ground up to a depth of twelve inches and will need the help of a bar through the eye of the anchor to gain the required torque to get them to the full depth, but once in there, there’s no way that they will pull out.

To provide the best support possible I placed the anchors in each of the corners by the main uprights so that the seat positions would cover the steel end loop. Connecting to the uprights was by using the steel straps provided with several holes punched in so that I could loop it around the eye of the anchor and connect it to the frame with a lag bolt. The effort required to get them to the full depth proved to be harder than I though especially in this tight confinement but once there I feel confident that it will restrict any movement. Continue reading Anchor and Brace the Fort →

I’m amazed at how many parts have to be cut, drilled, counterbored and redwood stained to the extent that I’ve decided to start building this puppy. Needless to say there is still the cutting list to go through for making the picnic bench and rock wall but these items are non-structural so that can be done after all the other elements are put together.

I found that even though I marked each piece with a pencil to identify the part, once it was stained it became difficult to read so it’s a question of measuring against the cutting list and marking again. I wouldn’t of bothered but there’s a mountain of parts to go through and I wanted to save a little time rather than measuring each time I needed a piece. I also found that after staining, it may be necessary to rub down with fine sand paper to take the roughness off but this will be done once it’s all assembled, I don’t want the children to get gravel rash from the wood!

Over the course of the past few weeks I’ve ordered the extra hand grips and additional rock wall holds together with two sets of the steel ground anchors. I opted for the steel anchors because I can screw them into the ground to a depth of twelve inches and with the flat mixer type end it would act as an additional resistance if the frame should start to sway. With the wood type anchor, even if they were pounded to a depth greater than twelve inches they still have smooth sides that could become loose over time. Maybe I’m getting concerned over nothing but at least it puts my mind at rest, at the end of the day the weight should be sufficient to prevent it from moving but as the instructions insist, anchor the structure down. Continue reading Assembling the Jungle Fort Frame →

Man! Talk about coming to a screaming halt, these past few weeks have really bit into the creativity in me, family commitments and visits to friends have eaten every available spare minute so as you can imagine not much has been done to expedite the project forward. The one thing that I can say is, the lumber is drying out nicely on the driveway but I’d rather be at the assembly point now rather than sanding and coating with preserve. I have noticed some hairline cracks creeping into the boards during the drying process but there’s not much I can do about this. Even if I kept them under a tarp to reduce the amount of direct sun I’m sure the same thing would happen. I’ve been turning the boards on a regular basis and moving the pile from top to bottom to keep as even an evaporation process as possible. If the cracks get too large I may have to consider replacing them if I feel there may be a problem.

Following the set of instructions has proved to be reasonably easy although I have to double check the dimensions because of my variance to the plans. Some of the cuts will be made when I am closer to the assembly of the parts, just incase I have to change because of an unforeseen hiccup in my design and to minimize cracking at crucial points.

Well to cut to the chase, I did managed to cut all the chamfers on the corners to make each of those boards child safe and I found that the presoaked boards had plenty of preserve pressured into a depth of about half an inch. I’m not too concerned about the raw ends and at the end of the day it will be easy to seal them with a couple of coats of green preserve. Continue reading Bolt Holes and Preserving the Jungle Fort →

Looking at the pile of lumber that takes up the rear driveway and a good part of the garage I wonder to myself where should I start and a little voice in my head says, “At the beginning of course!” Taking on a project of this magnitude can be overwhelming but so long as it’s done in stages it will be managable without too much cause to worry. The plans state that if you cannot follow the instructions then it’s best to hire a professional contractor to build it for you. This no doubt is very sound advice because you do have childrens safety to concern yourself with, be them your own or other peoples children. I’m one of those very cautious type individuals who will always over analyze and in this case over build to ensure that everything is correct, so I think in this case this sort of construction is ideal for me. It may take more than the suggested 20 hours to construct but does it really matter how much time it takes to build, safety is the number one priority.

The week after buying all the lumber much time was spent deciding on the final elements and I finally decided that I would forego building the ladder and opt for the gangplank ramp instead. This I felt would be a more fun item and with having the rock wall anyway, it already gave a climb-in entrance. Now with a clear course of action I was looking forward to the weekend to start the cutting of the sections. Continue reading Marking, Measuring and Cutting →

The one thing about shopping online is, once paid for by your credit card you tend to forget about the item until it arrives, it’s not the instant gratification that you get when compared to shopping in the mall. So once I placed the order and downloaded the plans, received the conformation email I didn’t think anymore about it, afterall it was anywhere from 4 to 14 days for all the hardware to arrive. My main concern was to absorb the information provided and get some sort of cutting plan together. That order date was April 21st, a Saturday, I knew the order would not be processed until Monday when business started again.

I had already downloaded the plans and I was looking forward to the delivery of all the hardware. Just to show how quick the order went through the first package arrives on Friday 27th and the first box of goodies is the Monkey Bar dowels and Mega Top Tarp, no bolts. I was a little concerned at first, as I thought, this is an addition to the main swingset, the hardware should be with it so I immediately fired off an email asking if this was normal practice. I received an email back the following Monday, 30th April reassuring me, as I was ordering all the extras all the hardware would come together. It didn’t really matter as before I got to the email the package with all the hardware had already arrived together with the swings, trapeze, grab handles and the rest of the goodies. The only outstanding items was the slide itself and the rope ladder. Continue reading Swing Set Components are Here! →

In my previous post I shared with you the thinking behind the madness in wanting to build the Jungle Gym for my children and all the components that I was going to purchase, anyway the deed is done and I have downloaded the build plans from Detailed Play Systems. This will suppliment the real booklet that will come with the delivery of the hardware, even so this is exactly the same as the booklet but printed off by me. A total of 94 pages in all, giving me a total overview of the scope of the work that I have decided to take on.

The plans actually cover the building of the Jungle Fort, Swingset, Monkey Bars, Sand Box, Ladder, Ramp, Rockwall and Tube Tunnel leaving the plans for the Picnic Table as a seperate item that will eventually come with the table tarp and hardware. Browsing quickly over the plans it is evident that it is well put together and providing that the instructions are followed there should be minimal problems. For me the first thing to do is tally up the amount of lumber that I need in total and buy it all at once so as not to get distracted as I go through the cutting list. Continue reading Swing Set Plans and Lumber →