Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: AmbulanceDriver on June 05, 2018, 01:33:15 AM
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SWMBO and I have agreed to get one of these for the girls:
(https://www.kidkraft.com//media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/500x/17f82f742ffe127f42dca9de82fb58b1/s/w/sw-f25720_1.jpg)
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Once built they're great for kids up to around 9-10. You will want to restain it every couple of years to keep it in decent shape.
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I do wonder what the manufacturer is thinking though. The area that's supposed to be covered by cushioning according to the instructions is 31 feet by 28 feet. And would require 4+ TONS (depending on the product) of mulch at 4 inches deep....
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Any standard liability release forms in your state?
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I do wonder what the manufacturer is thinking though. The area that's supposed to be covered by cushioning according to the instructions is 31 feet by 28 feet. And would require 4+ TONS (depending on the product) of mulch at 4 inches deep....
That is about eleven yards or so - should be a single truckload. Local place I’ve used for mulch and stone deliveries does up to 15 yards in a single axle trucks.
Of course, you’ll want it dumped near its final destination.
Just priced it out with my local company and it would be $400 delivered for their playground mulch product.
Don’t forget you’ll want to add mulch every year or two.
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I spend about $600/ year to have mine re-mulched with playground mulch. Make sure you are getting good playground mulch. Good mulch is actually chippings and not mulch, with no bark,dirt, stems, or sticks and it doesn't pack down. It's also more expensive than flower-bed mulch.
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I do wonder what the manufacturer is thinking though. The area that's supposed to be covered by cushioning according to the instructions is 31 feet by 28 feet. And would require 4+ TONS (depending on the product) of mulch at 4 inches deep....
Weird; we used hard packed dirt for "cushioning" under playground equipment when I was growing up. A little blood every now and then helps keep the dust down.
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Weird; we used hard packed dirt for "cushioning" under playground equipment when I was growing up. A little blood every now and then helps keep the dust down.
We had gravel.
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I believe I fell off the monkey bars as a very small kid. I don't remember the ground causing an issue. It was hitting other bars on the way down.
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The challenge will be keeping other kids away from it - and possibly being injured - especially when you're not around to supervise.
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The challenge will be keeping other kids away from it - and possibly being injured - especially when you're not around to supervise.
That's what the alligator moat with the drawbridge wrapped in det cord is for.
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My elementary school in Portland had regular asphalt under the monkey bars and other playground toys. I don't recall there being too many broken bones. Of course, that might explain the brain damaged behavior of the current residents of Portland.
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That's how the playgrounds were at the elementary school I went to were.
Some years later they pulled out the metal monkey bars, put in "activity centers" and put down mulch for cushioning.
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My elementary school in Portland had regular asphalt under the monkey bars and other playground toys. I don't recall there being too many broken bones. Of course, that might explain the brain damaged behavior of the current residents of Portland.
That's how the playgrounds were at the elementary school I went to were.
Some years later they pulled out the metal monkey bars, put in "activity centers" and put down mulch for cushioning.
My elementary school had the same as above.
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By "get one", do you mean "buy one and have it installed and built by pros," or do you mean "buy one and install/build it yourself?" We bought and built the basic model swing set like that probably 14 years ago. Directions sucked. The "kit" had a lot of warped boards. As a project, it sucked. Hope the kits and directions have improved, or you get to watch someone else do the build.
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By "get one", do you mean "buy one and have it installed and built by pros," or do you mean "buy one and install/build it yourself?" We bought and built the basic model swing set like that probably 14 years ago. Directions sucked. The "kit" had a lot of warped boards. As a project, it sucked. Hope the kits and directions have improved, or you get to watch someone else do the build.
Oh, I get to level the yard, build the box for the mulch, and then attempt to follow the Engrish instructions. At least buying from Costco it has a great return policy.....
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Oh, I get to level the yard, build the box for the mulch, and then attempt to follow the Engrish instructions. At least buying from Costco it has a great return policy.....
Well hell, I'm going to bring a sammich and a lawn chair and make a day of it! This ought to be fun!
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Don't forget the video camera.
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Can the peanut gallery come over?
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Speaking of mulch and soft landings it recently came to my attention that my ten year old has never been on a merry go round. They do not exist as playground equipment anymore. Time to fire up the welder?
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Speaking of mulch and soft landings it recently came to my attention that my ten year old has never been on a merry go round. They do not exist as playground equipment anymore. Time to fire up the welder?
You mean elementary school centrifuges? Oh, definitely hit the fab shop, your kid doesn't know what he's missing.
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At my elementary school the playground apparatus area was graced with these hard, black, rubber mats. They had virtually no give and got as hot as the asphalt.
All the apparatus was made out of steel and had no padding. We had a climbing cage, Olympic style rings, parallel bars (made of steel!), a couple of wide ladders-to-nowhere, and a an A-frame type structure made out of pipe that was almost impossible to climb on and get to the main beam which was too high up to jump to. Falling from it would have been quite injurious.
There was also a tether-ball pole right in the middle of it all but the staff never put a tether-ball on it so it was just a metal pole sticking out of the ground. And there was no slide.
On a hot day these things were unusable. On a wet day these things were unusable.
It was a play area designed by someone who was never a child, seen a child, knew what a child was, or cared to learn about children.
On the plus side it served quite well as a pirate island because there were not many tar-strips* that led to it, there were not many avenues to attack it as there were at the outside lunch tables or handball courts.
*You know when the asphalt cracks and the asphalt guys come out and patch it, it leaves tar-strip lines everywhere. Those you could walk on but the older asphalt was lava, obviously.
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Well hell, I'm going to bring a sammich and a lawn chair and make a day of it! This ought to be fun!
Come on over! I'll put you to work! :D
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Can the peanut gallery come over?
See above >:D :D
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See above >:D :D
Playing bachelor for a while. Hmmm. I can stuporvise.
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Oh pish posh.
Emily loves America Ninja Warrior so EJ built her the obstacles. And there is no fancy mulch.
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Why don't you install classic "retro" playground equipment? Like this one from the early 1900's? =D
(https://i.redd.it/iijh00fxurix.jpg)
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My daughters would absolutely love that ...
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It was a play area designed by someone who was never a child, seen a child, knew what a child was, or cared to learn about children.
That's me!
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Speaking of mulch and soft landings it recently came to my attention that my ten year old has never been on a merry go round. They do not exist as playground equipment anymore. Time to fire up the welder?
Can't remember for sure, but I think there's still one in the park here. I know Comanche still has at least one.
A cheap wheel hub, or better yet a cheap cargo trailer axle from the scrap yard makes an excellent center bearing. It'll handle a heck of a lot of load, and you can simply set the axle in concrete for your base. Cut the axle in half and you've got two. Then use a rim that fits for the center of your merry go round top, and you can easily remove the top for mowing or maintenance. Could even make multiple interchangeable tops with a set of rims.
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Quick update. Finished construction last weekend. Had 15 cubic yards of cedar chips delivered yesterday (only to the driveway, sadly). Tonight I finished up the landscape timbers around the perimeter to hold said chips in. Tomorrow we run around 100 wheelbarrow trips from the front yard to the back yard. Thankfully my father in law and a couple friends are coming over to help with that part. I'll get some pictures up when we're all done.