Have you ever done a work project with your kids? If not, there s no time like the present to start. Our kids basically live outside these days and there favorite form of fun involves swinging. The literally spend hours daily swinging. They swing so much that they have basically destroyed the store bought aluminum set given to us by friends. So, I thought a great Christmas present would be to build them a heavy duty swing set that should last through years of their abuse. What is better is I even got all the kids to help me build it (without them knowing what it was nor who it was for). Elijah, our two year old man, helped me carry around the 4’x4’x12′ beams and mix the cement. Tirzah helped me drill all the holes. Kendall took all of our pictures. Chloe helped pack down the cement around the swing’s legs. Sydney played with Tirzah in all of the dirt from the holes for the posts. If your kids need a swing set, this is a great weekend project that is fairly easy and fun.
Materials and Tools:
five 12’x4’x4′ pressure-treated posts
one 12’x4’x6′ pressure-treated post
four swings w/ installation hardware
bolts for swing set post attachments
four bags of cement
Steps:
1. Find the best place for the swing set.
2. Make sure that there is no more than 10 feet between posts or it may sag.
3. Draw lines on the ends of four of the 4x4s and cut notches to accept the 4×6 top rail.
4. Assemble the A-frames for the swing set.
5. Dig holes for each post, two feet deep.
6. Place A-frames in the holes.
7. Place top beam in place.
8. Level the A-frames and cement the posts.
9. Bolt top beam in place.
8. Hook on the swings and toys and the set’s ready to play.