If you have children and own your own home, you may want to give them a place to play in your back yard. An easy option is to build your children their own swing set. Building a swing set is easier than people might think. It just takes some time and patience to make sure you get it done correctly.
Measuring the Space
When looking at building a swing set for your children, the first thing you need to do is to make sure that the set will fit in your back yard. A swing set can really be any length, but the support posts will have a width of at least 10 feet so make sure you have that much room. Also, your lateral distance is important. If you place the swing set right against a fence, you children will have no room to swing. You will need to prepare the area where your swing set is to be located, making sure it is flat and that there is no shrubbery around which can hurt your kids.
Materials
Materials for a swing are actually a lot easier to find than you might think. The main structure is built out of 4-by-4 and 4-by-6 pieces of lumber. Make sure that this lumber is pressure treated so it won't begin to crack and splinter under the weight of swings and people. Swings can be purchased from either an online store or a home improvement store. Make sure when you purchase a swing, that it comes with the entire apparatus for building one. While it is possible to build the supports for the swing itself, it is much easier (and safer) to hang a premade kit.
Swing Set Construction
The construction of the swing set will take you the most time. This is because you are not just cutting wood in a straight line. The first thing you should do is dig holes for the posts so you know where everything will be located. After this is done, you will need to cut a notch in the top of each post, at a 12 degree angle, so that when they sit in the holes at an angle and come together, there is a space for a 4-by-6 board to sit on top of them. Screw the posts to the 4-by-6 board, place the apparatus in the ground and cover with cement. For added support, place additional 4-by-4 pieces of wood in between the posts as a cross beam for the A-frame. Wait until the cement is dry and then add the swings. Once the swings are added, the swing set is ready for business.
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