Homemade Playset 1 Year Later

Okay, so it hasn't been a WHOLE year, but almost a year since we built our son a swing set out of some stuff we had around the house.  I'm happy to say that what we built then is still there and holding up fine.  You can see it here.


Since then we have added a couple of things.  In January we added a "platform."  It's not a tree house as there is no house.  And it's not a fort because it doesn't have walls.  Eventually it's meant to have a slide coming off of it.  Last time the hubby and I did the build together.  This time my youngest son helped with the build. 

We bolted some 2x4s to either side of two trees and then screwed these 2x4s onto the the top.  Yep, that's it. 

And even without the slide, my boys love it.

A few weeks later we added a "ladder."  It's really just a limb that broke off in a storm.  I cut it into 18" lengths, drilled holes and bolted them into the tree.  The hubby found a yellow handle we had from our old commercial swing set at our other house.  So we added that and now they have no problem going up and down.

Today, we added a "fort."  I had a 10' long pallet sitting in the yard and needed to get it cleaned up.  So I decided to flip it on it's side, modify it a bit and then "camouflaged" it to make a fort.  I just used some twine and tied it to the tree.

First I cut it to a shorter length that fit better and got rid of some severly damaged wood.  Then I moved some slats to make a door way.  Here you can see the green twine tying it to the tree (all it needs to stand up) and the back of the pallet which I did nothing to.  I can't see it from the house and there are no neighbors looking at it, so I think it's just fine.

After that the youngest and I spray painted it with "hammered" brown spray paint.  It really ends up looking more gray than brown and is the only thing I bought for this project this year.  And finally we "camouflaged" it with tree bark we had from our wood splitting pile.  That was harder than it seemed.  I had staples at first, but they weren't long enough for all the bark.  Then I had to find nails that were long enough, but not too long.  And on some pieces of bark that split the wood and it fell off.  Eventually we got the right combination of everything and these pieces stuck.  It seems a bit haphazard, but I let the youngest decide where it should go and help me put it on.  It is his fort after all.  And if the bark falls off again, we'll just stick some more on.  And from the house you probably wouldn't notice it or even know it was there.

While we were finishing the fort, the hubby showed up with some more PVC scraps to add to the ball drop.  He had no idea how to attach it, but I found an old cargo strap and we lashed it to the tree.  JT even decided it needed a booby trap.  So if you step up to the steering wheel you step on a special piece of bark, set off the trap, and he drops the ball at you.  Most of the time the ball follows right through all the tubes, but sometimes it doesn't and that causes the giggles.

Bet best of all, when we were done, JT said, "I don't have to go in do I?"