Renovating our Playset
My kids are getting to that age where they aren’t really hanging out in the yard as much any more. We bought a wood play set when the kids were really little, and after 13 years, it’s seen waaaay better days. Recently, my Middle asked if we could turn it into a teen hang out. Since it’s pretty much on it’s last legs, and needed quite a few boards replaced, after a little bit of thought, I said “yes”. Renovating our playset would be a good way for us to work on a project together, and she could get hands on with real tools. You can see the final DIY here!
I first learned to mud and tape drywall and use tools when I was about the same age. My dad was rehabbing our basement. I remember thinking it was pretty cool to be able to do that, and to know that I had a part in our home renovations. It made me much more comfortable with pick up tools in my early 20’s.
We spent a lot of money on the playset when it was brand new, crazy money. I don’t know what we were thinking. She’s a little sad looking. The boards were falling a part, and some of them were even soft and starting to rot.
Middle and I sat down and talked about what she had in mind. I’m trying sooo hard to put my control aside with this project, and let her lead. It’s hard as a DIY blogger/ and Designer to let your teen take control.
After she put on her safety glasses, work gloves, and gave me a few eye rolls for being so paranoid…We first removed the plastic climbers, and replaced some of the boards.
Some of the boards were in pretty bad shape… if we weren’t renovating our playset, the dumpster might have been the next step.
Even Little jumped in to help add the new boards.
I stepped in to help drill in some of the tougher spots.
We closed off the back climber area. She wanted a little more privacy, and a wall to hang things on and lean up against, and Little wanted a reading spot.
We got most of the boards up in one day. I do admit, I did cheat a little bit. We pre-measured for them, and then had Home Depot cut our boards to the right sizes. It was so nice to not have to drag the saw horses out. They were super nice about cutting so many boards too.
The biggest decision we had was if we keep the canopy in the same place or not. I think for now, we are going to keep it where it is. I would love to add a real wood roof, but for know, this is what we can tackle.
We are going to be working on the underside of the playset next. At one time, there was a tire swing there, and when it cracked, we put pavers underneath for their fairy garden. Now that they’ve outgrown that ( I notice they outgrow things a lot), we are going to be building a platform as part of renovating our playset, almost like a mini-deck to hang out on. Stay tuned!
Want to see more of our yard, check out this post here.
