Build a Kids' Play Yard

With my 10% off at the lumber yard I purchased material to build everything in this book for $1100 and $125 on bolts. Yes it's only one plan but it's as strong as a house. The book includes a nice three level tower, a swing beam that will probably support my truck, a 10' tall doll house, sand box, sea-saw, balance beam, oh and a monkey bar. Following all the advise on sanding, routering the timber, pre-staining will result in a beautiful play ground. Why i did not give it 5 stars. Well you do get a material list and a cut list but with so much wood you do not get a list that would list what pieces to cut from the 12' 2x6 or the 10' 2x6 or the 8' 2x6 and so on. It took me a long time to create a cut chart so as not to run out of wood. Remember, there is a lot of wood. And this did not happen often but some of the measurements are off. By 1/4 inch or so but I have tried in the past but you cannot stretch wood. So that means if it's raining and you would like to pre cut some pieces and stain them you cannot. And one more thing about this book being for a beginner. If you have the ability to dig (12) 3 foot deep and 1 foot wide holes then your no beginner. Being that there was no way to do this and then fill them with cement I rented a post hole digger and settled for 3' x 5" wide holes and filled em with dirt. While I'm at it: the measurements (even if all were correct) are only good if your 4x4 posts are dead-on. The book does show and explain how to do this. In summary if your a proud dad of 2 or more and still in your 30ies this playground will absolutely blow away any packaged system you have seen in the store.

We were originally interested in this book for an easy, sturdy way to build a seesaw, but the plans for a complete gym set and surrounding equipment were easy to follow, also. The materials list and cutting guides are excellent and we had little to no waste. There were plenty of illustrations and our projects came out super! More advanced builders might find the simplicity tedious and the projects limited, but for a beginner trying to save a few bucks by doing-it-yourself, it was great.

My partner and I are beginning to intermediate woodworker/builders. We found this book very informative. It shows very easy to read illustrations for various projects, from fairly simple balance beams and swing set to more complex tower structures. It also has recommendations and modifications for younger and older kids. What I liked about it, as a beginner, is that each project is simply illustrated and diagrammed with a materials list right down to the nuts and bolts! The author also has information and diagrams on how to use the various power equipment needed to perform the work plus a wealth of safety information. If you like the look of handsome, well constructed, wooden play structures this is the book for you.The only thing it lacks is incorporating recycled materials into the play yard.

Bought this book for a church committee responsible for building children's playground facilities. They were very impressed with its quality, praising it highly for its easy to follow construction instructions, complete parts lists, detailed diagrams as well as the attractive layout and design of the book itself.