We have this funny cement pad in our backyard; I have no idea what it
is or was for. It's pretty out of the way, but it does pose a slight
hazard as there isn't a barrier around it and it drops straight down
(about four feet) to the lower part of our yard. It'd be pretty brutal
if a kid fell as the cement wall down is pretty rough too.
I've
dreamed for a while that it would be fun to somehow attached a slide to
the cement pad, maybe even one that rounds to the left, so kids can go
up our yard stairs to the top of the slide and slide down. After
searching on-line I realized, slides are expensive!
I
had shared my dreams with the hubby and one day he came home and mentioned
that this odd house off a main street (where you can also drop your old
appliances off) had a wood fort (completely taken apart) play structure
complete with swings and a slide for sale for $75. He wasn't sure what
sort of shape it was in, but I told him the slide alone was worth more
than that, so it'd be worth trying.
Somehow my husband got
all the pieces back to our house and began assembling it. Good thing
he's mechanically inclined as the only instructions we were given
were in French!
What
also showed me that "you get what you pay for" was the entire thing
needed a good pressure washing, scrubbing, and probably needs to
eventually be stained. My man got the section with the ladder, slide, and
canvas roof set up, and discussed with me where in the yard the entire
play structure could go permanently. This conversation was easier said
than done as the place I suggested, the hubs told me that is where his shed
will go. I pushed several times, but he wasn't budging, so I knew I
needed a new idea.
My little one was having a blast playing in just this section of the play structure,
even without the swings and the monkey bars. Somehow I got to thinking
about if we just used the slide, ladder, and roof section and not the
monkey bars and swings section, and turned it just so, it would fit in
the back corner of our yard next to the cement pad (this coming from
someone who doesn't see objects in a 3D way). Then my husband could build a
small bridge from the cement pad right onto the platform of the fort. It
would be so fun for kids to have a space that seemed hidden from the
adults!
The other benefit is we haven't been able to
get anything to grow in this back corner and it's really a neglected
space of the yard. It's too hard to water to keep grass there or really
any living trees or shrubs. I once suggested to the husband to build a stacked
raised garden bed, but that didn't interest him at all, so he was on
board with this idea!
My burly husband got to digging holes, cementing in 4x4 pressure treated wood posts and cut off the entire top section of the fort.
He
needed me to assist a little when it came to attaching the top of the
fort to the new bases, so I did my best to hold everything level enough
for him.
Here is the space from the cement pad to the platform of the fort before Evan built a bridge. Looks a little scary doesn't it?
We
purchased big bark chips and spread them all under the fort. Then he built the bridge (of course using old fence wood), so now it just
needs a small screen or hand rail for the side of the bridge, and it's
ready to go!
It's
been a big hit already and of course I have more ideas for a lever and
pulley system to haul up treasures in a bucket from the ground to the
platform, I want to screen off two of the walls under the fort that will
protect kids from the cement wall and so they won't climb up the red
rock filler on the side, but for now, it's usable!