After panning the Internet for a wooden playset that fell within our budget and space requirements, we decided we would be further ahead building our own. I have never used a circular saw a day in my life, so the technical details were Wade's responsibility (God help us).
I found free plans online --
www.hot4cad.com/playset --
That I would no longer recommend unless you are able to be flexible and creative in the midst of construction;)
For instance, they had us purchase all 5.5" carriage bolts (with nuts and washers) to assemble two 2x4s and one 4x4. Even counter sunk, the math reveals it ain't happening. Luckily, we realized this only an hour into the build. We bought 8" ones instead and will be sawing off the excess bolt at the end of our project.
In addition to the carriage bolt issue, the provided supply list shorted us a board... So we ended up making three trips to the lumber yard with our extremely versatile Caravan (Yes, we totally tied a 4x6x12 to the top of our van).
After 11 hours of cutting, drilling and assembling, we were able to complete the tower and slide. I'm very pleased with how sturdy it is! Wade and I can be on the platform at the same time without issue. Here's to hoping the swing set portion of our project goes a bit smoother....
