Outdoor Swing

Who doesn’t love a swing? The child within me couldn’t resist the idea of building a swing set for all to enjoy. After loads of designing, planning, and gathering materials, it was time to build it. It was designed so the swing set would be capable of holding more than just your average kid, it can support three solid adults. I learned how to use an auger and set concrete footers, advanced learning in construction, design and planning, fastening, and woodworking.

First I mapped out the area, drew up a plan, and gathered all the materials. Then I planned and prepped a flat area in my back yard, measured out the distance, and spray painted the plan in the grass.

Concrete

Card board concrete holder tubes

Seven pine beams, two 2"x2"x10' / one 4"x6"x12' / two 2"x4"x6'

6 Steel swing brackets

4 Steel hooks to go into each concrete footer

2 Swing A-Frame brackets

Dark wood stain

Green swing seats

Green plastic coated chains

3" Bolts

Then I used an auger and dug out all the holes so that the swing could be level, and more importantly safe.

This was my first time using an auger and required a little extra help from my cousin. After digging the 4 holes at least 3 feet down and 1 foot in diameter in the specified spots on the ground, I put the cardboard tubes to hold the concrete in place into the holes. I then took 4 ft wooden dowels and stuck them into the holes with the tubes in them so they were sturdy. Then using string and levels, I tied a string to each of the dowels and put a level in the middle of the four spans of strings. After getting it to look like the diagram in the last step, I moved the strings up and down till they were all level (so that the footers would all be level onto of uneven ground). After making sure each string span was level with each other, I hammered the tubes in the holes so they were all 6 inches below the string on the dowel in each hole. That way I knew that every tube was level with each other, and ready to be filled with cement.

Next up I mixed and poured the cement so the footers could set.

This part was pretty self explanatory, I got roughly 8 bags of cement and mixed them with water (will be a different water to cement ratio depending on the brand) in a wheelbarrow to be poured. After that I went around to each hole and poured them into the tubes in the ground until they all were right up to the top of the tube (to ensure they were all level. Lastly I put steel hooks into the cement in each of the holes slightly off center so that each leg of the swing frame could be secured into place with bolts. For a nice final touch I wrote each one of my siblings and parents names into the drying cement in each of the 4 footers. I then waited a week for the cement to dry and set.

Finally I put the actual swing together, first sideways then enlisted some help from my dad and cousin to flip it up to the right side and paint and stain it.

The next step when the footers were dry was to build the actual frame of the swing. The wood was bought already in the size it needed to be so nothing needed to be cut. I first put the brackets on the ends of the main beam (that the swings will hang from), predrilled the holes, and then bolted the brackets on. I then put the 4 columns that will support the main beam into place on the floor and did the same process to bolt them into place on the bracket. The next step was to flip it up off the floor and have it standing in the way it was supposed to be. I had my dad, uncle, and cousin come out and help me flip it up by each grabbing a column and rotating. We then did the same thing to rest it on top of the footers in the ground. After that I cut the 2"x4" 's to size using a circular saw my dad had and bolted them into place to create the A frame on both sides. I then bolted in each leg of the swing to the steel hook in the footers. Finally, I painted and stained with two coats of each to give it a natural earthy look.

After that I installed the seats, chains, and brackets.

This was just a matter of hoping on a latter and spacing everything out evenly to screw it all in and together. The last step to building the swing was actually testing it out (also the most fun part), it was a success. :)