Need plans for playground equipment (see-saws, benches, tables, etc)

[ksu93]

I'm leading a team of volunteers on a Habitat for Humanity trip to Poland in less than three weeks, and the local affiliate just informed me that we may be building a playground. The catch is that they have never built a playground before. In addition to asking me to bring one of those Swing-N-Slide kits from Home Depot, they want to build other fun playground stuff like see-saws, and they also want benches and tables for parents. Can anyone recommend a book with good instructions on how to build these kinds of things? (Plus any other fun playground stuff you can think of). Obviously I'll have to convert everything into metric when I get there, but just having good plans would be good enough. I'm sure we can put our heads together and figure out the rest. Thanks.

[BearPipes-1]

Can't help with the play equipment, but I liked building the picnic table set from this page, and plan to do the bench when I've got time.

The bench might be a little fussy for a Habitat build, though...but you can make that determination!

[jAngiel]

There are a couple of books out there I noticed when I was building one for my kids but I didn't purchase any as I didn't think they were worth the money.

Some ideas to consider that are really easy to incorporate

A balance beam (4x6 about a foot off the ground), use two or three pieces cut at an angle so that it looks like a snake. Can be painted really bright colors to look cool. HD will tint Behr solid deck stain to any color chip you find at HD (although I guessing they do not have a HD over there, someone over there could tint some stain for you). (I haven't done this one yet, but it has been requested)

A high bar, chin up bar or whatever you call it. Two 4x4's straight up with a bar ( metal conduit with plasti grip on it ) or large dowel between them. Not done yet but requested also. Good idea for the boys (and girls) to build upper body strength while they "play".

Monkey bars, but if there are a lot of kids using at the same time don't integrate it into the swing supports. I did, but only because I have two sets bars set up for swings. I used the conduit with plastigrip for these and screws up through the supports to keep them from rotating.

Climbing wall, my kids love it! I made an octagon castle section with one face a vertical climbing wall. My three year old can make it over the top, and its either 10 or 12 feet up.

Integrated play house. I have one on the bottom of the castle for the boys and one on the bottom of the other side of the walking bridge for the girls.

Sand box, nuff said.

Last but not least (probably the most important), a gazebo or some type of shade structure for the parents who are out there watching the kiddos. You could probably even integrate your bench into it.

Even if you don't find plans just use your imagination. It's really easy to make it sturdy and safe. I designed my own and I think it came out way better that any that I could buy...

That's a good cause, I wish I could do something like that as my Dad immigrated from there as a kid after the war. Someday I may have the time, hopefully before I run out of energy...

[DaveS]

I found a couple books at my local library in the same section as the wood working books (hobbies?).

They were pretty dated, but had some neat stuff - nothing like the rainbow systems that are so common these days.

I wouldn't buy the stuff from Home Depot for a "real" playground - it will not last long with more than backyard type usage.

I bought all my parts from these guys:
http://www.byoswingset.com/swinhar.html

The swing hangers are super heavy duty, and their swings with chains are really nice for the price. They are still rated as "residential". Do a google search for "commercial swing set" and you will find companies that sell commercial stuff (and it is not cheap).

May I recommend a tire swing? An old tire should be easy to find once you get there.

Also, don't forget some bucket swings for the little ones

This would be your standard picnic table:
http://www.wolmanizedwood.com/picnictable.gif

Here's another:
http://www.buildeazy.com/fp_bbq_table.html

[Warren]

The Winfield Collection offers a book on back yard playground equipment. http://TheWinfieldCollection.com