Birthday Surprise

Okay, so it's obviously not going to be a surprise since Nathan is right there "helping." But this is what Nathan's getting for his birthday. (The beginning stages of it, anyways.)

We've wanted to get/build a playset for him all summer, but have been arguing about how to go about it. I was all for the simple "T" or "H" frame set, and hanging some swings off of it, and a slide. Cheap, and gets it done - Nathan wouldn't care. Paul wanted something more elaborate, with a fort and something our kids could grow into, and imagine in.

Obviously, Paul was going to win this argument, because a swingset is not something I can build myself, no matter how simple. So we saved, and Paul shopped around.

He knew he wanted a wood design. First we looked at design-your-own sets. We got a catalog from a company, and even their relatively simple designs were through the roof - $12,000!! (And there were some twice that much!) Even if they do come and build it for you, that's ridiculous.

Next we looked at kits that contained the lumber and the hardware. These seemed pretty reasonable - until we realized they don't include the slide (the most expensive thing) or the 4x4 lumber (adds another $200).

We were able to download the plans for the kits, and Paul figured out how much lumber you'd need to do it yourself. Not all of the brackets they use are available outside the kit, but Paul found other brackets that will work just as well. And this way he knows the quality of the wood he's getting (some of the reviews said their wood was warped and/or moldy). He's also made it so that the playset will tie in to a future playhouse/fort that we'll build on the concrete slab. We ordered everything from our local lumberyard, and so far (assuming we haven't forgotten anything), we've only got half the cost of the kit invested in it - and that includes the slide and 4x4s they don't give you.

This morning we set the posts for the slide platform. They are sunk in 18 inches of concrete. That thing isn't going anywhere. Paul assures me that this is the most tedious part, and the rest should move along quickly. I hope so, because I'd like to have it done by this weekend. We're limited to working on it in the mornings when Paul gets home from work, and in the evenings before he leaves. And trying to squeeze it in between rain spells.... It rained Tuesday (the day we wanted to start on it) into Wednesday morning, and it's supposed to start up again Saturday. Paul's next guaranteed day off is Monday (he took vacation for Nathan's birthday), and I don't want to be scrambling to finish it up on Nathan's actual birthday. (Paul has worked 13 of the last 16 nights, and the 3 nights he got off were last-minute notices, so we couldn't do anything those days, because as far as he knew he had to sleep all day to prepare for a 12-hour shift all night.)

I'll post more pictures when the project is done - Nathan's going to love it! He already loves the frame that's there (hanging and climbing on it), and he doesn't even realize it's for the slide that was laying in the yard. Just wait 'til he sees the swings......