This year, we decided to forgo our normal July 4th weekend tradition of lazing around and doing virtually nothing.  Even though it seems there's no better way to celebrate our independence from British rule than by sitting around and drinking beer, we thought it might be a convenient time to undertake a project we've been planning on doing this summer: putting together a new playset for the girls.

After hiring a professional to take care of the "hard stuff" (i.e. dealing with drainage issues, grading, and the landscaping timber border), my father, my brother-in-law, and I went to work early Saturday morning, and in just less than 28 hours, we transformed this:

Playset border
Playset border

this:

Pile o' parts
Pile o’ parts

and this:

Big-ass pile o' mulch
Big-ass pile o’ mulch


into this beautiful and entertaining playset:

Finished Product
Finished Product


Needless to say, the girls were in love with it even before we were done and wore themselves out playing on it most of Sunday afternoon.  The exhausted-yet-triumphant construction crew retired to the shady patio, where we spent the rest of the afternoon drinking beer and reveling in the kids' enjoyment of their new play area.

Playset building, by the numbers:

  • Play area dimensions – 28' x 21'
  • Number of folks involved in the construction – 3
  • Total man-hours from start to finish – 23 man-hours
  • Number of times we were asked by kids/wives if we were done yet – 17
  • Number of playset parts ~ 50 + hardware
  • Number of playset parts it felt like we had ~ 1,000
  • Amount of mulch purchased – 9 cubic yards
  • Approximate weight of mulch – 3500 pounds, transported one wheelbarrow-load at a time
  • Approximate weight of mulch it felt like we moved ~ 7 tons
  • Number of folks who used sunscreen – 2
  • Number of folks who wished they had re-applied sunscreen in the afternoon – 1
  • Number of parts the manufacturer had drilled wrong and had to replace before we could begin – 2
  • Number of parts it looks like the manufacturer may have drilled wrong that we just made-do with – 1
  • Number of parts we initially installed backwards/in the wrong place and had to correct – 2
  • Number of places in the instructions we could not figure out what the heck they wanted us to do (until we sat down and stared at it for a bit) – 4
  • Leftover parts – Lots of extra deck screws, nuts and washers, but no significant parts
  • Injuries sustained – 2 (minor cuts to my right index finger, on two separate occasions!)
  • Number of hours spent watching the kids enjoy the playset – 4
  • Number of days expected until the kids lose interest in the playset – about 12

Seriously though, the playset (a gift from my parents) is absolutely wonderful, and I am so happy that we spent the time to put it together for the kids to play with.  I think they're going to enjoy it for many years to come, and it should provide a great place for them and their cousins to play when my wife is pulling her hair out and tells them "Go play outside and give Mommy a break!!!"

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