DIY Portable Playground Slide
- 1). Lay the two 4 foot long pressure treated 4-by-4's parallel to each other at a distance of 2 feet apart from each other. Use the ruler and pencil to measure and mark spots every 10 inches from the end of the 4-by-4's. Make sure that the marks you make are parallel to each another because this is where the steps go.
- 2). Lay the four 2 foot long pressure treated 2-by-4's across the 4 foot long 4-by-4's at each of the parallel marks that you made in the previous step. Make sure that they are straight and parallel to each other. These will make the steps of the ladder.
- 3). Use the drill and 1 inch drill bit to bore a 1 inch diameter hole through each of the 2-by-4 steps and the 4 foot long 4-by-4's at each point where they intersect. When you are finished there will be 2 holes on each of the ladder's steps for a total of 8 holes. This will create the holes needed for the carriage bolts to hold the ladder's steps to the ladder.
- 4). Put the 1 inch diameter by 8 inch long carriage bolts through each of the holes you drilled in step 3. Tighten a 1 inch wing nut onto each of the 1 inch diameter by 8 inch long carriage bolts. This is to secure the ladder's steps in place.
- 5). Use the epoxy glue to glue the 2 foot by 4 foot ¼ inch tile board sheet to one of the faces of the 2 foot by 4 foot ½ inch thick pressure treated plywood. This creates the smooth sliding surface of the slide.
- 6). Fit the screwdriver bit to the drill. Stand a 1 foot by 4 foot plywood piece along each of the 4 foot long sides of the sliding surface. Then use the 1 inch long galvanized screws to attach the 1 foot by 4 foot plywood pieces to the sliding surface. This will place the guardrails on the sides of the sliding surface.
- 7). Stand the ladder vertically. Then stand the slide at a 45 degree angle from the ground to the top of the ladder.
- 8). Fit the 1 inch drill bit back into the drill. Then bore a 1 inch diameter hole through the side of each of the guardrails of the slide and through the 4-by-4's where the slide guardrails intersect the vertical posts of the ladder. Then drive a 1 inch diameter by 5 inch long carriage bolt through the holes you just drilled. Now tighten a 1 inch wing nut onto each of the carriage bolts to secure the slide to the ladder. At this point the slide is finished. To make the slide portable, simply disassemble the slide by unscrewing the wing nuts from each of the carriage bolts and then removing the carriage bolts from their holes. You will have the sliding surface, two 4-by-4 ladder posts, and the four 2-by-4 ladder steps. These can then be loaded into a vehicle and the slide can be transported. To reassemble simply place the carriage bolts back into their respective holes and fasten the wing nuts to hold the slide together.
