Playground Restoration

I wanted a project myself and my daughter could have a go at restoring together. Something not too complex, which wouldn't involve loads of dangerous tools. Once finished she could play with it in our garden.

I found an old play and swing set on the internet. Once purchased, my daughter called the play equipment her "Castle". The structure is all made from wood with plastic windows. It was in a very poor state of repair and needed a full refurbishment.  

Tools Required: 

• Screw Drivers - various sizes
• Hex Keys - various sizes
• Hammer  
• Paint Brushes - various sizes
• Sander and lots of sand paper
• Pressure Washer 
• Spade 
• Spirit level

Materials Required:

• Wood Undercoat / Primer 
• Wood Paint (any colours you like) 
• Spray Paint (for plastic) Primer
• Spray Paint (for plastic) Colour
• Spray Paint (for plastic) Lacquer
• Screws (various sizes)
• Screw caps

First take as many photos as you can to help you remember how the structure fits together. You can refer to these later upon re-assembly.  

Using a power drill dismantle the structure into large but manageable sections, making sure you save all the screws in a separate pot. I found it handy to separate the different length of screws ready for the rebuild. You could use labelled ziploc bags for this.

Once it's been dismantled, choose a section to start with. I began by giving the wood a good clean and sand using an electric sander. I started with a roof piece first. Take out any plastic e.g. the windows. The wood should be clean and smooth to touch once the sanding is completed. Now you're ready for painting. 

Top Tip

Instead of using paper-based sand paper I found a wire mesh alternative in a hardware store to fit the sander. It lasted much longer as there was a lot of sanding to do!

Now it's time to undercoat the wood. Shake the paint tin well and paint away until all the wood is covered, Make sure you apply very thin even coats with no runs. I applied two coats leaving them to dry as per the instructions on the can in between coats.

Once dry apply two coats of wood paint in the colour of your choice. You should now have a nicely painted section of your play equipment.

Repeat these simple steps over and over again on each wooden section until all the wood is painted. I took me about 5 weeks working in the evenings to complete. Just do a little at a time and you be amazed at how much you can achieve.

Top Tip

Making sure the wood stays dry, saves a lot of time. Having an undercover area to store sections to dry in ready for painting is a really good idea.

Choosing a water based paint means you can wash out brushes easily and saves a fortune on chemicals.

For the plastic windows, i gave them a good wash and left them to dry in the sun.

Next spray the windows with undercoat. Make sure you shake the spray paint well before use and spray in a well ventilated area. Mist on the spray keeping it about 3-4 inches away from the spraying surface. Leaving it 30 - 50 minutes to dry for each coat of paint.

I sprayed the windows with two coats of undercoat. Next sprayed with two coats of coloured paint and then sprayed them with a top coat of clear lacquer to finish.

Top Tip

I used our old rabbit pen to spray the plastic parts in. This stopped my young daughter from "investigating".

I used a pressure washer to simply wash down the slides ready for assembly. 

I completely took apart the climbing wall by unscrewing all the screws. I sanded down the wood, undercoated then painted it. For the plastic climbing holds, I gave them a good wash in the sink. I reassembled the wall adding non slip fibreglass tread to each step of the ladder on the right hand side.

To add a nice finishing touch I used some screw caps to make the screws looks nice and not so sharp to be touched by little fingers. I also varnished the floor for weather proofing and to make it look shiny. This will also help to keep the colour and help stop wear on the floor.

By using a spade and a spirit level I made sure the ground was level. I removed all the grass to leave a firm base.

Once you have everything cleaned and painted it’s time to rebuild! I found this much harder than the initial dismantling, but referring to my photos from the beginning made this much easier. Having someone else to help me line up the sections and screw them back together was a great help.

Top Tip

Take your time. Rome wasn't built in a day. It would be a shame to damage your hard work at this stage!

Once complete, take time to check for safety. Give the castle a wobble and have a play yourself. If you find that there is a lot of movement or flex, you can reinforce the structure using extra wooden battens and screws or angle brackets. Once you're happy that it is sturdy and strong, its time to let your little ones loose and enjoy!

I also installed a child’s kitchen to the "ground floor" which my daughter absolutely loves. I extended the ladder steps to the rear a little using a section of pallet and infilling the sides with wood to make it weather tight. I screwed a toy kitchen down to the floor to make sure it didn’t tip.

I planted some bushes to the side of the twisted slide to stop anyone crawling under it.

Added extras and further plans.

Now the castle is complete and can be enjoyed by my little girl, I would like to create a garden around the bottom of the tower with hardy plants that spread giving good ground cover. This will make it easy to cut the grass around the base.

I have changed the swing to more suitable attachments for her and myself. I bought a nice cloth hammock from Amazon which I must admit I have snuck up the garden to have a quiet beer in. It’s really nice!! I made a nice child’s swing out of an old stair banister and off cuts of wooden flooring, which is perfect for the little ones to swing in. That’s a another small instructable I’ll document later on! 

I’m also looking out for some suitable flooring for inside the kitchen as overtime the grass will die.

I have a small table a chairs which I’m going to paint up the same colour - matching the castle so she can have a small snack and a sit down. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed this project from start to finish. Getting my daughter involved gave us some fantastic time together. She loved the jet wash and the drill. Recycling an old disused piece of scrap into a safe and elegant play space my daughter will cherish for years to come. She is absolutely obsessed with it and wants to play on it all the time. She loves playing with the kitchen handing me “cups of tea" (yes, we're British) while I swing in my hammock at the side. Many of her little friends come round and never want to go home.

I feel so proud of myself for this complete transformation, now I'm looking out for the next transformation I can do with my daughter. I think a nice shed converted to a bar is on the cards. Watch this space.

An Instructable doesn't always have to be complicated . If you can use and sander, screw driver and a paint brush you could achieve this. Go on, give it a go! :)