Public Use Play Structure: Day 5 & 6 on site

Day 5 on site at the Contra Costa Jewish Day School and great progress! The Tube Slide has been installed and the rubber resilient surface material (RSM) has been poured by Playgrounds Unlimited.
Here, Sean from playgrounds Unlimited, checks to make sure that the RSM is 2-1/2" thick, the required thickness to help prevent serious injuries from a 6' fall height.

Now that the beautiful redwood structures have been installed, it is time to start lashing the "miles" of rope netting over all open areas of the play structure. When done, the entire structure will be fully enclosed so that no child can play outside of the structure once they start up the stairs!









Even the roofs are covered with rope netting to prevent adventurous kids from climbing up and out.













Barbara and Jeff go first, tightly attaching the netting to the posts using plastic twist ties (to be removed later). Then, Marco, Jose & Luis come next and lash the netting to the posts with rope, tying special knots every few inches to make sure it will not come undone. Attaching, lashing & knotting is very time consuming - it takes strong hands and willing hearts! The crew will still be at it on Monday. We hope to finish by the end of day tomorrow!!!




















Meanwhile, under the shade tent, Barbara and MaryLou work on completing the complicated Certification paperwork.









By end of day Saturday, a good deal of the rope netting has been completed. More to come on Monday!

Robin Hoods Fort 1 Swing in classic colors

A few weeks ago we installed our classic Robin Hoods Fort with 3' long bridge over 1 swing. It fits beautifully into a small backyards. This installation is almost complete: Jeff will return the following day to remove the bracing (which keeps the bridge level while the concrete footings set overnight).







Barbara's Artist Sketch in the color palette chosen by the client is an exact match.









The Robin Hood's fort offers plenty of challenging play activities: hand-woven rope net ladder, turbo tube slide, rock climbing wall, firepole and swing underneath the bridge.












The outside colors are cool and natural while the inside colors "pop"! This fort has one of Barbara's favorite play accessories: drop leaf table (under the shuttered window) & drop seat.









To check out our many different Robin Hoods Forts click here.

Synopsis of Rugged Ruckus Big Fort

Here's a peek at one of Barbara's latest projects, from start to finish:

Barbara started with a design sketch that combined rustic tree stumps & limbs with rugged construction to create a rough & tumble outdoor play structure.

Early on in the process, Barbara & Jeff went on site to choose logs to be cut into stump steps and limbs to be used as "pickets" for the railings.

Next, Barbara & Jeff did their traditional "stick-out", making sure the structure would fit within the boundaries of the play area.

Once the final design was approved, construction started. The exterior was stained with a "natural wash" so that the structure would blend into the surroundings.

The interior, however, really POPS with Wild Orange walls, Russet floor, Parakeet doors and shutters with Parsley trims and Red Earth Drop Leaf Table & 2 drop seats. Oh, and the ceiling is Cape Cod Blue!

Barbara and Jeff spent lots of time checking out the play structure during the detailing process and, inspired by Rugged Ruckus, took time out to create a little ruckus themselves...






Meanwhile, out on the dock were lots of tree limbs and branches. Marco is lead on selecting,

cutting, grinding to shape and then...

attaching the sturdy branches to complete the railings.
Each opening is tested with the white "Safety Probe". If it goes through, then the opening is too large and too dangerous for young children.

It's like a jigsaw puzzle but Marco likes doing it and he's good at it! Almost done and proud of his work.

Install was scheduled to start in a week so the guys were hurrying to finish the Public Use Play Structure in Lafayette. Plus Jeff and Aubrey had to break away to deliver the Garden Potpourri playhouse to the Coyote Point Museum for auction that evening. We were stretched thin!

Once again, everything went great and we finished in time. The play structure is a huge success with parents and kids. We love the natural look and the fun log climb. Hope you do too:

Crooked Gap Clubhouse installation

Crooked Gap Clubhouse starts out in the design phase with Barbara's sketch:











During the initial design process, Barbara, Jeff & Marco spend a day doing a "stick-out" on site, using rough strips of wood to layout the shape of the Clubhouse on the hillside.
Then later, after building, staining & detailing the structure in our shop, we bring in the pieces to install. The deck goes in 1st, matching the original stick out to a "T".









On this site, the truck is parked below and every play structure piece, along with all tools and materials, are lugged up the hill!









The Gable roof is in 2 pieces, and like everything else, has to come up the hill, across the bridge









and then up into place.











The crew, happy but weary at the end of the day from a job well done.

Crooked Gap Clubhouse clings to side of the hill

Crooked Gap Clubhouse is custom designed to fit on the side of a very challenging hill. The entrance ramp let's kids walk across to the Clubhouse deck which is perched on the hillside.


















The Clubhouse is built in our shop in modular pieces then pre-assembled for detailing and fit.
Once stained, the Clubhouse walls are laid out in the sunshine to dry.










At night, all the parts are stacked inside the staining bay along the walls.









Here's a sneak peak at the final play structure, delivered and installed. A great place for the kids to play!

Zip Lines!

We've done tons of ziplines and I never get tired of them! Each one presents a different challenge because the trees, the distance and the slope are always different. My ideal backyard zip line ride goes between two trees and involves jumping off of a tree perch to start the ride.
Here's the process on one we did recently. Jeff Beal (my partner in work and love) and I usually scope out the yard together, selecting the best trees for the zipline ride. When we narrow it down to one spot, we then set up a temporary zip line ride to make sure it will really work.

We both ride it many many times, adjusting it to come up with a fast fun and super safe ride. The temporary set up also lets me design the take-off tree perch.

A bit of quick photo shop and then I paint right on the photo. That way the family can get an idea of what I want to build! While I work on the tree perch, Jeff concentrates on installing the zipline. We use heavy-duty rescue-grade cable and trolleys so that adults as well as kids can ride the zipline. Here's the perch almost done.

We did a similar zipline & perch in LA. I like how simple and sturdy this design is.

This zip line ride is fairly short but it's thrilling! We've done zipline as short as 40 feet and as long as long as 160 feet. Here's a link to a video of Jeff and I doing the test zipline for this project: http://vimeo.com/13233381

 More on ziplines next week!

Rustic Tree Fort getting started

Hooray! Plans have been approved for me to start building a Rustic Treefort, using old logs as well as our usual redwood lumber. Here's my sketch of what we'll be making:

My brother James & I  also worked up a detailed AutoCAD site plan to compliment the sketch. That let's me verify that everything will fit.

Now James & I will start the detailed construction drawings to give to the builders, plus I have to gather some more logs for the railings.