Playground Makeover
The past month I have been so busy. I’ve been working on two major projects, one of which I am excited to share with you today. This makeover is one of the most drastic transformations I’ve ever done. I’m so proud of how it turned out because it was a lot of work! I hope you’ll enjoy seeing the before and after upcycle of my children’s new playground!
Recently some of our neighbors were getting rid of their old play set. I was so fortunate to get it from them for only $75!
This is what the play ground initially looked like in our neighbor’s yard.
My neighbor selling it warned me it was going to need some work. He was right! Here’s what I did.
- Replaced screws in various pivotal places on the set with non-rusting hardware. ($7 box of galvanized deck screws)
- Replaced rotted wood in the roof, the floor, and the A-frame. ($2.50 for 8′ long 2″ by 6″)
- Rebuilt the whole rock climbing wall as the existing wall had broken supports and all the boards had stripped screws (not salvageable). ($0 used leftover lumber & pre-existing footholds)
- Replaced the main big bolt that held together the swing A-frame. ($1.50)
- Stained the whole play set ($0 stain was free from the Household Hazardous Waste facility)
- Caulked the slide ($1.50 for paintable outdoor caulk)
- Painted all the plastic elements ($7 two cans of key lime spray paint for the slide, the rest was free from the HHW facility)
- Added a baby swing ($3 garage sale find)
- Almost forgot – I had to replace some other screws that attached the rock climbing footholds. ($3.50)
My total cost for this project was $101.
This is what the swing set looked like after I moved and rebuilt the rock climbing wall. We opted not to put up the monkey bars so the new rock climbing wall became another method of getting into the fort.
The old rock climbing wall and monkey bars were posted up for free on Craigslist.
Then I got to work removing all plastic elements for painting. I came at the wood with a belt sander and prepped it for staining.
So bare!
My stain was a mixture of four different products leftover at the HHW facility. That’s how it goes when you don’t pay for stain or paint. You have to mix products together to have enough! I ended with a little more than a gallon of stain and I mixed espresso, Jacobean, and maple colors. I love dark stains, and our deck is dark brown so I thought a dark brown play set would match.
Most of the spray paints were also products I found at the HHW facility. I picked a color scheme that I thought was unique and fun. Plus a clear gloss protect was a must since it would be outside and needed to be glossy for the slide. I made sure to sand all the plastic pieces and wipe down before painting.
So are you ready? Are you ready for the final result? It’s hard to believe this is even the same play set!
I painted the top of the roof boards instead of staining to add some fun to the fort and show off the color scheme.
I love the key lime slide. It was in such bad shape before, but it looks like new now!
My new rock climbing wall turned out great. Lily climbs it with ease, but I did end up removing the rope because it would only get in her way.
Key lime swings that get used a LOT (if you can’t tell from the ground below).
Painted handles, steering wheel, and spyglass make the fort a colorful place to hang out.
Here’s a few before and afters.
Lily’s favorite part is the swings!
Nick’s favorite part is the slide.
He goes down…
…and back up. Over and over.
So much fun!
I hope you enjoyed my playground makeover! Please like and share if you were impressed. Thank you for reading!
I would love to know how your slide is holding up? We just bought a new playset and I don’t like the slide color, but I’m worried about paint flaking off. How long have you had it and how is it doing? Thanks!! Looks great!
Kristina I’m so glad you commented because I have to tell you, the slide is not holding up well. Don’t paint yours. I sanded the plastic, sprayed it with primer, and used outdoor spray paint made to bond to plastic. It still did not hold up at all. After one year it has totally flaked off and gets green specks on the kids clothes. I got a different slide and am just dealing with the yellow color. The same process was used to paint the swings and they have held up great! Don’t know why, I really wish I could have the lime green slide too, but oh well. I would say work with the existing color of the slide in your color scheme or buy a different slide.
Good luck!
Melissa
Thank you for posting this update as i was googling to see if spraypainting would work for a slide! You saved me from myself!
Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend it! 😉
I just read this. Disregard my previous message. Thank you for the update on the slide paint. Why cant they make light pink, blue, teal, or white slides? Why the dark yellow and green!!!! ???? So out of style! lol
I agree! I couldn’t find other colors online either!
I have the same question! I want to buy the costco playground but do not like the yellow slides… if someone can let me know how the paint held up I would greatly appreciate it!
Did you spray paint any of the climbing rocks? I am wondering if those are rough enough that the paint will stay? I was also going to dots paint some climbing bars, because they are very faded. Any advice or thoughts on this?
I didn’t try spray painting the rock climbing pieces, but if you use an oil-based spray paint, I would guess they would last at least a year. Otherwise there are these new ones
or these cheaper ones
from Amazon you could buy. Like I said in the other comment, pretty much everything plastic I painted is not holding up so well. If I were you, I would buy new pieces for your play set. The rock climbing sets are only about $30 and these climbing bars are about the same.
Good luck to you in fixing up your playset!
Hi, I wanted to comment on how helpful your article was for us.
We just inherited the EXACT SAME play structure from a friend of ours. They actually got it years ago from their neighbor, so we are the third couple to have it. We, like you disconnected the monkey bars and ramp and gave them away on Craigslist and as luck would have it was picked up by a couple that is good friends of the friends we received it from. Crazy. I just rebuilt the climbing ramp for $20 today and my wife is going all in on a white/gray/black roof look with bits of yellow (swings/handles/climbing rocks) as accents.
I’m not sure how I’m going to like it but we’ll see….. I actually sanded the slide (I don’t recommend doing this as it takes soooooo long to sand it from grit to grit and plastic dust gets everywhere) from grit to grit to grit and I’d much rather just sell it for $30 and buy a new one from Amazon next time for $120. And like one earlier poster mentioned….why aren’t there any other colors for slides besides mainly green and yellow. Tertiary colors are all the rage these days.
I am so happy you found my article helpful! I totally agree about more color options when shopping for playground equipment. When done nicely and maintained well, a play set can really be a focal point in your backyard! Also – I can’t believe you sanded the slide. That must have been a lot of work!
Thank you for leaving a comment 🙂
Melissa
Hello… I bought a brand new playset and the slides are light blue… really nice… but my HOA does not approve on them so I was thinking to paint over a color they accept (green or yellow) but you said that yours is not holding up … do you know any better product that the one you used or do you know of any professional that will do it with better results? Desperate for answers and solutions
I wish I had better advice for you, but I think you might have to just buy a new slide. They sell them on Amazon (https://amzn.to/2N4XuWt aff link), but I know that’s not what you’re hoping for. I think by the time you spend $40 on a gallon of premium paint that may or may not hold up, it’s worth it to just spend $95 on a brand new slide where the plastic is the color you need.
Good luck Cecilia!
Melissa