Garden swing from pallets

With some skills in handling carpentry tools, virtually everyone can please their family by making a hanging swing with their own hands from ordinary wooden pallets left over after purchasing building materials. The use of pallets in this case is justified by the fact that they are made of durable boards that can withstand heavy loads.

Of course, pallet boards can also be used to repair a fence, but this good and durable material can come in handy for more interesting ideas. Today, many use them to build a garden swing.

Choosing the shape of the main element, you can focus on several designs.

1. In the form of a bench with or without armrests, backrests. This can be a single chair or a popular hanging sofa. For young children, it is advisable to select safe options with additional details.
2. In the form of a wide bed, equipped with a headboard and side bolsters. This model is also in demand.
3. For children, you can also equip a suspended platform where children can play.

In addition, hand-made models can be equipped with a canopy that protects from sunlight and rain, in a word, there is always the possibility of interesting solutions, limited only by human imagination.

Basically, a swing can be made from one or two pallets. The top of the seat can be supplemented with a mattress and pillows. The structure is suspended from a large strong branch or to a supporting structure in the form of the letter "P".

Such garden rocking chairs can be made with your own hands, if you correctly calculate the carrying capacity of the structure. You will also need to purchase additional materials and tools that are needed for installation.

Depending on whether the structure will be stationary, portable or suspended, a certain set of parts is provided.

A standard set of required building materials includes:

• wooden pallets;
• for supporting pillars - profiled pipes or timber;
• a special protective compound for treating wood against high humidity, fungus and mold;
• primer mixture for metal profiles or wood;
• paint for outdoor use.

Of the tools for work you will need:

• hammer;
• electric jigsaw;
• drill screwdriver;
• building level;
• plumb line;
• pliers;
• drills for metal and wood;
• measuring tape;
• paint brush;
• wrenches of different sizes.

In the case of using metal pipes for the support frame, the master will also need welding equipment. By the way, the strength and safety of the structure depends on the quality of welding, so you need to be able to use this technique.

Since the issue of safety is the most important when installing such a structure, experienced builders recommend using supports in the form of the letter "A" for self-erection and supply them with an auxiliary transverse strut. With a U-shaped support, the pillars must be buried, sufficiently, deeply - not less than 50 cm in depth. Concreting of the posts will also be useful.

When deciding to install a stationary model, you must choose a place where it will be mounted. The most important thing is that the structure is not close to residential buildings, bushes with a dense and dense crown and trees.

The radius can be determined by adding the distance from the horizontal bar to the seat and adding one meter to it. If the product is planned to be made without a visor, then you should not place it in an open place, where direct sunlight will fall on it. An area in the shade is best suited for this. It's another matter if it's a portable rocking chair. You need to start installing a swing from pallets with preparing the site and assembling the frame.

The step-by-step installation is as follows:

• the site is cleaned of foreign debris, leveled and carefully tamped;
• for supporting pillars in the ground, pits are made more than half a meter deep, in which gravel is placed;
• prepared posts are immersed in the ground and poured with concrete mortar;
• before continuing construction, the concrete must completely set and harden.

Previously, the side racks are fastened, and if they are metal, they are welded, treated with an anti-corrosion compound, passed with a primer mixture and painted. Wooden timber needs to be treated from moisture, insects and fungal microorganisms, it is also securely fastened. In some cases, it makes sense to make a wooden flooring or a concrete base for the structure, but this is in cases where a portable or stationary option is chosen.

For a simple structure consisting of a seat and a backrest, two pallets are required. First of all, you need to carefully inspect the boards, and if cracks, knots, rot and other defects are found on them, such material will not be suitable for the structure. In addition, the wood must be completely dry.

Wood undergoes special impregnations before assembly. The fasteners of the back and seat parts can be fixed both at an angle and at an angle of 90 degrees. It is good when the model is equipped with armrests or bumpers, this will give the swing more strength and reliability. By the way, they can be made not only from bars, but also from a thick rope. The appearance will only benefit from this.

In a situation where two pallets are taken for a seat, it is necessary to lay load-bearing bars under them, which will prevent the swing from breaking under the weight of people. In this case, the suspension chains and cables are fixed to them.

In advance, the pallet boards, in addition to being treated with protective agents, must be sanded to a smooth state, wiped with oil and covered with several layers of varnish, each of which must be dried before applying the next layer.

For information on what can be made from pallets, see the next video.