Install a childrens slide on a garden slope

[Katie Greenwood]

Hi there,

I've found a 175 cm childrens slide which would be normally fixed to a wooden climbing frame or play house.

I'd like to fix this to the top of a slope in my garden, but I'm not sure if this is possible.

I'm wondering whether there would be a way to fix wood to the ground and then fix the slide to this wood.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this?

Thank you.

Katie

 

[Katie Greenwood]

This is the slope.

 

[conny]

That doesn't look like a very suitable position for a childs slide to be honest, not with all that rockery and plants around it.

I think you would be much safer finding a clear area of lawn and making a framework to attach the slide to. I would suggest 2 long based triangle frames with a sturdy upright from the apex to a point directly below the apex, (so you basically see a triangle with a piece down the centre). These two triangles are joined with cross struts the same width as the slide. The slide is then attached to one side of the triangle frame and a set of steps constructed on the other half of the frame to allow the children to climb to the top. To prevent toppling sideways you can put a long piece of wood across the bottom of the slide and a similar one at the bottom of the climbing side.

 

[Katie Greenwood]

Thanks Conny. I'll have a look at that design. The problem is I have no lawn.

I wondered whether I could fix some sort of wood with concrete to the ground, ie like you would fix fencing posts for example, (?) Or wooden decking, and then fix slide to that.

Re the rockery I could pack soil under and around the slide.

 

[conny]

You could possibly run two parallel wooden rails down the rockery and somehow secure them to the ground using wooden stakes.
Depends what your/your husbands diy skills are and what type of tools you have. I put a stop block at the end of a gravel pathway by drilling 2 holes in a length of 2" x 2" and then hammering 2 lengths of wooden curtain road through the holes and into the ground for about 18"
So, imagine you can get 2 lengths of timber to run down through the rockery pretty parallel and at the width to suit the slide. By getting some wooden curtain poles you could drill holes through the timber at strategic points, (i.e. where it will miss the rocks), and hammer the poles through the holes into the ground below. They would need to go in about 18" to be fairly secure. The holes in the runners need to be the same diameter of the curtain poles to prevent the frame moving around.

 

[foxhole]

Heavy sleeper could be used at the top to anchor slide.

 

[Alec_t]

Treated timber stakes driven into the ground (18" or so, as mentioned above) should be adequate without using concrete. They should survive the few years the slide will be in use before the kids outgrow it or lose interest in it.

 

[Katie Greenwood]

Would there be a way to fix a sleeper to the top without putting rails on either side of the slide?

 

[conny]

Yes, you could fix the sleeper with the same method as the rails. Holes through the sleeper and wooden pegs through into the ground.
I have a small lathe in my shed to I turned a point to the stakes to make it easier for them to penetrate the soil. My soil is very clay based so a blunt ended stake can be quite hard to drive down far enough.

 

[Katie Greenwood]

Excellent, there might just be a way !!

So, holes drilled into the sleeper. What sort of thickness would be suitable and what sort of pegs ?

 

[Katie Greenwood]

Or could I drive the stakes in and then place the sleeper behind the stakes ?

 

[conny]

LOL. Now you are asking.
I would say a piece of 4" x 2" or 4" x 3" would probably suffice and extend it past the width of the slide by about 12" either side, then you can peg it each end and another one in the centre. Make sure they are flush with the sleeper. It may be an idea to put a smaller one at the base of the slide, (but below the slide level), to help prevent any slip. I'm assuming your children are quite young, say between 3 and 6 or 7? so quite light weight wise.
The pegs can be a standard curtain pole diameter which range from 20mm up to about 32mm so the bigger the better but I used 22mm on my gravel stopper and it hasn't moved in 2 years. When knocking the pegs in try to use a heavy head nylon mallet rather than a steel headed hammer as hammers have a tendency to mushroom or split wood. If you manage to do it I'd be interested in seeing some pics of it finished.
How do you intend fixing it to the down runners?

 

[foxhole]

The sleeper alone should be heavy enough not to move, unless adults are using the slide.

 

[conny]

The sleeper alone should be heavy enough not to move, unless adults are using the slide.

I'm a bit of a belt & braces man when it comes to little ones.

 

[foxhole]

I'm a bit of a belt & braces man when it comes to little ones.

Me too, I’m a foster carer, currently with 3 under 5’s.