Thursday, January 14, 2010

Building a wooden swing set.Pros'/Con's of-Carriage bolts vs. Nails..Pressure Treated vs. Kiln Dry wood.HELP..

I am building a wood structure play/swing set. It is a 5 ft. sq. 'fort' that has a slide,ladder,rockwall and canopy.(Normal wood set). It also has the 4x6 beam out sideways that supports 2-3 swings..etc.. held up by A frame at the end.


MY QUESTIONS....


I'm using 4x4 as posts, bottom is 2x8 (sandbox)rest 2x4/2x6..


CALLS FOR 60 5/16';X5'; Carriage bolts (GALV.) ...co-Wrker says I can use 16 d nails(Galv) ?


ANY PRO's/CONS's ON BOLTS vs. NAILS ??...........


ANY PRO's / CON's on pressure treated vs. kiln dryed wood...


sp


I WILL USE P.T.for the Structure/Fort =4x4x8,,and Swing Beam=4x6x10 and A-Frame at end...BUT ..the rest ???


AREA is BALTIMORE..Hot/Humid Summer,Cold Snow?-Winter...using H.Dpt. for wood supply?





ANY HELPS / HINTS/ LEADS WOULD HELP !!!


THANKS..GO O's..Building a wooden swing set.Pros'/Con's of-Carriage bolts vs. Nails..Pressure Treated vs. Kiln Dry wood.HELP..
As stated, NO NAILS, and no matter the species, or pre treatments, all wood outdoors needs re-treating at some reg. intervals. I'd even look at Red Wood, etc. over treated Pine/Spruce. For decking I might even go TREX or another composite





Nails cannot be retightened and just the action of using the structure will cause sway/shift, etc. over time.





The description sounds fine, and no matter who you buy lumber from, I'd hand pick EVERY piece.








Steven Wolf


AKA: The Deck Doc


Just my 2 ';sense';Building a wooden swing set.Pros'/Con's of-Carriage bolts vs. Nails..Pressure Treated vs. Kiln Dry wood.HELP..
Don't use nails.


They ';shimmy'; out , and cause a hazard .


Bolts will last.


I'd use pressure treated with poly urethane finish.
I would use both nails and bolts, depending on the application. For overhead supports that the swing attaches to, use the carriage bolts but you can initially hang the support with a nail. For the sandbox I would use only nails. However, all nails should be twist shank or ring shank to prevent their working out. The carriage bolts should be used wherever you need strength for support and safety. The wood should definitely be treated. Good luck.
for anything that is supporting weight and taking constant abuse you need to use the carriage bolts, they want work free. I would also go with the pressure treated wood. The new treated wood is treated with sodium something (i cant remember the word now for the life of me), Basically it is salt treated, instead of arsenic treated. However the eye protection is still a good idea when cutting it as the salt will burn like crazy if it gets into your eye.
use the carrage bolts and pressure treated lumber


i built a swingset with these in 94 my kid outgrew it . we disassembled it and moved it to my brothers and his kids are still using it the frame has outasted swings that were origonly hunng on it
Bolts allow you to disassemble it and move it to a new location, and are easy to inspect yearly and tighten if required.





Pressure treated is usually green, and contains arsenic. Wear breathing protection when cutting, and I wouldn't want my kids touching it, breathing it after the fact.





I built a kit last year made by ';rainbowplay.com'; Quoting their web page:


---


Cedar, Redwood, and Cunninghamia are also naturally decay resistant, which means they do not have to be treated with possibly toxic chemicals to last for years outdoors.


---





I live near Toronto, Canada, so we get hot humid summers and a couple feet of snow in winter too. Fort is doing well.
Don't use nails, they will work loose.





Stick with the carriage bolts. A little loc-tite should keep them from working loose. And even if they do, simply tighten them up.





Pressure treated wood is more weather resistant.

No comments:

Post a Comment