Product Description

Build a Kids' Play Yard is a complete guide to building a wide range of outdoor play structures, including a central tower to which a swing set and monkey bar can be attached in various configurations or built as stand-alones.In addition, there are various sandboxes, a playhouse, a teeter-totter, a ground-hugging balance beam, and even a kids'-size picnic table.Beginning with chapters on planning, tools, materials, and construction and finishing, the book then presents the projects themselves in lucid presentations that have become Creative Homeowner hallmarks.All projects were designed to conform with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines.For any parent considering play yard equipment, this book is an essential guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #488295 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

A good book, but...
...it only has one design for each component. We were hoping for a book that had several designs in it (at least for a play yard). The play yard plan included is the one you see on the front of the book. It also includes one plan each for a playhouse, covered sandbox, balance beam, picnic table, and teeter-totter. The book is still VERY helpful on tools needed, wood to choose and other basics, but the materials lists and such won't work if you aren't going to build exactly what's in the book.

Good How-to for Beginner Backyard Builders
We were originally interested in this book for an easy, sturdy way to build a seesaw, but the plans for a complete gym set and surrounding equipment were easy to follow, also. The materials list and cutting guides are excellent and we had little to no waste. There were plenty of illustrations and our projects came out super! More advanced builders might find the simplicity tedious and the projects limited, but for a beginner trying to save a few bucks by doing-it-yourself, it was great.

Good in some aspects, but lacking in others.
If you are looking for a book which features plans for multiple types of play yards, then this is not the book for you. The book does have some redeming features, however. The first couple of chapters discuss basics such as useful tools, pros and cons of different materials, and standard safety practices. It was these first few chapters which I found very useful as I began to design a play yard for my children. The rest of the book describes how to build the play yard featured on the book's cover. If you're looking for a solid, fun play yard and don't have creative aspirations of your own, then the featured play yard is, indeed, very functioanl and fun. If, however, you're looking for many different styles and ideas to incorporate into your own design, then look elsewhere. Overall, the book was a good starting point to learn more about what goes into a play yard.