This is a guest post from STIHL, who are situated in more than 160 countries with products helping people at work and are the world's leading chain saw brand.
If you think back to your finest childhood memories, most of us can say that helping our parents
build something from scratch is way up there on the list. They mostly did the hard work, but our
toy hammers always put on the finishing touches. Now that we are a bit older and hopefully wiser,
we realise how superhuman it was for them to create a tree house with nothing but a bit of wood
and nails. If you’re anything like me, the thought of creating something fun out of a plank seems
like something to put in the too hard box. That’s why we've created these super easy DIY projects.
They’re simple to make and won’t cost you an arm and a leg; and I should also mention that they
guarantee hours of fun.
Tyre See Saw
Why throw out your old tyre when you could make it into a seesaw? To start, grab your old tyre and
cut it in half with a hacksaw. It will require a bit of muscle as the rims are lined with metal. Next step
is to paint the two halves in a colour of your choice; your kids can help you out with this one. While
they are drying, it’s time to make the seat. For this you need a long piece of ply wood that’s wide
enough to cover the tyres when they are side by side. The ply might be too wide for the average
kid’s legs so this is where you need to get crafty and saw a section where they can rest them. The
next part to attach is the handles; make these out of the left over ply and attach them to structural
cleats with an electric screwdriver. Once you've completed this step, give the seat a paint making
sure you coat it with a primer first. The final stage is to connect it all together; for this to happen
you’ll need to screw some wooden blocks into the edges of the tyres so that the seat has a fixing
point. That’s it! It should only take you half the day, but it will mean years of enjoyment for the little
ones.
Slip ‘n’ Slide
This is a favourite for both adults and kids alike; you can make it as steep as you like depending on
how adventurous you are. All you need is painters’ tarp, garden pegs, duct tape, water and liquid
soap. The first thing to do is decide on a location and remove any rocks and twigs that may hurt
when sliding over. Then roll out your tarp, secure it down with garden pegs and cover it with duct
tape so that they don’t rise out of the ground. The final step is to wet the slide with your hose, add
the soap and get into your swimmers.
Sandpit
When we envision building a sandbox, it usually involves putting a permanent wooden fixture into
the ground. But what happens when your child grows out of it? Removing it will be hard work, so
why not try a stone pit? They’re straightforward to put together and even simpler to take apart. The
first step is to excavate the site buy digging a small trench and lining it with the bricks. Then cover
with a weed barrier fabric to prevent the dirt and sand mixing too much. Finally, grab 10 bags of
sand from your local home improvement store and unload it into the pit. Tip: You may want to use a
bug repellent around the sides of the area to discourage ants and bugs.
These projects are a great way to encourage your child’s imagination and creative play. For any
tools you might need, we found that
stihl.com.au is
perfect for the DIYer or fixer upper. Happy building!
