Installation Of Monkey Bars In Your Backyard

Monkey bars are an excellent piece of outdoor equipment for both children and adults. While your children will enjoy swinging across the bars with their buddies, you can also incorporate strength training into your fitness routine. If you want to manufacture your own monkey bars, all you need are a few tools and a little time. While you’ll need to firmly install your monkey bars in backyard to keep them safe, you’ll be able to use and enjoy them for many years!

A) Installing Support Posts

1. Locate a green, level place away from other machinery.

If you set your monkey bars in a grassy area, it won’t hurt as much as if you fell on concrete or solid ground. Check that the space is level so that the vertical posts aren’t crooked; otherwise, the rest of the bars will be difficult to construct. Allow 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 m) between the area and other structures so you’re less likely to collide with something while swinging on the bars.

2. Set a stake in the ground 3 feet 12 ft (0.91 m 3.66 m).

To designate the initial corner of the monkey bars, drive a wooden stake into the ground. Another stake should be placed 3 feet (0.91 m) away, on the short side of the monkey bars with the steps. To indicate the length of the monkey bars, measure 12 feet (3.7 meters) from the first stake and drive the third stake into the earth at that location. To make the last corner, place a final stake 3 feet (0.91 m) away from the third one.

When you’re done, your monkey bars will be 12 feet (3.7 m) long, 7 12 feet (2.3 m) tall, and about 3 feet (0.91 m) broad.

3. At each stake, dig a hole with a post-hole digger.

Push the blades of a post hole digger into the earth while holding the handles together. To remove the dirt, spread the handles apart and pull up.

4. Fill the bottom holes completely.

Because the bottoms of the holes will not be completely level, filling them with gravel will assist create a level surface. Add gravel to the bottom of each hole from your local landscaping store.

5. In the center of each hole, place a 4 in 4 in (10 cm) post.

Get four 10-foot (3.0 m) long exterior poles that have been pressure-treated to survive the elements. Fill the holes with your posts and set them up in the center. To keep them stable during your build, make sure they sit securely without tilting or slanting.

6. Quick-setting concrete should be used to fill the holes.

The posts will be sufficiently stabilized by the concrete so that they do not move while you are utilizing the monkey bars. To fill all of your holes, you’ll need four 50 lb (23 kilograms) bags of concrete. Using a hoe or trowel, mix the concrete with water in a wheelbarrow or large bucket.

7. Immediately after pouring the concrete, level your posts.

Because quick-setting concrete hardens in 20–40 minutes, you’ll need to work rapidly. Place a level on the top of the post to ensure it is not crooked or sloping. If the post isn’t level, gently press it to make it so.

8. Allow four hours for the concrete to cure.

The concrete will feel dry to the touch within an hour, but it will take longer to fully set. Leave the posts alone for at least 4 hours to allow the concrete to firm up and sustain weight without causing the post to shift.

B) Steps and Horizontal Runs Installation

For the steps, measure the distance between the outer edges of two posts.
2 in 4 in (5.1 cm 10.2 cm) boards, cut to the length you just discovered
Place the first steps 12 in (30 cm) from the ground on the poles.
Additional stages should be spaced 12 in (30 cm) apart.
From your boards, cut 2 in (5.1 cm) support pieces.
Attach the supports 6 in (15 cm) from the top of each post.
On top of the supports, place the 2 in 6 in (5.1 cm 15.2 cm) runs.
Outdoor screws are used to secure the runs to the posts.

C) Putting the Bars Together

Purchase monkey bars from an outdoor store or online.
To calculate the spacing, multiply the length of the run by the number of bars plus one.
On the top narrow edges of the runs, mark the locations of the bars.
Perpendicularize the bars by screwing them into the tops of the runs.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates