Facilities for fun and entertainment not only allow you to spend time outdoors with comfort and pleasure, they are also part of the landscape design. Together with gazebos and benches they decorate the dacha and house area. A self-made swing allows owners of private country houses and dachas to relax, calm down, and dream while sitting on a swinging bench; moreover, homemade structures are the pride of their owner, an object that can be boasted to acquaintances and friends.
There are many types of products that are used by both children and adults. Self-made models can have a simple mechanism in the form of a seat that is suspended on a crossbar, or have a complex structure, for example, collective-type options. During the work process, you can use any available materials left over after construction and repair activities. Such furniture is installed under the roof, in the shade of trees, on the lawn, or on a specially prepared area.
Features of a homemade swing
Arrangement of the territory, the correct choice and appropriate design of recreation areas is one of the important tasks facing the owner of a local area. When decorating your property with flower beds, gazebos, and artificial ponds, you should not neglect such an item as a swing. This is one of the few furnishing options with which you can complement the landscape and enjoy a comfortable and cozy stay in the fresh air.
When choosing ready-made purchased designs, it is not always possible to find and select models that satisfy all requests and are suitable in design style for a specific situation. In this case, the best option would be to make it yourself, because a homemade swing has the following features:
- Price. Hand-made copies will cost an order of magnitude cheaper than purchased analogues, and you can use any available material for the work.
- Originality. Such furniture, made in-house, will be exclusive, stand out, and become a source of pride.
- Quality. Everyone decides for themselves how good the product will be.
- Model selection. At the design stage, you can independently determine the type of swing, for whom it is intended, whether only children or all family members will use it. The design will be a suspended seat or an entire sofa installed under a canopy with an adjustable backrest.
- Choice of material. You can make a swing from different types of wood, metal, rubber, plastic, combine raw materials, give a second life to old things.
- Experience. When constructing structures, a person gains experience, which can later be used to build other buildings.
Which swing should you choose for your home?
Manufacturers produce models with different types of configurations, designs and sizes, focusing on a certain age of children (from 6 months and older).
Floor swings for home
Floor structures - swings designed for children over one year old. The devices are easy to use, easy to move to different places and fold up, and do not require fixing to the wall or ceiling. The disadvantage of floor-mounted children's swings for the home is considered to be massiveness, large dimensions and weight.
There are a wide variety of options for flooring products.
Children's swings can be equipped with:
- musical accompaniment;
- game panels;
- funny lighting effects;
- table with seat;
- sides.
Home floor models have increased reliability - children's swings are made of stainless metal or high-strength plastic. There are electronic, mechanical, transforming models, as well as an option - a rocking chair.
What types of swings are there?
Before starting construction, it is necessary to assess the place where the product will be installed, consider its purpose, and determine the seasonality of use. It is also important to choose a design that will not spoil the overall appearance of the site and will decorate the landscape.
Swings can be classified based on different parameters:
- Depending on the installation method, they can be stationary or collapsible.
- Swing vertically or horizontally. In the first case, it is a swing balancer, in the form of a crossbar mounted on a support, which is located in the middle. In the second, these are hanging options.
- By age category, all products are divided into children's and adults.
- By number of seats - single, double, multi-seat.
- By type of construction – frame, frameless structures. In the first option, tree branches can play the role of load-bearing support. The latter are distinguished by a more complex device, where the crossbar is placed on reliable supports, and the seat is supported by metal rods or chains.
- Depending on the presence of a canopy, there are open and closed options.
- There are no restrictions on form at all. Both the frame and the seat have a wide variety of appearances, may include forged elements, and have an original, unique design. Represent hammocks, sofas, soft chairs, sun loungers, look like boats, rockets, imitate animals and birds.
Features of swings for newborns
The swing is a combination of a seat/chaise lounge and a durable base made of metal and plastic. On sale you can find products with three types of bases:
- two stable legs in the form of inverted letters U, between which the seat is installed. The most popular design that allows you to swing your child back and forth, like on a regular swing;
- L-shaped base on which the seat is suspended. There is only one attachment point for the seat, thanks to which the swing can swing not only back and forth, but also left and right and even in a circle;
- a base similar in shape to a ring or the letter O. The seat is mounted on top of a stand in which the electronic unit is built. Such models do not provide for manual swinging, only automatic movement along the trajectories laid down in the device program.
All modern swings for newborns are equipped with an electronic unit, which not only performs the swing function, but can also be equipped with additional options: vibration, play arc, timer, remote control, motion sensor and other functionality of varying degrees of importance and need.
Material for production
Standard structures are made of wood or metal, as well as a combination of these materials. Plastic is also used for seats. However, at home, when constructing a product yourself, there are practically no restrictions in the choice of raw materials; anything that can be found on your site will do, be it metal pipes, old sofas or car tires. Let's take a closer look at the main components used in the work process:
- Rope. Allows you to build a rope version in the form of a “bungee”. The most basic way to create a makeshift play structure for swinging is to just tie a long rope to a tree branch or crossbar, and attach a wooden seat or log to it from below, which you can grab with your hands.
- Tree. Classic building material. With its help, you can make a design of any shape and complexity. At the same time, wood is easy to work with, which allows even an inexperienced beginner to create a beautiful swing that will fit into any garden.
- Metal. To work with this material you will need welding skills. The resulting structures are strong and durable. From the raw materials you can make both ordinary welded and elegant forged structures for the street. The only drawback of corrugated pipes is their susceptibility to oxidation, so the metal surface must be treated with special coatings.
- Plastic. The material is used mainly for seats that can support the light weight of a child. To build a simple structure, just make holes in the plastic seat and attach it to a rope suspended on a branch or crossbar. Can be combined with other materials.
Despite all its strength, wood does not tolerate precipitation and temperature changes well, therefore, in order to extend the life of the product, it is necessary to treat the wood with special impregnations, varnishes, and paints.
DIY hanging swing
It is good to install such models in a gazebo or under a canopy, on a patio or terrace, under the canopy of trees or in an open area. The design can be made from different materials; for convenience, the seat is additionally equipped with a backrest and armrests. Such furniture is attached to a crossbar, a branch, or to the ceiling of a structure using metal rods or chains, long ropes or ropes. For clarity, let’s look at a few examples of what and how you can build a swing yourself.
Tire swing
The elastic shell, installed on the rim of the disk, is used as a material for many crafts and structures erected in the local area. This is an excellent component from which you can build such an exciting attraction as a swing. You can do this in several ways:
- Vertical position. It is enough to tie a solid tire with a rope and hang it on a crossbar or branch.
- Horizontal. To do this, you need to lay the tire flat and drill 3-4 holes symmetrical relative to the center on the side surface. Pass the ropes through them; in the case of 4 holes, you can insert the rope fasteners into one of them and remove the rope fasteners from the other; with 3, fix the ends of the rope inside the rubber sheath using strong knots. You can also use a metal chain with hooks that are attached to the tire using washers and nuts.
- From cut tires. The shell is cut according to a specific pattern. Basically, the inside of the tread serves as a seat. You can make a variety of options, it all depends on the chosen scheme.
Swing made of boards
The classic model is a board suspended on a branch or crossbar with four holes along the edges through which a rope or rope is threaded. Instead of boards, you can give new life to old chairs, wooden gratings, and rounded logs.
Interesting options are obtained from wooden pallets, which are often left over after construction work. Making an original swing out of them will not be difficult for anyone. It is enough to treat the surface with sandpaper, remove splinters, and make it smooth. Then the pallet is coated with impregnations and varnishes and painted. After drying, two long ropes are threaded under the upper tier of the structure on both sides, the free ends of which are tied into a common knot. All that remains is to hang the product on the crossbar and attach it to the ceiling. For comfort, you can add a backrest and install soft seats.
For work, you can use an old skateboard or snowboard. These boards are durable and can serve as an excellent seat. In this case, they do not need to be cleaned or processed; it is enough to make 4 holes along the edges and fix them on the support. In the same way, you can use logs that need to be tied into a single plane.
Swing from a hoop or hula hoop
From an old metal or aluminum hoop you can build an excellent structure designed for comfortable relaxation. You can do this in several ways:
Let's look at a simple master class, using the example of how to make an unusual hammock from a hula hoop.
- We place the hula hoop on a piece of fabric, cut out two solid circles from it, the diameter of which is 30 cm larger than the rim used. For work we use only thick fabric, it is better to use denim, quilted fabric, burlap.
- We sew a zipper into one of the circle-cut pieces of fabric. To do this, you need to cut the fabric in the middle, not reaching the edges. Make the length of the cut, like the zipper, equal to the diameter of the hoop with a margin of 1 cm.
- Next, using a sewing machine, we sew together the two resulting segments; to do this, we fold them right side together.
- Turning the cover right side out, we make 4 holes in it.
- It is also necessary to drill holes in the hula hoop.
- To make the design more convenient, we cover the rim with padding polyester and place it inside the case.
- To hang the product you will need 4 pieces of rope of different lengths, one pair should be 50-60 cm longer than the other.
- We thread the ropes through the holes made, tighten them on the hoop, and each pair of different lengths should be on different sides.
- All that remains is to attach the structure to a branch or ceiling.
Attraction "web" from a hoop step by step:
- We strengthen the welding area of the hoop using metal plates or wire.
- Divide the circle into 8 equal parts and make marks with a marker. For better fixation of the rope, it is necessary to drill 8 symmetrical holes in the cavity.
- We cut 8 pieces of rope, the length of which is equal to two diameters of the circle with a small margin; you must use a strong cord 4-5 mm thick.
- We fold the rope in half, insert it into the holes on both sides, pull it tight, make knots, or, if there are no holes, make a loop on one side and a knot on the other. The sagging of the rope can reach 5 cm.
- Next, we attach the next cable perpendicular to the stretched rope, intertwining it with the first one in the middle crosswise.
- In the same way we start and fix the remaining six segments.
- If there are no holes, use a needle and thread to sew all the fastening points, as well as the middle.
- We fix 4 carabiners to the hoop, installing them symmetrically relative to the center, in the places where the ropes are attached.
- We cover the hoop with padding polyester and make a fabric blanket along the contour.
- Let's start with the longest activity - weaving a web. We start work from the center, make the distance between the rings 4-5 cm, intertwining each rope with each other, hemming the joints with threads.
- Once the structure is ready, all that remains is to choose a place to place it.
Canvas swing
To make a structure from such material, you will need a chain, two metal triangles, and a piece of thick tarpaulin. To begin, cut out a strip of the required shape from thick canvas. We put both ends of the fabric into metal triangles and bend them down, connecting them to the main part of the fabric. Next, using rivets, we connect each edge to the plane of the fabric. Instead of rivets, you can use regular bolts and nuts. You can also use this material to build more complex structures in the form of hammocks, cover metal frames with it, and use it as a canopy.
Due to the fact that the canvas is impregnated with fireproof, waterproof, and anti-rotting impregnations, the raw material is perfect as a base or an additional component of outdoor structures.
Wooden swing on support posts
The best material for making durable swings is wooden beams. Square lumber ensures simple assembly of the structure, easy fitting of parts, and connection of corners. This favorite garden element of landscape designers is happily used by children and adults. You can make such a swing yourself in any size and shape.
Deciding on sizes and proportions
The construction of a wooden swing should begin with drawing up a project or drawing. It is important to take into account their purpose and the number of family members. They can have different types of designs. The following homemade options are popular:
- Family. They are distinguished by their large capacity, 4-5 people can easily fit. A wide bench made of long boards. The structure can be supplemented with a canopy;
- Children's. A simple swing can have various modifications. They mainly consist of a support, a seat and fasteners. Particular attention should be paid to safety - make a comfortable backrest, side partitions, provide belts to securely secure the child;
- Portable. Lightweight, small swings are assembled according to a special design. Folding elements can be quickly dismantled, moved, transported to any point.
Location and fastening of racks to the ground
Stationary structures must be securely fixed in the ground so that they do not turn over during the movement of chains or metal rods. In the selected area, mark a place for the racks and dig holes. We fill the bottom of each hole with sand to protect the structure from distortions and subsidence. The layer must be at least 10 cm.
Before placing the supports in the recesses, their lower part should be treated with bitumen mastic or wrapped with roofing felt. In the pit they must be in a strictly horizontal position. Fill them with cement mortar. While the mixture has not dried, the position of the racks can be adjusted. Further work can be carried out after at least 10 days.
Methods of fastening the crossbar
The wooden crossbar to which the bench or seat is attached can be fixed in several ways. If the swing is in a prominent place in the yard, then it is better to use options that are aesthetically pleasing. They are complex in execution, but will give the street structure a special, presentable look. You can securely fasten the crossbar as follows:
- To an overhead beam attached below the intersection of two supports;
- Lay the supporting beam between the crossed side posts;
- Half-tree fastening. Special cuts are created at the joints.
Seat design
The seat of a wooden swing should also be made of wood. This is one of the simplest, most convenient materials. It is easy to process and provides full scope for imagination. From it you can create a real carved work of art.
You can make a simple design from two frames - one part is for the seat, the other for the back. We make stiffening ribs in them and connect them together using corners and self-tapping screws. According to the instructions, we screw special bolts into the front seat beam and the upper part of the backrest. This seat can be used for an outdoor structure or in an apartment.
Choosing the attachment of the seat to the crossbar: rope or chain
To make a choice between synthetic, natural rope and metal, you need to decide on the seasonality of use of the item in question and its reliability. Metal structures are significantly different in their strength; moreover, they are durable and can withstand frost well. For bulky structures that can accommodate several people at the same time, it is better to use a metal chain; besides, the swing stops slower.
Rope is much cheaper than metal, it is more pleasant to the touch, but it can fray, so it requires periodic revision and visual inspection of its condition. In addition, this swing material is less durable. This is an excellent option for hanging simple single-place products, hammocks.
Other types
You can also make a swing from metal materials, but to do this you need to enlist the help of an experienced welder who knows how the metal will behave in the future. It is necessary to discuss with him exactly what materials are needed so that the structure is durable and lasts a long time.
Among other things, you can also build an outdoor swing at your summer cottage, where the main material will be a rope or chain and a couple of boards.
First, make a seat out of wood, then you need to attach a rope or chain to the seat, and tie the other ends of the rope to a strong tree branch.
You can assemble a hanging children's swing, but it will take a little more time and materials to ensure maximum safety for the child.
Metal swing on support posts
Before starting work, you need to decide on the type of product, whether it will be portable or stationary, equipped with a polycarbonate canopy, stretched awning, designed for a child or an adult. For clarity, consider a master class on the construction of a stationary structure:
- We take a profile pipe 40x40 mm or 50x50 mm, using a grinder we cut 4 identical sections of 2.5 m long, and another 2 of 1 m each. For the crossbar you will need a round pipe with a diameter of 30 mm and a length of 2 m.
- On the one hand, on all 4 long profiles used as side posts, we cut the edges at an angle of 30°, after which we weld the pipes in pairs at the cut points, resulting in two isosceles triangles.
- To strengthen the structure, approximately at a level of 2 m from the top, we apply short sections, determine at what angle it is necessary to cut both edges of each pipe so that they fit tightly to the structure and form a single plane with it. Having cut the edges, we weld the horizontal jumpers.
- We weld a round crossbar to the tops of the racks, which are shaped like the letter A.
- We form the seat frame. To do this, cut 5 pieces of 1.5 m in length from a round pipe with a diameter of 20 mm, and another 6 of 0.5 m each. We weld the seat into a single structure, for this we lay out three long pipes so that the distance between the two extreme ones is 0.5 m, On top of them we lay three smaller pieces, two in the corners, one in the middle. In the same way we form the back, with the only difference, without one long crossbar on one side. We connect the two parts together at the required angle. On each side we weld two special eye nuts that will be used to fasten the metal chain.
- We cover the frame with wooden slats 30x30, 20x40, 30x60 mm, 1.5 m long, connecting the bars to the metal using bolts and nuts.
- Stepping back 25 cm from each edge, we drill holes in the crossbar into which the eye bolts will be placed.
- Using carabiners, we hang the seat on a metal chain.
- Next we install the swing. To do this, in the place where the structure will be installed, we dig 4 holes 40 cm deep, and fill the bottom of the hole with a sand cushion up to 10 cm.
- Mix the concrete solution.
- We install the swings with risers in the holes, strengthen each iron pipe in the hole with stones, and pour concrete.
- After the solution has dried, the product can be used.