How to build a wood playset: free DIY playset plans

We built this wood playset for our kids and their friends and now are sharing how we designed and built it and offering free DIY playset plans! Here’s what you need to know about how to build a wood playset in your backyard.

Theresa designed the wood structure so that it is modular, uses standard sized wood, and it maxes out on the play areas and toy storage.

There are two towers. One tower is designed for either imaginative play or storage. The larger tower is a space large enough to play house, chef, or many other kinds of games that involve walk-up service windows. It’s also a fun clubhouse, too.

Ladder leads to the second floor. Kids can climb up, cross the bridge over the swings, and then ring the bell before sliding down the tubular slide. And then start all over again.

It has space for two swings, a slide, two towers that contain space big enough to play inside or store all of their outdoor toys.

There’s a bridge between the two towers, which have ended up being a perfect spot for epic Nerf battles and to test out throwing and dropping skills of various toys. Above the hole for the tubular slide, Theresa added a bell so that kids can ring it before entering. This helps let the kids at the bottom of the slide know when someone is coming down, and fast.

We built the playset using southern yellow pine, and we stained it so that it matches the color of our cedar pergola on the other side of the backyard.

We loved the playset so much, we gave away the same playset to one lucky fan. We pre-cut all of the pieces and then delivered it to the family’s home.

Since then, we have been excited to receive so many notes from DIYers who have built the playset for their families, after they downloaded the plans and watched the 3-part video series. It’s fun to know that our backyard is twinning with others around the country.

Here are the free DIY playset plans. If you have any questions about how to build a playset like this one, please drop us a note. We are happy to help.

downloadDOWNLOAD
PLANS
downloadDOWNLOAD
MATERIALS

We created the 3-part how-to video series on how to build a wood playset to make it easier to see how we built it. The videos are below. And you can download the project plans and the materials list to build a wood playset for your family for free.

We’d love to know how you’d design a playset for your family.

Intro to the project video

Part 1 of How to Build this Playset

Part 2 of How to Build this Playset

Part 3 of How to Build this Playset


About the Author

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MyFixitUpLife
MyFixitUpLife is Mark & Theresa’s honest and personal guide about home improvement. Their goal is to share the tips, techniques, and trends that help you make smart decisions about updating and personalizing your home.

Comments (11)

Hi , just curious what you spent on materials . My math may be completely wrong but does this cost close to $5k or more in materials ?

[…] Plus we’re announcing the winner of the Real Wood, Real Fun Play Structure! […]

[…] For the complete project plans, materials list, and parts 1 and 2 of the video series, click here. […]

[…] But if finish work isn’t your thing, don’t worry: I used it for scraping away dirt and rocks from the base of our playset. […]

[…] if you watch our play-set videos or check out any of our articles, you might notice that cordless impact drivers are a go-to tool […]

[…] mower functions and why they’re fast. It’s also why this unit is nice for wiggling around the playset, following a serpentine sidewalk and mowing smaller islands of grass without swapping out for a […]

[…] Click here for videos, plans, and a materials list for the Real Wood, Real Fun playset. […]

[…] treated southern pine lumber package, playset accessories, and the necessary hardware. Plus, plans and how-to video on how Mark & Theresa have constructed the playset for their family will be […]

Richard — You got the mother lode here. Please let me know if I can help in any other way.

We are planning on building this playset for the kids at our church. Are there more detailed plans than those I downloaded from your site?

[…] just wanted to thank you and share the following photos with you of the backyard playset that you were kind enough to share on your […]

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