A good book that will give you tips on how to make great play structures for your kids. Easy to follow instructions. You just neee to find the room and the time to get building.

Could feel overwhelming

This is a book about play structures for children (swings and climbing frames) and adults (ladder golf, a backyard putting green!) but it is not a book to play around with. Sloppy work could endanger your children. Several of the projects here are complex, expensive, and difficult. You or your construction partner will need good skills and a wide range of tools to do them.

The book is comprehensive, covering not only the actual construction of the play structure – design, materials, tools, and safe carpentry – but also how to lay out your play area, level and prepare the soil, terrace a hillside with a retaining wall of blocks or timber, install concrete footings, and improve site drainage whether you are designing and building a unique creation or assembling and installing a kit project like the putting green. You will learn a lot from reading the book, even if you never touch a hammer.

On page 108, the book veers off into a discussion of swimming pool construction. This mostly focuses on the kinds of pools – concrete, fibeglass, vinyl lined, etc., and descriptions of how pool surround decks are built. This is not a how-to discussion, really, and is a bit unmatched to the remainder of the book.

The final section of the book is about building tree houses. The discussion is detailed, suggesting ways to gauge weight of the house and stress on the tree.

The tree house designs, and the earlier Zipline and Tree Swing projects rely on eyebolts running through the wood of the tree for support. I was taught that drilling though like that is terrible for the tree, allowing water and bacteria easy entrance. If it is possible, I would consider other attachment methods. For ziplines and tree swings, chains can be wrapped around the trunk or branches, for example, although these should be carefully padded (and the padding renewed often) to prevent destruction of the bark, which is perhaps even worse for the tree than the eyebolts.

I can't imagine myself building any of these structures, even if I were very handy. I suggest that you borrow the book from a library before buying.

If you have kids, this book will make you want to build them a play structure in your backyard. If you don't have kids at home, you'll want to borrow some and make them a swingset or a mini-golf course anyway. Classic Black and Decker style, with numbered photos of tools and equipment. Includes tips and instructions for kit building and creating your own structure.

Black & Decker Play Structures & Backyard Fun is a new design and how-to guide from Black and Decker aimed at giving DIYers the tools they need to design and execute a play structure for home use.

Released 30th Oct 2018 by Quarto on their Cool Springs imprint, it's 144 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

This is a well organized and logically formatted book with several complete designs included. It does presuppose access to a number of standard power tools as well as a basic familiarity with safety procedures. The book does include a basic chapter on materials and tool safety. The first section covers design and placement as well as some materials introductions and sourcing information. The specific project chapters which come after are divided into play structures, backyard hardscapes (sandboxes, seesaw, zipline, etc), and sports specific projects (including a really nifty skateboard ramp and a horseshoe pit amongst others).

Swimming pools and treehouses are also briefly covered in their own sections.

The book includes abbreviated conversion charts and a resource list as well as a short index. The measurements are imperial and the resources are slanted toward the North American DIYer, though online retailers will make it relatively easy for sourcing materials wherever readers live.

Four stars. Well written, if basic, instructions and designs.

I requested this book because I've had a backyard project in progress for the past 4 years and my kids aren't getting any younger. This book contains projects pretty far above my skill level, although it did inspire me to make a decision to hire this project out instead of trying to DIY. If you have a solid understanding of basic construction and have the time to devote to this type of project, this book has a ton of great ideas. They range from basic to very advanced at a variety of price points. Very inspiring overall.

Great book on making play equipment for the backyard, staring off with the all important safety checklist for both the site, the material used, and the construction. The information on tools required and instructions for both kit and home designs are included and look both easy to follow and sturdy.
Some of the structures are simple and straight forward such as cubby houses and sandpits, other are bigger projects such as skate ramp, tree houses and putting green. There certainly is something for everyone and all levels of skill. I really like the safety information for each project and the photos and designs are really great. A book for all to use.

Very informative read. Let's of very good information for me as a parent of young children this is a great information book

This book is great! My husband and I have been brainstorming fun ideas for our yard for our children and this book definitely had some good ones! I enjoyed how it had how tos on less common projects like obstacle courses and tire swings. There was only one playground how and it would have been nice to see more. But overall, I really enjoyed it!

wow,this is a very impressive book. There is very little in here that i don't want in my garden , but very little i could actually build. ( not the books fault, more my lack of any DIY ability)

Yes this is a DIY book, it is not however a book for anyone to just through up some play equipment with the tools laying around in the garage and an afternoons graft.
If you are serious about building professional quality play structures yourself and will devote the necessary time and attention this is for you. You also wont be disappointed.
This book covers everything, I mean everything. Planning, safety, ground conditions, safe surface materials, building materials and tools ( pretty awesome section) ,
There are incredible play structures in this book and projects vary in difficulty.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Black & Decker Play Structures & Backyard Fun is a great DIY tutorial! This guide has more than the traditional playground blueprints. It has plans for a backyard putting green, zipline, skateboard ramp and obstacle course, as a few examples. It offers useful tips on building materials, tools and safety. The step-by-step plans are accompanied by helpful color photos. Novice to advance DIYers will benefit from it. It is well worth the price.

An assortment of play structures to choose from were offered in a straightforward DIY tutorial. Always good to be reminded, it was nice to see that safety precautions were recommended when working with some tools and equipment. From the foundation on up everything was clearly categorized and shown step-by-step on how to build each of the structures. When followed carefully, the finished projects promise to come out masterfully done. This is an invaluable guide for the home handyman ready and willing to build a home playground.

I send my thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Cool Springs Press for this digital edition in exchange for an unbiased review.