That's rude!

I had opened the door for Jessie to start her descent down the stairs, and I grabbed my phone off the desk upstairs. She had already gone down about 3 steps, and I passed her on the left, because I wanted to be able to catch her if she stumbled.

She looked up at me and said, "That's rude!"

On a lighter note, the church sign across the street from Jessie's daycare has done it again. Its sign reads,

When Good Counsel is Overthrown.
Come and be with us.

At first it didn't strike me as interesting. But I think I'll go. Not many average Americans get to see a coup de etat'.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Hello

Hellooooooooooooo in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Can't wait to see you!!!!!

Jessie's play date with Aunt KK and Karolyne/ 6-19-09

I just loved spending the day with my favorite niece!!!!!  Karolyne and I had so much fun.  We drove around a lot, played baby dolls, Karolyne played dollhouse with Jessie,  went to swim lessons, swam when we got back to our house, and said "OW!" a lot to Kassie for looking at her.  I love you sweet girl! 

Playground: Rubber mulch in place and playground finished!

Today Chad and I moved 5,004 pounds of rubber mulch from the street to our back yard. The ATV's came in very handy for this. We still had to move 139 bags (3.5 pallets) one by one off the ATV's to the play area, by hand. It looks fantastic!

I still have some dirt work to do, but if the playset were ready, I'm ready for it too!

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: Border finished

Today Chad and I finished the playground border. What work! We smoked a drill, so had to buy a new one. Another over-the-budget item.

Anyway, we were even able to re-sod the upper area against the driveway. Not sure if it will survive, but it looks good for now.

The mulch is sitting on 4 pallets in the driveway, so we'll move that tomorrow.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: More border pictures

6/17/09

We worked more on the border today. It is somewhat slow work, since it is so hot and humid these days. Also, there have been thunderstorms. We worked through one shower, as it brought welcome cool breezes.

I did get a call from the freight company today. The rubber mulch will be delivered tomorrow.

I am also having a dump truck load of topsoil delivered sometime this week, but it may be Friday before it gets delivered. I will use it in various places in the yard, but mostly around the play area.

Larry

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: More dirtwork, landscape fabric

I finished the dirt work today. At least what I could do with the Bobcat. It still sits outside my house, as they haven't picked it up yet. I will admit that it was harder than I thought it would be.

My best friend Chad and I got the landscape fabric down over the whole surface pretty easily. We then pulled strings/stakes to give us a straight line as a guide for setting the timbers. It took quite a bit of work to get the bottom layer of timbers done, but the ones on top were easier since the bottom was already level. Drilling holes in these timbers kills batteries on drills, but fortunately, I have two drills with an extra battery for each, so one is always charging.

Of course, this project is like a government project: Overdue and overbudget. But I think it will turn out fine.

I have posted a picture or two of today's work.

Larry

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: Dirt Work

6/14/09

I should be able to post pictures tomorrow. They will be done with my phone, as the wifey is in Yosemite this week with the good camera.

Today I was able to get some work done with the Bobcat. However, it isn't as easy as the pros make it look. I don't think I'll ever be able to get it as level as I had hoped, but I'm giving it the college try.

I have decided to make a fairly significant change. I am moving it outward 30 inches, away from the driveway. I was afraid that taking that much dirt away might affect the driveway's stability. I am going to build a berm, more or less, with one of the playground borders. That means I have now officially added a constructed fourth border, instead of using the driveway as one of the borders. More work, more money, but I think it is for the best. It may even be safer for the kiddos.

Larry

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: Lumber and Materials

6/12/09

Obviously, there are many different ways to go about doing a border. You can even purchase those really nice plastic hinged jobbies. I considered them, but they seem pretty expensive.

After a lot of calculating and wild guessing, I have decided to go with 4" x 6" Yellawood timbers, which are rated for direct ground contact. Surprisingly, landscaping timbers aren't rated for direct ground contact. I figure the heavier, wider timbers will be more stable anyway. I am planning on "pinning" them to the ground with 2' long rebars hammered through them into the ground (pilot holes drilled, of course).

I am also possibly putting the timbers on some flat concrete blocks for height and less direct ground contact. Haven't decided for sure, but it is possible.

I will be lining the whole area with heavy duty landscape fabric to keep out the grass and weeds. I dread working with this stuff, as I have done it before. However, it will be easier because I was working around bushes/small trees before.

So, here's my shopping list for this 26' x 24' area. There will be 2-24' borders and one 26' border. The fourth border will be our driveway, which is about 18 inches tall (maybe less). The 4" x 6" timbers will probably be stacked two high.

(14) 4" x 6" x 12' Yellawood timbers

(1) string level

(25) 2' x 3/8" rebars

(50) 18" concrete blocks (flat)

(1) long 3/8 or 1/4" wood drill bit

(625 sq ft) Weed barrier

( ) Weed barrier staples

 

So far, this is all I know that I'll need. I will have to check and make sure that the rebar won't break down with the "new" preservatives used in the wood. Apparently, it has broken down hardware.

I am also thinking about using corner braces, but that is something I can add later if it seems like it will need it.

Larry

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: Site prep

6/12/09

I will try to take several pictures throughout the process. I have rented a Bobcat skid steer, and I got lucky. They can't deliver it Monday AM (like I requested), so they are delivering it on Saturday!!! Maybe I can get a little done tomorrow, and be ready to lay timbers on Monday. It may rain, however.

The area we are using has a gentle slope to it, but more than what could be tolerated putting a swingset on it. Likely, it would be unsafe, so it would need leveling even if we weren't using border and rubber mulch.

On the following page are two documents that I found handy in planning this playground. It helped me to know what was considered safe distances around swings and slides. Pay particular attention to documents 324 and 325:

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/playpubs.html

Stay tuned for more site prep pictures.

Larry

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: Rubber mulch

6/12/09

This is, by far, the most expensive part of this project. However, I shouldn't have to worry about it anymore either. After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we have decided to go the expensive route and put down rubber mulch in this play area. It is much safer than other surfaces at this depth (4").

I did investigate extensively on where to buy this stuff. Amazingly, nearly everyone was within close range of prices. I ended up buying from internationalmulchcompany.com. I think they are as cheap as anyone, but their customer service is great. I emailed back and forth several times to their Regional Sales Manager Matt Schumacher, and he very quickly had an answer for me. Even when I emailed him that I was ready to buy, he was calling me within 3 minutes. My first several impressions of this company are good.

I am buying about 2.5 pallets of redwood rubber mulch. We did consider their Caribbean Blue mulch, but figured the redwood would be more classy. It will be delivered to the end of our driveway, probably on Tuesday.

Larry

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: Choosing the playset

6/12/09

There are many makers of playsets out there, including some that are made of metal poles. These are fine, but may not meet some neighborhood restrictions. We chose to go with a wooden set made by a local Amish man, because we have inspected his work, and it appears to be of quality design and workmanship. He does use cedar lumber, and even dips each piece in a preservative before building, so that all pieces are covered completely.

Our playset is similar to the one on page 30 of this document:

http://www.rainbowplay.com/index.php/catalog/online/

The platform will be 5'x5', and it will have a cedar shake shingle roof instead of the colorful one (I don't like them). Looking at the swingset from the house, it will be Glider (2 person), Belt swing, Belt Swing, Platform with slide going away from house, Trapeze. The unit itself measures 20' x 13', so I am making the area for it to be 26' x 24'.

The platform will only have one way to get up into it: a wooden ladder. I might consider something else in the future, such as a rock wall (plastic), but we'll cross that bridge later.

Larry

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Playground: My Mission

I was making these posts at Kaboom.org, a site for playground building. I am dissatisfied with how difficult it is to provide a link to my blog, so I will now just post my progress here. There will be several posts on today's date (6/17/09), but I will date them for the dates they were originally entered.
*******************
6/11/09

My mission is much the same as Kaboom's. I believe that play is an essential part of a child's growing up. I have even had the privilege of being part of a team in Honduras building not only houses for orphans, but also a nice playground for them.

My wife and I live in Franklin, Tennessee, which is just south of Nashville. We have a one acre lot, but a fairly small area on that lot to build a play area, because of a large front yard and septic/field lines in the back yard. However, that small area is perfect.

I may be spending more money than absolutely necessary, but I hope ideas and experience are gained for other fathers building playgrounds for their children. I am building my playground for my now 22-month old girl Jessie, and her on-the-way sibling due in October.

Here are my plans:

1. Choose playset from Amish maker near our home (if you live in the area, contact me here and I'll give you directions).

2. Investigate rubber mulch/costs and order.

3. Prep site

4. Get lumber and materials for border

5. Get playset from Amish builder when ready.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

swimming pics

As promised, I was able to take a couple of swimming pics today.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Swimming

Admittedly, I was dreading taking Jessie to the pool for her swimming lesson, but only because I was very involved in a project and had to shower and change clothes for a 10 minute lesson.

I am happy now that I got the chance. It was incredible seeing what Jessie was doing. She was kicking her legs and going under water, and reaching the side of the pool or the steps...Simply amazing! I was in such awe that I forgot to take any pictures with my phone. I will be taking her again tomorrow, so I'll try and snap some.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

update

Just wanted to put in an update that all is well. The 20 week ultrasound was good; baby was estimated at 12 ounces at that time. Holly thinks she is getting bigger with this one than with Jessie. That, of course, is a question that I avoid answering. I'd lose no matter what! Ha!

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Another balloon shot

Hot air balloon!!

As Jessie and I drove up to the house, arriving from church, I saw a beautiful hot air balloon. It was only directly behind our house for about 30 seconds, so I had to get these shots quickly! It was soooo cool! The balloon was the same company as the one we rode in, but I don't think it was the same balloon.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough