DIY tire tower for the backyard

We add something new to our backyard playground every summer, and it’s fun to see how our additions evolve as our kids get older.

The wooden seesaw we built for them when they were preschoolers still gets a lot of use …

… but now they’re more interested in scaling the roof of the treehouse (yikes!) or daring each other to leap from the top of the monkey bars.

I knew this summer’s new addition had to reflect the fact that they’re now seven and nine years old — and very adventurous — so the answer was obvious: something high and challenging. A DIY tire tower!

We had four old winter tires taking up space below the deck, so we were off and running. We still needed to buy the rest of the supplies — three 4x4x10 posts, two 2x8x10 boards, three ground spikes, four heavy-duty metal brackets, 12 three-inch lag bolts with washers and about 20 three-inch wood screws — which ran us about $170.

Not bad for a brand-new (and huge) piece of playground equipment, though.

Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …

… or pin this idea and come back to read the instructions later!