I was watching my kids power down our little hill out back on their Tonka trucks one day and got a bright idea. Why not build a huge water slide? We have had a few of those store bought slip and slides in the past but they would only last a week if that. I wanted something an adult could play on.
So here is what I came up with, and maybe you want to make one too!
First you find your hill of choice. Make sure you have enough running room at the top so you can get up to speed to slide. And think of where you are going to land, make sure it is safe at the bottom.
Next use some sort of material to make sides. I used wood chips because that is what I had an excess of at the time. you could use sand, soft dirt, or dig a trench wide enough to slide through. Keep the middle of the run free of large rocks and sticks.
You are going to need some old carpet remnants or rugs. I got all this for free through my local Craigs List. People are more than happy to give away old carpet. And it can be old and ratty, it doesn't matter because you are going to cover it up.
Lay all the carpet down the run, the more the better because this is your padding. This carpet also helps to keep the form of the run by holding everything in place.
Now get out your HUGE roll of black construction plastic. It is a little pricey but you are going to need to get the large wide roll. Roll this plastic down the slide run and secure it on the sides with landscape staples or pegs.
The top of the run is a little tricky. You are going to need to keep the plastic from sliding down and you can't use anything that you can trip over. We rolled the top of the plastic in a 4x4 post and stapled it on securely. We then buried the post at ground level. We even added some low posts at the top so the 4x4 doesn't dislodge. Now you can't trip over the top and the plastic doesn't slide down.
Now you have the think about water. You could run a little sprinkler at the top or simply have a hose on low trickling down. The possibilities are endless. One word of warning: the black plastic can get very hot if there isn't enough water running or you are the first one to slide down the run. Don't let kids slide alone. THIS CAN BE DANGEROUS! We had someone almost break an arm on this thing last year!
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| My son is using a blow up pool matress to slide down here. |
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| Using varrious blow up toys will make the slide more fun! |
Add a little dish soap to your water once in awhile to cut down on the friction.