Customer Reviews

The Backyard Playground: Recreational Landscapes & Play Structures

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In an unusual departure from books of this type the first thirteen pages discuss what children like to do, the type of play different ages are interested in, and how to match an appropriate play area to the child. With that foundation firmly laid, "The Backyard Playground: Recreational Landscapes & Play Structures" then proceeds Landscaping for Playgrounds, Large Play Projects, and Small Play Projects. For each project there are multiple illustrations, materials lists, tools lists, and detailed step-by-step instructions to walk you through the entire project. No steps are left out of the project. I have seen several books that detail how to build a swing set but never discuss the appropriate ground coverings or how to correctly anchor it into the ground so it is safe. "The Backyard Playground" makes no assumptions that you would already know things like this. This text assumes that you are starting with bare ground and covers all the steps to build your project from scratch. The illustrations are so well done that anyone can easily follow along and create a playground area rivaling the best commercial projects. "The Backyard Playground" is a highly recommended book for anyone wanting to build their own children's play area and the only one I have ever reviewed that I would feel comfortable recommending to the novice handyman.

The main problem with this book lies in the fact that there are a lot of pictures for things they do not have instructions for. Anyone who has children will see the problem in this right away...your children are inevitably going to want you to build the things there are no instructions for. If you are a first time builder, this will not be something you can do.

Aside from that, the instructions they do have seem thorough and easy to follow.

If you know what you are doing this will probably be a good book for ideas, but if you are a first timer like myself, keep the book away from your kids or you'll find yourself in a bad spot. haha.

This book has a good opening with the kinds of play a child wants and how to match play areas to them. The woodworking instructions are clearer than "Playhouses You Can Build: Indoor and Backyard Designs," (Stiles, David R) and the color pictures more inspiring but there are fewer projects. Black & Decker does a nice job of showing how to anchor play structures and provide a safe surface (mulch, pea gravel, shredded tires).

You get some playhouses, a tree house, a swing set, porch swing, child-size picnic table, planters, a bird house that is the perfect beginner wood project, a sandbox, a balance beam (way fun!) and a portable putting green that will inspire you to make a mini-golf course.

Although this book wasn't exactly what I was looking for, if we were building a playground it would be perfect. We already have a built play structure but there are some ideas I can use.