Build Your Own Water Park
RULE THE BACKYARD PART 3
Build Your Own Water Park
Leave the overpriced kit at the store—building a slide is easy. Ken Denmead, the author of Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share, shows you how.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED Heavy plastic (6'× 25'), 8 pool noodles (each 4' to 5' long), 1 roll of sticky-back Velcro (¾"×15'), scissors, hose (50') with sprinkler attachment, 3 wire loop stakes (each ½" to "), 1 bottle of baby wash (15 oz), rope (½" diameter and 8' to 10' long)
Pick Your Spot
Use Your Noodles
Fortify the Walls
Bypass the steep hills—you want a rush, not a wreck. Look for a gentle, grassy slope within hose length of your house. (Hint: Skip mowing the week before.) Leave at least a 5' clearance on all sides—that way you’ll prevent painful wipeouts.
Assemble the underside of the slide first. Unroll the plastic and arrange your pool noodles in a line along each long side. Keep a few inches between each noodle end and position them just a few inches from the tarp edge, like lane markers.
Pull the plastic up and over the noodles, and place 2" Velcro strips at 6" intervals to keep the noodle casing in place. Roll each noodle over about a quarter turn more to secure the side walls. Flip the slide over completely. Now you have guardrails.
Make It Rain
Lube the Runway
Rinse and Repeat
Place your sprinkler a few feet from the side of the slide, about halfway down, and adjust the settings so the spray will hit the entire length of the plastic. Secure the hose with loop stakes so no one trips over it. Turn it on and soak the splash zone.
For a faster ride, dribble a line of baby wash down the middle of the slide. This will make the chute more slippery. Another idea for super speed: Have one kid hold the rope while another kid runs alongside the slide, towing the slider along.
When you are finished, hang the hose on a nearby tree or fence to create an outdoor shower for rinsing off. Then don’t clean up. Seriously. Do. Not. Bother. Leave the rest of the work for the morning. Plastic rolls up more easily when it’s dry.
MH0614_HTDEBetterV2_layout [P].indd 84
4/14/14 6:28 PM
Build Your Own Water Park
Leave the overpriced kit at the store—building a slide is easy. Ken Denmead, the author of Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share, shows you how.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED Heavy plastic (6'× 25'), 8 pool noodles (each 4' to 5' long), 1 roll of sticky-back Velcro (¾"×15'), scissors, hose (50') with sprinkler attachment, 3 wire loop stakes (each ½" to "), 1 bottle of baby wash (15 oz), rope (½" diameter and 8' to 10' long)
Pick Your Spot
Use Your Noodles
Fortify the Walls
Bypass the steep hills—you want a rush, not a wreck. Look for a gentle, grassy slope within hose length of your house. (Hint: Skip mowing the week before.) Leave at least a 5' clearance on all sides—that way you’ll prevent painful wipeouts.
Assemble the underside of the slide first. Unroll the plastic and arrange your pool noodles in a line along each long side. Keep a few inches between each noodle end and position them just a few inches from the tarp edge, like lane markers.
Pull the plastic up and over the noodles, and place 2" Velcro strips at 6" intervals to keep the noodle casing in place. Roll each noodle over about a quarter turn more to secure the side walls. Flip the slide over completely. Now you have guardrails.
Make It Rain
Lube the Runway
Rinse and Repeat
Place your sprinkler a few feet from the side of the slide, about halfway down, and adjust the settings so the spray will hit the entire length of the plastic. Secure the hose with loop stakes so no one trips over it. Turn it on and soak the splash zone.
For a faster ride, dribble a line of baby wash down the middle of the slide. This will make the chute more slippery. Another idea for super speed: Have one kid hold the rope while another kid runs alongside the slide, towing the slider along.
When you are finished, hang the hose on a nearby tree or fence to create an outdoor shower for rinsing off. Then don’t clean up. Seriously. Do. Not. Bother. Leave the rest of the work for the morning. Plastic rolls up more easily when it’s dry.
MH0614_HTDEBetterV2_layout [P].indd 84
4/14/14 6:28 PM
