I built a platform swing!

When I first decided I was going to convert our garage into a play room/therapy room for my private OT practice, I knew for sure that I wanted a platform swing. Well if you have ever looked to purchase a platform swing, they are not actually easy to find and very expensive.

So I put on my thinking cap and searched YouTube. I did find one tutorial that was fairly helpful, but made my own modifications to give it the personal touch that I wanted. This was a really fun project and I LOVE this platform swing and so do the kids I work with, including my own crazy kids that love to put on their helmets and make it swing big arcs. Here are a few pics of the platform swing in action! See my step by step instructions below on how to build your own platform swing for your clinic.

How to build a platform swing

By Ashley Reina, BSc. OT – Instructions adapted from the following Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCIuwKbJVAY

Tools Required

Jigsaw
Drill
¾ inch drill bit
Power sander
Heavy duty stapler
Circular saw
Bowl
Utility knife

Materials Required:

7/8 inch plywood (3.5’x2′)
½ inch braided rope
Piece of carpet 2-4 inch radius bigger than your plywood
4 washers – ½ inch hole
Carpet tape
Staples
Pen

Step One:

Cut your 7/8 plywood to size my swing is 3.5’x2′ feet. (or 4×3 or 2×2).
You can usually find smaller pieces at your local hardware store rather than buying a whole sheet of plywood.
I had the gentleman at home depot cut the plywood for me down to 3.5’x2′.

Step Two:

Round the corners to eliminate sharp edges
Use a bowl, pen and jigsaw to make the marks and cut.

Step Three:

Mark and drill the hole for the rope.
Set the hole at 2 inches from the edge. Which gives you safe margins from the edge and enough sitting space between the ropes.
Use a 3/4 inch drill bit for the hole.

Step Four:

Sand the underside of the platform and around the drill holes, for a smooth under finish to avoid splinters.

Step Five:

Measure and cut your piece of carpet.
(I had some left over from our house reno, alternatively any carpet store will sell leftover pieces by the meter).

Step Six:

Secure the carpet to the plywood.
First, I secured the carpet with double sided carpet tape to the plywood,
Next, while kneeling on top the wood, tightly fold the carpet around the edge of the board and staple it down about every ½ inch.
Then, remove excess carpet with the utility knife.
At the corner you will have to make 2 v cuts to remove the excess carpet and tightly secure the carpet around the corner.
Continue around all 4 edges of the board. This is the most time consuming part of the project.

Step Seven:

With applying the carpet you have now covered the holes for the rope on the top side.
Use a sharp pointed object to poke from the bottom to the top to locate the hole.
Next, use the utility knife to press through the carpet in an X to create the hole to put the rope through.

Step Eight:

Cut the rope into two equal lengths about 10ft long, (this will very depending on your ceiling height and were you will be hanging the swing from).
Fish the rope from the top side to the bottom side.
Feed the washer onto the rope on the underside and tie a knot.
Wrap tape around the end of the rope to prevent it from fraying.

Step Nine:

Pulling the rope straight up to find the mid-point and tie a knot.

Step Ten:

I noticed a slight bow in my swing, so I added a 1’x4′ support to the base.

Step Eleven:

Be certain you are putting the bolt into a secure beam. This bolt is going into a reinforced beam in the ceiling that we placed specifically for the purpose of hanging a swing during the renovation of this room.
Because I have multiple swings hung, we placed 3 bolts like this to accommodate the different swing styles and sizes.
Next, attach a daisy chain, using a climbing grade carabiner. I love the fabric daisy chain compared to a metal chain as it makes less noise.