I have a large wooden playset I recently assembled in my back yard. I am realizing the need for some long grab bars in places where kids embark/debark from the playset (top of the ladder, end of the monkeybars, etc).
I figured Home depot or the like would have something usable, but all they have in the size I am looking for (24 inches) is shower grab bars for people 500lbs, running about $20 per bar. Since I want to install a lot of this stuff without bankrupting myself, I am looking for other options. They don’t need to be super pretty, just hold 30 - 70lb kids climbing up a wooden playset.
I have considered using galvanized pipe (for gas line, etc) and fittings, but that gets me pretty close to the same price because I have to buy 3 pieces of pipe and 4 fittings per bar. I don’t know if PVC would work, but I have yet to find a flange that could be screwed to the playset that looks like it would work with PVC.
Any other tips?
Don’t use PVC. I wouldn’t trust it when playful kids are around.
Go back to Home Depot and look for wooden stair handrails. They’re easy to cut to length, will have all the hardware you need and shouldn’t be as expensive at the steel pipe.
I’ve got to admit that if it was me, I’d go for the steel. Mostly because I’m acutely aware of the amount of force kids can exert on such things but also because I just dread having to go and redo a project because my first efforts were insufficient. Overbuild it the first time around and be done with it.
Stair handrail is pretty damn expensive, too, once you consider how you will have to mount it to keep it secure.
I have found some 12" grab bars for sale for a few bucks each, I might be able to get away with using a couple 12" bars instead of a long 24 inch bar. One 12 inch bar - 2.50. One 24 inch bar – 12 bucks. Sheesh. 12 is better than 20, but once you add shipping…
Couldn’t you rig something out of a couple of pieces of thick wooden dowel and something to mount it with…
It’s the “…and something to mount it with” that I am struggling with. I have endless sources of cheap, strong, straight material, including the forementioned black pipe, or galvanized pipe, but it is the mounting method I need help with…with the balck pipe mentioned above, I would need 4 extra pieces (2 elbows and 2 mounting plates) that run a few bucks each, quickly bringing me back into 15 - 20 dollar per bar territory. The black pipe itself is really cheap.
Stick to wood or metal. Get 2x2 balusters and cut to length. Use wood blocks which can be cut from your balusters to raise it off the swing surface. Bolt them into place.
You could always drill a couple of large holes 24" apart and run a thick length of rope between them and knot them on the back side.
WIN!
OK, I am not a guy who builds things, and there may be some horrible flaw with this plan that I don’t grok, but it sure sounds like a simple and effective fix…
It sounds like a good idea, except for the potential of the kids accidentally hanging themselves on it. A rigid surface can be controlled such that there is no way for a child to get his or her head stuck in there. The same cannot be said for a rope.
Well, ya gotta give Darwin a sporting chance…
Yes, I’m childless and plan on staying that way. Yes, if it turns out there really is a Hell, I’ll be going there. Unless I make Valhalla.
I’d prefer Darwin not operate on my progeny, nor give any of my neighbors reason to sue 
But I’m a party-pooper like that.
Just to share:
I’m putting on the final touches on one I designed and built for my son.
I’ll probably end up buying grab handles.
New Fort
Boat handles:
http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Handles/dm/cart_id.888291812--session_id.969375254--view_id.272235
Personally, I’ve used 1x1 spindles nailed into smaller spindle pieces that gave the handle clearance over the surface. Screwing it? Pre-dill, my friend. Pre-drill.
See below, where ====== is the 1x1 spindle and the = is a piece on each end. … is the surface.
=======
=… =
From eBay: Safety grab handles, 22" length. Set of 2 handles, $12 plus about $8.50 shipping, so about half the price per bar of the shower grab bars you found. If you search, the keywords seem to be “safety grip” “hand grip” or “safety handle” in the category “Toys & Hobbies > Outdoor Toys & Structures > Swings, Slides & Gyms”.
Thanks Max, it looks like shipping doesn’t go up that much if you buy multiples, so this is the way I am tempted to go for now.
oops, on second thought, that listing says those bars are 12 bucks EACH (look closely, it says “sold individually” even though the picture is of a pair of them…)
I didn’t notice that, either; I thought it was for the pair. Hmph! Sorry about that.
Well, here’s another thought that occurred to me earlier: is it feasible to install, say, two 10" or 12" handles in series on each side, rather than a single long 24" handle? The shorter handles are plentiful and cheap. This would mean that instead of this:
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/ \
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you’d have something like this:
---- ----
/ \/ \
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But I think it’d be perfectly functional, though a bit less pretty.
Secondary idea: do the rope thing, and before tying the second side of the rope off, run the rope through a handle-length piece of rigid tubing. That’ll prevent the kids from bending the rope out far enough to get their suicidal heads through it. One downside I can foresee with rope is that you’ll have to inspect it regularly to make sure it’s not deteriorating, which wouldn’t be necessary with plastic or steel, but at least it’ll be cheap and easy to replace. And there may be some other problem with this that I don’t foresee. Anyone?
Well I talked to my dad today, and among other things he has built some grabs out of PVC and he wants to test them out, so we’ll be seeing what happens this weekend with that.