Magic Garden Playground Redesign
More photos of the site visit here!
Fence Design #1 #
The first task is to make a 13 foot fence around the 'construction zone'.
Originally, we'd discussed the idea of fence design that would utilize found wood, with a 'Sturbridge Village' construction, perhaps something like this:
However, we eventually decided that it would be more important to have a fence that was easy to disassemble and transport.
The concept we're working on instead is to build a fence out of modular 'frames' built with regular lumber, which then have 'pickets' or 'fences' that consist of found sticks and branches. Ideally, students would find and place these sticks into the frame, and the sticks would be fastened / lashed to the frame for durability.
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These frames would then be arranged to make a 13 foot fence, with a 3 foot wide hinged gate. The frames would attach to eachther somehow (with metal hardware, or perhaps even lashed), and could be moved or disassembled when desired.
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We're looking to build the fence using found & recycled lumber as much as possible.
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| Experimenting with salvaged pieces from a recycled pallet. Length was too short (only 10'); might try to patch pieces together to reach desired 13' fence length. |
Fence Design #2 #
Fri 10 Jan 2025 06:54:53 PM EST
After reviewing the regulations around playground construction, we realized that we needed to be quite strict about maintaining a maximum distance between fence 'pickets' of 3.5".
To do this, we can still retain the 'frame' of our overall fence design:
But we need to rethink how we'll be designing the 'pickets'.
Picket Option A: Wooden Slats #
Our first idea is to simply use 1"x3" pieces of lumber as pickets. The individual pickets could easily be painted or customized by students.
This option is relatively easy to build. The only downside might be the cost of the lumber for the pickets.
In order to get a feel for this option, we've begun with a few 1"x3"x8" boards ...
Picket Option B: Wire Mesh #
Another simple, and less expensive option would be to use wire mesh instead of pickets. This is a common design in various gardens.
Picket Option C: Natural Pickets #
We could still retain a more 'natural' look, as in the original concept, by using found sticks for the pickets. This is more laborious to build (finding sticks of the appropriate size and shape will also take some time), but less expesnive.
Mesh Fence research #
Picket option "B" above was selected; now researching some example mesh fence designs.
Mon 13 Jan 2025 06:38:26 PM EST
Home Depot guide to building a mesh fence
- with video here
Removable raised garden bed fence
Sat 18 Jan 2025 09:03:48 PM EST
Etsy plan for welded wire fence
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| Interesting example of inner frame construction from above Etsy design. |
How to build an enclosed garden
Recommends 3/4" staples.
Recall -- we need fence openings that are less than 3.5". 1" x 2" seemed like an option.
This Old House -- install a critter-proof garden fence
Making 2x2s from 2x4s here
Building a Paulk Smart Bench here
Fence Design #3 #
Considerations:
- The outer fence frame needs to be sufficiently rigid
- The fence should be made of easy-to-transport panels that disassemble
- The wire mesh will need to be stapled to the fence, requiring a flat surface
- The edges of the wire mesh are sharp, and should be protected behind a wooden barrier
Basic Panel Pattern #
