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Hi all,
I am thinking of building a frame for monkey bars and swings per the attached picture (excluding cubby house). I like the looks of round pine posts and was wondering if these would be suitable. The length of the monkey bars is 3m. Would 3m 100mm H4 treated pine poles, with 1m in footings be suitable? For a 3m span what size beam?
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @TheDude. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about constructing play equipment.
Unfortunately, the Pine logs are only to be used for landscaping purposes, as they are not structurally rated and have an arsenic-based treatment. You'd need to go with something like the 112 x 112mm 2.4m Post H3 Treated Pine Laminated LOSP FJ - 2.4m or 135 x 135mm 2.4m Post H3 Treated Pine Laminated LOSP FJ - 2.4m. Structural timber suitable for play equipment is only H3-rated for above-ground use, so these posts would need to be mounted onto supports that are concreted into the ground.
For a beam suitable to span 3000mm you'd be looking at something similar to a doubled-up 190 x 45mm Outdoor Framing MGP10 H3 Treated Pine so it's a 190 x 90mm beam.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Keep us updated, @TheDude, and please reach out if you have further questions; it sounds like a great project.
I recently upgraded my hand-built play equipment for my son, who's obsessed with pirates. It's such a great feeling to watch your kids play on equipment you've built yourself.
Mitchell
