Safety

Before anyone climbs

Where a published source lets us calculate or specify a part, the plan does it and names the source. Where no source covers it, it is listed here as a job for you, before anyone climbs. The designer shows the list for your own design before you buy.

Worked out in every plan

Specified and priced, in the total
Safety surfacing
The material is rated for your deck height by the stricter of the two CPSC guides: wood mulch with no CCA-treated wood to 7 ft, wood chips, engineered wood fiber and shredded rubber to 8 ft. The plan puts in 12 in so 9 in stays, over the fort and 6 ft around it, the slide exit and the swing zone, and prices it in the materials total.
Preliminary calculation for the entered assumptions
Sway bracing
Knee braces in both directions at every post, sized for the wind speed you enter (IRC wind tables, or the NBC in Canada) or a 200 lb push at the guard, whichever is greater. The braces, their bolts and the posts are checked by the NDS wood design rules; the plan gives the leg length and the number of bolts.
Preliminary calculation for the entered assumptions
Footings and post bases
Each footing is sized for the deck load (DCA6) and then made wide or deep enough that its own weight holds the post down in the wind. Each post stands in a cast-in Simpson CBSTQ base, checked against its rated uplift and its 485 lb sideways rating.
Checked by age
Guard and the way up
Guards from 30 in for school-age children and from 20 in for under 5s, climb-proof barriers above 48 in or 30 in, no gap between 3-1/2 and 9 in anywhere, steps and rungs to the CPSC tables, hand holds where the way up meets the deck. The plan has a sheet for the guard and access details.
Drawn on the plan
Use zones
6 ft clear and surfaced around the fort, twice the beam height in front of and behind the swings, and the slide exit kept clear of the swing zone.

What stays with you

Swing beam
If you add a swing set: no free source sizes a swing beam for swing loads. Before anyone swings, have your builder confirm the 6x6 beam, or buy a rated swing beam kit.
Proof for the surfacing
The surfacing product must have documented impact-attenuation performance from its supplier: ASTM F1292 for the fall height at the depth installed, and ASTM F2075 for engineered wood fiber. "Nontoxic" or "no CCA" is not evidence of cushioning.
What the calculations cover
The listed structural components have preliminary calculations for the entered assumptions. Site conditions, complete system behavior and any additional equipment still require verification as applicable.
Engineered wood fiber
If you pick it: get the supplier's ASTM F2075 and F1292 test data. Its critical height at 9 in must be at least your deck height.
Decks above 8 ft
No loose fill in either CPSC guide is enough. Buy a surface whose ASTM F1292 report covers the height, or lower the deck.
Local approval
Ask your building department whether you need a permit and what setbacks apply. The designer does not check it.
Buried lines and soil
Call 811 before you dig (in Canada, request a locate). Dig to undisturbed soil; fill, a slope or soft ground needs a soils check.

While you build

Until the knee braces and the deck are on, brace every post in two directions with 2x4 stakes and diagonals, and keep children away from the build site. Nobody plays on the deck until the guard, the way up and the surfacing are all in.

Owner visual inspection before first use

This is a visual check you make yourself, with the fort finished. It is not a professional structural inspection, an engineer's review or a code inspection, and it does not replace one. The list in your plan only mentions the parts your fort has.

Walk round with a 3-1/2 in ball and a 9 in ball: the small one must not pass any gap in the guard, the way up or the slide opening; any gap the small one passes, the big one must pass too.
Push the top of the guard hard at every post: nothing moves or creaks.
Stand on the deck and rock it from side to side: the knee braces stay tight and the posts do not lift at the bases.
Check every bolt end: cut back and cap any that stand out past the nut where a child can reach.
Measure the safety surfacing at the posts: at least 9 in everywhere, 6 ft past the fort on every side, and under the slide exit and the swings.
Check the slide is fixed as its maker's sheet says, and that its exit is clear.
Pull on the swing set legs, anchors, hangers and chains: no wear, and nothing moves. Your builder or a rated swing beam kit must have confirmed the beam before anyone swings.
Look inside the roof and walls: no screw tip or nail point shows where a child can reach.
Check there are no ropes, cords or leashes tied anywhere on the fort.

Through the year

Every month in the play season. Rake the surfacing level and top it up to the mark on the posts; check the hand holds, the way up and the slide mounting.
Every spring. Tighten every bolt, check the post bases and the knee braces, replace any cracked board or baluster, check the swing chains and hangers for wear.
After a storm. Look for lifted bases, cracked braces or shifted footings before anyone climbs.
Every year. Add fresh surfacing: loose fill breaks down and packs, so plan on topping up a good part of it.

What this is not

These are preliminary planning checks, not an approval, an engineer's review or an inspection. Guards, openings, the way up and surfacing follow the IRC (R312) and the CPSC home and public playground guides (324 and 325). ASTM F1148, the home playground standard, is a paid standard we have not read line by line; the CPSC home guide is written from it.

See the list for your own fort

Open the designer