DIY children's slide made of wood and other materials

Find out how you can make a snow slide yourself in winter, how to properly fill it with water so that it freezes.

Agree that during the New Year holidays one of the best, most memorable childhood memories is the winter festivities. Making a snowman, sledding, skiing, and, of course, on the slides is a wonderful activity. The latter will be discussed in this article.

You will learn how to build a slide without difficulties at home, without any outside help. This slide will bring great joy to your children and even adults, and to make the work less boring, you can involve the whole family in it.

Preparation - the beginning has been made

Don't rush to get a bucket and shovel. First of all, you will need a friendly team of like-minded people. These could be mothers and fathers, their children from neighboring apartments. Having gathered together a large team, charged with a good mood and enthusiasm, we begin to explore the area.

The best option is in the yard, away from the road. So that after a good acceleration the child cannot fly onto the roadway. Also, there should be no pillars or trees near the future descent. Otherwise, you or your child will certainly hit them with your forehead and become the owner of a big bump!

A place that is definitely suitable:

Does not pass through footpaths. To avoid carrying people walking down the street on your sleds, choose another site.
Well lit. In winter it becomes dark already at 16.00-17.00. Riding with a flashlight on your head is not very comfortable.
Does not contain garbage. As a last resort, it can be removed.

How to fill and make a winter slide

Find a suitable place

Photo: Edmonton Journal / YouTube
The first step is to choose the right location to build the slide. It is better to choose a safe place away from the roadway, pedestrian paths, as well as poles, fences and other obstacles. In addition, there should be convenient access to the climb up the hill and free space next to the descent from it.

If there is not much space or there are dangerous objects on the way, you can make turns in the right places to change the trajectory and get around obstacles.

If possible, use natural terrain. Existing elevation changes such as hills and ravines will make it much easier to create a slope for the descent. It will be enough to sculpt the sides and make a smooth slope at the end.

Dimensions of the site, choice of tools

The dimensions of the site directly depend on the height of the future slide. The higher it is, the more space it will require. You can start from the age of those who want to ride it. For very small “katuns” a height of 1 meter will be more than enough. Are you planning friendly family skiing? Focus on 2 meters and a descent angle of no more than 40 degrees . Otherwise, your winter slide will turn into a bungee jump.

As for the width, it can be made to any size. The wide one can accommodate tubing, a sled, and 2-3 people. The ideal moment for construction is above-zero temperatures during the day and frosts at night. During the thaw, snow can be easily molded. And at night the icy beauty will quickly freeze and the next morning it will be ready to accept the first people who want to ride it!

If there is no good weather forecast in the coming days, you have 2 options:

Wait until the heavenly office presents a more suitable temperature.
Start work at zero temperature. You can build a foundation - falling snow will only strengthen it. And do the filling in the cold.

When we have determined the location and suitable time for construction, we move on to searching for tools.

Tools and assistants will be needed to build the slide.

Build an ice slide with your own hands using the following devices:

Snow shovels (wide), large spatulas.
Mittens with rubber tops - they do not get wet. Or you can wear regular warm gloves with rubber ones on top.
Buckets, hoses, watering can - everything will come in handy!
Old countertops and plywood will be needed to strengthen the slope and formwork.
Rags, mops.

And, of course, to build a slide in winter you will need a positive attitude! Without it, no tools will help you build a strong and reliable structure for riding.

How to build a snow slide with your own hands?

Winter wooden slides can be built from rolled balls if the weather conditions are suitable for modeling. They start with a large ball in the middle, then fill the space with snow and compact it. The steps are formed from smaller balls. Dense snowdrifts from which bricks are cut are also suitable. You will not have any questions about how to make a snow slide from ordinary snow cover. We all take shovels together and throw a large mound. We carefully compact each new layer with available tools. Even the youngest children can take part in this process.

This slide will keep children happy all winter

Calculate the structure

To understand what height and length to make the slide, decide who will ride it. For kids, a slide up to 1 m high is suitable, and for older children you can build a structure 2 m up. You should not make the slide too high, because it will be unsafe. Moreover, it is difficult. In this case, it is better to make it longer - at least 5-6 meters. The angle of the slide is also important. For babies, 20° is enough, for older children - 30°. A slope of more than 50° will be dangerous even for adults, and you obviously want to give your brainchild a test drive.

Photo: 66.RU

Slide with formwork

You are not always lucky with the weather - and then a snow slide is built on frosty days. Using available means, it is necessary to assemble the formwork.

The winter slide is built as follows:

Collect snow with a wide shovel.
Carefully pour it into the mold and compact it well.
You can also cut bricks from snow compacted in snowdrifts. Building a snow slide with your own hands from such blanks is a pleasure!
Start arranging the sides. They will provide a high degree of safety while riding.
At the very beginning of the slide with formwork, place several large boards or a sheet of plywood. They are comfortable to stand on – especially when there is a large queue.

Necessary equipment

Before building a snow slide, let's prepare the tools and equipment that will be needed for the job. There must be a lot of snow so that it can be used to build a frame and steps, and also add slides during operation. You also need to prepare:

shovels (according to the number of workers);
pieces of plywood (you can take used ones, not necessarily whole ones);
water.

It is advisable to equip the kids well who will help you during construction. After all, the main thing in this matter is not to get sick, and not just to solve the question: “How to fill a slide with snow?” Therefore, it is better for children to wear waterproof overalls and also stock up on several pairs of mittens. Make sure that the little ones don’t sweat or loosen their clothes, otherwise it’s very easy to catch a cold.

How to fill with water correctly?

We have already figured out how to properly make a snow slide. All that remains is to strengthen it and make it more slippery. This way you will develop speed and will not slow down with your nose! Filling with water is considered the final stage. The descent is filled in 3-4 stages.

You can fill the slide using a watering can

Take cold water; watering cans, ladles and sprayers are recommended from available means:

Use a broom. It ensures uniform spraying over the entire surface.
To avoid the formation of pits and bumps, lightly smack the crust of ice with a broom.
At the second stage of pouring, the ice crust will become much denser. But it’s better to fill it 3-4 times. Once you have been able to build a snow slide, pouring it multiple times will make it strong and smooth.
You can also use other available tools: a sheet of plywood, a wide shovel. Some craftsmen stretch the fabric directly over the trigger, using it as a blotter. The rag evenly passes moisture onto the snow.
There is another alternative option. They put a rag on the mop as if they were going to wash the floors. Then dip it in hot water and move it evenly over the surface.

The optimal temperature for rapid ice formation is from 10 degrees below zero. Otherwise, all your efforts will be useless. If everything was done correctly, and the winter turned out to be cold and frosty, the entertainment device will last until the end of March.

Direct construction of the mountain

After choosing a place, we asked the owners of the cars parked nearby to temporarily move them and make room for us. After there were no cars left on the site near the planned location, using the above tools (namely shovels, scrapers and hands), they cleared the parking lot, “storing” the snow in the designated location down the hill. The result was a blank slide. After which it must be compacted. If the snow is “sticky”, then you can form a slide without shovels, and roll snow lumps (balls). Place them together in several layers, fill the gaps with snow, and, as in the first case, compact them. They did not make the slide high enough to make it more comfortable for mothers. The result was 1.5 meters. In addition, three pieces of old plywood were laid on the upper platform for descent (actually, what was not a pity) so that it would not be slippery to stand on top.

Original forms of slides

The classic descent options are reliable, but look a bit boring.

Snow slide in the form of a castle

Fans of non-standard solutions will definitely appreciate the original wooden winter slides:

Simulation of a bobsleigh track. All you have to do is make a few sharp turns on the descent. The descent surface is adjusted and tilted.
Arch over the hill. Gives the structure an unusual appearance. However, be careful. When it warms up, the arch may lose stability and simply fall on your head.
Another interesting solution is to build a descent in the form of a character from fairy tales, a hut or a tower.

Don't limit your imagination when choosing original slide options. But remember - safety should always come first.

Construction stages

Choosing a location for a future slide is a particularly important task . It is important to have enough free space here. Our slide is approximately 8 meters long and 4 meters wide (we count only the slide itself, and not the ice track on the horizontal surface of the earth).

You understand, putting a slide on top of a flower bed or, God forbid, beds is a risky business. It is very good if, when designing your garden plot, you left room for a slide in advance, sowing it with a simple lawn. That’s exactly what we did, so this is the second year we’ve been putting the slide in the same place.

It would be logical to use the natural slope of the terrain, if present. If the site is completely horizontal, then you will have to make the hill higher in order to go a sufficient distance. On our site there is a very slight slope, but even this allows us to drive about 40 meters, sliding down a hill that is only one and a half meters high.

Once the location has been determined, we simply begin to shovel building material there. At first, we didn’t even try to give the future slide any shape. What we ended up with was just a bunch of snow with completely different asymmetrical slopes.

Creating the base of a snow slide

Then, over the course of several days, we simply poured new portions of snow on top of the old layers. The hill grew. The lower layers were compressed under the pressure of new ones. We didn't try to climb up to test the slide's strength. Everything has its time.

It’s great if at this time daytime thaws alternate with night frosts. During the day, the hill melts a little and “settles”; at night, frost grips it, forming a dense mass. The next day more and more layers are added.

I know some will say that they could put something massive at the base of the snow slide. For example, old car tires. Or logs. Or something else. That would probably be really nice. It would just require less snow mass. But we took into account last year’s experience and decided not to use anything in construction except the snow itself. Why? More on this later.

Over time, there was no more snow nearby. We had to transport it from the far corners of the site. As I already wrote, we used a garden wheelbarrow. She really helped a lot, allowing us to bring 10-12 shovels of snow per trip.

As a result, we ended up with a large pile approximately 2 meters high.

The next step is cutting off the top

No matter how sorry it was to reduce the height of the structure, we had to take this step. After all, it is necessary to make sure that a person who has climbed to the top of the slide can calmly stand on his own and put a cheesecake next to him. We ended up with a platform about one and a half meters long and one meter wide.

You can cut off the top with a snow shovel. We used the released excess snow to level the slope.

Next - we form the descent

If you skip this step, then the cheesecake with the person on it can go down in any direction. And not necessarily where you planned. It’s good if there are no obstacles on the way. What if at full speed into a tree or a fence?

It is best to organize some kind of chute along which ice cubes and cheesecakes will descend. First we just make it flat, cutting off excess snow with a shovel, then we form the sides. Just pour snow on the edges and pat it down. The result, after some time, is some kind of track. The descent in this way will take place exactly where we ourselves planned, and not where the cheesecake comes into our heads :). No one is stopping you from making a curved track rather than a straight one. Then the sides, of course, must be higher so that the descent occurs along the planned trajectory.

I pay special attention to the fact that the descent should be as sloping as possible . Smoothly transitioning into the soil surface. On the one hand, this allows you to travel far enough. On the other hand, it is more convenient and safer. Make sure that the slope does not form a noticeable angle with the surface and that people descending on ice floes do not hit the surface of the ground, displacing their spinal vertebrae. This, by the way, is often the problem with wooden slides. It gets to the point where it becomes unsafe to ride some of them.

You and I can easily make a very smooth transition from the descent to the surface of the earth. All you have to do is not be lazy and bring more snow.

My son and I decided that our slide would have two descents. One is fast and long-range. Another one with springboards.

Ladder

There should be a staircase on the other side. Its steps can also be cut down with a snow shovel. The length (depth) of the steps should be such that an adult’s boot (or felt boots) could be placed along the entire length of the sole. If you make the steps short, you will have to climb on your toes, which will increase the pressure on the edges of the steps. They may collapse.

You understand that you can’t walk up the stairs right away. It is best to leave it alone for a day.

If you can't wait to ride, you can use planks to distribute the person's weight over the entire step. Over time, when the snow has compacted sufficiently, they can be removed, and everyone skiing, under pain of being removed from the slide, can be warned not to step on the edges of the steps. They can collapse even a few days after the start of operation.

Another method is to compact the steps by hand. The most convenient way is to use your fists, constantly adding new portions of snow. We were very lucky - on the day we made the snow staircase, there was a thaw. We managed to give the steps almost stone hardness. At sub-zero temperatures you will have to be patient.

Upper platform of the slide

Next, we begin to form the upper platform. Its special feature is the sides, which will prevent the cheesecake or ice cube with its rider from rolling “in the wrong direction.” You understand, if a child unsuccessfully plops down on a cheesecake and it rolls back onto the stairs, the consequences can be quite sad.

Forming the sides of the upper platform is very simple. You need to climb up the stairs (when it becomes solid) and just stomp on the top of the slide. Of course, you will fail a little. The main thing is not to reach the edges of the site, leaving a small edge around. You will get some indentation.

The presence of such a side will help you avoid troubles while riding. Unfortunately, sometimes in the heat of play children trample it. Don’t be lazy, restore the fence as soon as possible. To give it strength, you can pour water on it.

In a word, it is necessary to make sure that a person who plops down on a cheesecake at the top of a snow slide has only one way - to go down.

Test descents

Next we begin test descents. During the first ones, it becomes clear how well you have formed the route, whether the cheesecake is going there, and whether it is touching any plantings on the ground.

If something goes wrong, you need to correct the gutter and form snow sides on the ground so that the cheesecake stays within the frame when descending and does not go where it shouldn’t.

After this stage, the slide can be considered half finished. You can already ride on it. At the same time, you should not be particularly upset if dips or other irregularities form on the stairs and on the slope itself. As long as we haven't filled the slide with water, it's all very easy to fix. It is enough to pour snow on the problem area, pat it with a snow shovel and ride on the cheesecake a couple of times.

Purely theoretically, construction can be completed at this point. For example, in our particular case, flooding the slope with water is not required. We're already about forty meters away. We measured it specifically with a laser rangefinder. The natural slope of the area takes its toll.

But if you want to go even further, then you can move on to the next stage.

Little construction tricks

You will definitely get original winter wooden slides if you use your imagination!

Here are a few construction tricks from folk craftsmen:

If you make a wooden frame in advance, it will help give the slide the desired shape and strength. A wooden shield or boards will do - they need to be covered with snow.
When there is little snow and a lot of imagination, car tires will come to the rescue. Stack them like a bunch, and fill the resulting voids with snow and pour water over them. Place wooden boards, cardboard on top, and cover with snow again.
If you or someone you know works in a store, use regular cardboard boxes. Each cube is placed on top of each other and covered with snow. Then the slope is filled and formed.
Perhaps one of the best options for leveling a snow slide is plywood. It makes the descent perfectly smooth. Place the material on the slope and fill it with snow. Even after abundant watering it will not sag.

Wooden frame for a winter slide

What to ride?

Perfectly smooth snow slides for children allow them to ride even in warm clothes. Of course, if the parents don't mind.

The selection of special equipment for riding in modern stores is impressive:

An inflatable type of sled – they are also “tablets” or “cheesecakes”.
Wooden sled on metal runners. A classic that will never go out of style.
A sled shaped like a trough.
Ice cubes.
Sled in the form of a plastic plate.

When choosing equipment, discuss with the seller exactly who will be skiing, what age this or that product is intended for, how it behaves on what descent. Only an adult can handle certain structures on the ice.

conclusions

It is difficult to imagine a real winter without such an important attribute as snow and traditional entertainment. On their day off, people specially go out of town to enjoy skiing and sledding. Not everyone has the opportunity to leave - and do-it-yourself wooden winter slides come to the rescue. Of course, mostly kids will ride them. But the construction process itself unites the whole family. Now you know all the details on how to make a snow slide and please your loved ones with a real winter gift!