Backyard Forts & Tree Houses: 4 Ways To Build With Scrap Yard Parts
The fun of building a backyard fort or tree house with your child is using a variety of materials to put together some sort of structure. The resulting design can be unpredictable, fun, and create a memorable area for your child to use for years to come. As you plan on building the backyard fort, you and your child should consider skipping the hardware store and head to a local scrap yard instead. Scrap and salvage yards, such as City Auto Wreckers, are filled with all types of cars and parts that can be purchased at heavily discounted prices. There are a number of ways to use these discounted parts for the project. By planning ahead and knowing what to look for, you can make the most effective use out of a scrap yard trip.
Seating Options
Filling a fort or tree house with seating is great for giving children a place to hang out, read, or play with various toys. As an alternative to purchasing new seats for the project, you can find plenty of seating options at a salvage yard. Old vans and trucks often have long cushioned bench seats that would work well in a fort. They allow your child to sit, lay, or lounge in their fort. Front seats can also provide another great seating option for the fort. A salvage yard worker can remove the seats for you, so you can purchase them. You can find cheaper prices for seats with rips, tears or stains. When purchasing these seats, you can purchase a basic seat cover to place over the seat and make it feel new again. The low placement of the seats can also make them easier to use for forts or tree houses with low ceilings. This allows your child and their friends to sit comfortably.
Tires
When traveling through a salvage yard, it may seem like old tires are everywhere. By asking up front, you can find the cheapest tires available and purchase as many as possible for use with the fort building. Tires have a lot of different crafting possibilities. When the tires are stacked, they can create fun walls or entrance ways for the fort. If the tires are lined up, they can create a fun tunnel for the fort area. Using craft guides online, you can get inspiration for all sorts of different ways to use the tires. For example, if the fort is raised or built in a tree, a section of tires can be attached to a board to create a climbing ladder. By negotiating with the salvage yard workers, you may even be able to get a good discount on bulk purchases of tires.
Storage Items
Kids often love to keep a variety of items in their forts. Walkie talkies, books, magazines, and toys are just a few of the items that they may keep inside the fort. As you search for storage solutions, consider different ways that a scrap yard can help. One of the main things to look for are vehicle center consoles. These consoles can often be easily removed and provide multiple storage compartments for a fort. Some glove boxes may also be removed from a vehicle. By mounting the glove boxes to the side of a fort, your child can have a nice little storage compartment.
Exterior Car Parts
The exterior of a vehicle is made of strong materials to handle the impacts and everyday driving. That same strength and security can be added to a fort by purchasing specific parts. For example, large car hoods can make great makeshift walls for a fort design. By browsing through salvage yards, your child can find a car hood design in their favorite color. Truck and van tailgates are other durable parts that can be added to the fort design. By planning out the fort design and different features, you can find exterior parts that will fit nicely on the fort.
Plan out different ideas with your child to come up with a list of parts and planned budget for when visiting the scrap yard.