And so it ends

At long last, the trampoline project is concluded. It took me all day yesterday plus a couple hours today, but it's finally, finally done.

And not a moment too soon. I was beginning to hate the trampoline.

So, at some point I'll get these photos into the trampoline project page, but for now I'll just put them here. That way, I don't have to detail all the actual work in a step-by-step format.

What I did for most of Saturday was to built a custom-fit ring made out of plywood around the lip of the retaining wall in order to fill in the gaps between the dodecagon wall and the circular trampoline. I did this using 4'x8" planks of pressure-treated plywood cut from a 4x8 sheet.


I got to use my saber saw, my belt sander, and my router. All tools I had not gotten to use yet in this project. It got me to thinking about whether there were any power tools I owned that I didn't use in this project.

The answer is yes. I didn't use my narrow-angle drill, my palm sander, or my old 14.4V drill that doesn't hold a charge anymore and has been replaced. Other than that, I got everything out.


Those of you who have an interest in the weather already know about this gap. I had declared victory yesterday even though there was this gap, but the victory was short-lived. The Mrs. insisted it be fixed.


So I spliced in a patch made from the scraps. It's held in with Simpson strong tie jobbers, a 90-degree joint to the wall and some nail straps to the adjacent pieces. I had to use stainless steel screws, since deck screws don't come this short. Stainless screws cost $0.49 each, making this by far the most expensive piece of the project.


The Childrens helped put the springs all in place. It poured moments later, so we didn't get the trampoline surface in for a couple hours.


Sunday afternoon after adding a second cubic yard of playground mulch. I bought the two yards from two different places - the first yard on Saturday from a closer place that was closed by the time I had it unloaded and didn't open on Sundays, and the second yard from a farther away place. They both cost exactly the same amount. But the second one was a good 4-5" deeper in the back of my pickup. They used a front loader at the second place instead of a skid loader like was used at the first.

The first place had a drive-up window, though, so I didn't even need to get out of the truck.



MaxieC takes it for a whirl.