Tire Swings

Tire swings have been a great tradition in yards. For decades, they’ve been fun additions to gardens and children still adore them. They’re also among the easiest ways of giving the yard another dimension of enjoyment. On the other hand, there’s more to making tire swings than simply tying tires on trees and attaching them with ropes. Of course, it’ll all begin with finding the right size tree with sufficiently strong limbs.

So what do you next after finding the ideal branch? There are certain things that you need to consider in building great tire swings, including the tire, the rope, and the knots. Tire swings can look simple, but they do take some skills and techniques when it comes to building one.

The Tire

Two things must be considered when choosing the tire for the swing. First, think about the tire’s cleanliness. Not unless you’d want to make constant effort in cleaning the swing tire completely, expect to find your kids smelling like rubber at the dinner table –thus, choosing clean tires from the very start is important. How do you this? The tires need to be washed at high pressure at a car wash and manually scrubbed down with high-powered cleaner that contains bleach. Tires can never be “totally clean”, but tremendously reducing its dirt will absolutely help.

Second, always think about safety. Tire swings before were built using tires on cars; they were “old bias tires” that had internal balloon, and were made of rubber. Today, the radial tires are firmer, stronger, and are “steel belted”. Make sure that you choose radial tires that aren’t too worn out as they can feature exposed and very sharp wires, which can result to cuts and scratches. If “old school” tire is available, then use it.

Make sure you do not forget to drill some sizeable holes at the tire’s bottom side, so as to avoid water gathering after rainy days.

The Rope

You may want to use ropes that are large in diameter. Ropes that are smaller may appear sufficient, but they can “give way” when more and more tension is applied, or, as the child swings higher. Choose fat ropes that are obviously stronger than what’s probably needed. They’ll provide more safety and durability.

The rope should be protected through using a piece of rubber hose on the area where it’ll loop around a tree limb. Look for a hose that’s a little bit bigger than your rope and ensure that its protected area will be the part that will rest on the tree. In this way, the most critical portion of the rope is protected from the outdoor elements.

Ensure that enough ropes are purchased for the tire swing project. You wouldn’t want to be skimping on the swing’s knots or have the swing sit too high because your ropes are not enough. These options are totally unacceptable. Always find out the length of ropes needed through adding ten feet from the distance from the limb of the tree to where its tire swings will hang.

The Knots

When knotting the rope, pulling out a nautical manual isn’t needed. All it takes is doing some common “square knot”. There’s no reason to complicate the tie-off strategy. The most essential thing in tying knots is to ensure that the knot is very strong and is doubled-up. Ensure that the “rubber protective hose” lies at its point of contact when tying knots. Never neglect bottom knots. Take important notice to knots that fasten the tire, as well as its high knot. Double-up and snug it. Test its strength before letting a child play on it.

These important factors in building outdoor tire swings will create durable and safe tire swings that kids will enjoy and love for a long time. Tire swings are traditional favorites and is among the easiest and quickest way of adding a little fun to the backyard.