If there’s one thing I’ve learned since moving to Florida, it’s that summers are HOT. With two small kids, I’m constantly looking for shade and water to keep everyone cool. So last summer, in an attempt to bring the water fun to us, I made a backyard “splash pad” out of PVC.
My inspiration was this blog post from Mom Endeavors.
It looked simple enough, and fairly low cost (anything I can make with just construction supplies from Home Depot is a good time). But her version just counted on the pipes and fittings being pushed together, and not too much water pressure. Hahaha. I guess her boys don’t try to turn on the hose full-blast or grab and push on things that we built. I opted for glue.
The other thing I wanted to adjust with her design was to make some more modular pieces. Jake was only 7 months old, and wouldn’t be able to play with the squirters, so I wanted to make a short little pipe with just a few holes that he could touch and play with. But I knew that by next summer he would want a squirter of his own. And I also wanted to make a solid, glued-together base, but make the vertical pieces removable, so that the base would be as flat and easy-to-store as possible.
Here’s my initial plan and parts list. I wanted to make 3 squirters, and 3 other attachments (I figured I would decide where to drill the holes later.) I would glue the rectangular base together for strength, and then use threaded pipes to attach the modular pieces.
As I started writing out the parts list, I realized that not every attachment needed a valve. I only needed as many valves as there were holes in the base. (4) And then I could screw the attachments into the valves. (Which was great, because the valves were the most expensive pieces!)
Here’s my shopping team! One very patient husband and two excited kids.
The novelty of the race car shopping cart kept everyone happy for a while, but soon the boys were getting restless. And despite my detailed list, it was really tough to find the parts I needed and keep track that I had everything to put this thing together. I ended up deviating from the design of the squirters because I could not find the right hose barb for the end. So I just put a PVC cap on the end and drilled a hole in it. That created enough pressure and worked just fine.
Major kudos to my saintly husband who tolerated my need to create and occupied the boys while I cut and glued everything together. The ratcheting PVC cutter I got a while back made quick, clean work of the cutting portion, which saved a ton of time.
I didn’t take progress photos, but here’s the finished product:
I purposely made a long, narrow rectangle so it would fit in the shaded part of the backyard in the afternoons.
And here’s Jake’s attachment:
This thing has been the source of many fun backyard days since. And as Jake has grown up, he’s enjoyed it more and more.
We have had a few minor repairs required – a fountain attachment that broke off inside the valve (needed to make a new one) and one of the pipes in the base popped out of the T-joint (needed to be re-glued). But in general, it has held up great.
Project! 