garden swing help

[Nyboy]

Cane right now big box stores have outdoor cushions and pillow on clearance. Bet you can get some great end of season bargains. Put away till next spring, it will make swing much more comfortable

 

[ducks4you]

Put a good primer coat on it and paint it bright colors. @ninnymary can give you a good color scheme! fuschia will be somewhere in that mix of colors.....

I have been bugging/pleading/BEGGING DD to use the Glidden white w/primer on their really old and kind of brittle picket fence. They were gone for a week and I painted one section for them. The difference is breathtaking.
Get the very best paint you can buy. The ones with primer are terrific. Paint it with 3 coats. You are painting a cube of sorts so paint all sides of the same face first, then check to see if there are any gaps that you can drizzle into. Then, you will move on the rest of the 5 faces.
This way you can address any drips.
Give it the appropriate time to dry. You will give this old swing 5-10 more years of life that way.

 

[thistlebloom]

Cane, would it be possible to level off a little "terraced" area to put your swing on? Or maybe I'm dreaming up more work for you.

 

[valley ranch]

What "collector" said makes sense~If the ground isn't flat~it can be made flat, in one spot you're not going to keep moving it around```That's if you build a frame```

If you install two 6"X 6"s~ the 2- upright 2"X 6"s could be held on top of the 6"Xs by upright 2"X 6" upright braces~ Bolted~one each side of each 6"X 6" (2' down on the upright post & extending up 6" ) so as to make a saddle for the two 2"X 6"s to sit in~ the 2X6s will be through bolted in place (using galvy All thread ) in addition: the the 2X6s can be bolted a couple places in line```

The posts can be pressure treated and still painted~nothing above ground needs be```

Any part of the bench swing you think needs replacing, bolted and in where you think it should be exterior glued``` when finishing use a grinder to touch the surfaces old and new~rounding corners and grinding away split edges```I'd use Linseed oil, if it be me, thinned slightly so it will go in deep~if and when you paint it I'd use a good Alkyed stain so it doesn't come off like news paper after several months~If oil stain is thinned it won't go on too thick and dry like skin and peel```

You can make this thing look and feel like a monument~it won't feel like it will fall apart~you'll need a good concrete footing around the posts not just a couple inches like a fence post~a good square block```

We'd like to be there for the making and swinging~but```

 

[bobm]

Cane if you hang from a shady oak, would be good place to sip sweet tea

Ummm ... I'm confused, if you are hanging from a shady oak, wouldn't you have difficulty in swallowing ?

 

[baymule]

 

[Nyboy]

 

[valley ranch]

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[baymule]

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I like to look at thing like this, but it would never work for me. I am the low maintenance type. The pillows would either be wet from the rains we get or dust covered from when it isn't raining. Taking them in and putting them out so they could look pretty for a picture just ain't in my world. I got better things to do. Give me a wooden seat any day. LOL

 

[canesisters]

I'm with ya there @baymule - I've never really understood all that outdoor furniture with the beautiful fabric cushions. I'd NEVER remember to put them away before it rained.

This is a composite of the swing's new home from a few weeks ago - a BADLY neglected little corner..



And after a couple weekends of clearing, weed barrier laying, and wood chip hauling:


I've been sitting in the rocker trying to figure out exactly where I want the swing to face. I think that angled like that is the final decision.
I've got a BUNCH of those elephant ears that I'm going to move all along the bottom of the porch. That's a small bed of day lilies right behind the chair (swing) and almost in the corner is a baby mock orange. I'll edge the front of the wood chips with cut logs (cause they're free...) and hostas.