Advice on Building your Climbing Frame

December 16th, 2011

Many of you will have brought a climbing frame from us in the last few weeks ready to surprise your children on Christmas day. We know that at Christmas everything needs to be done 1000 times faster and with the least amount of hassle possible. For that very reason we have asked our Parts Specialist, Matt Chittock, to give his top tips for a successful climbing frame build. Working with our climbing frames day in, day out, Matt is a man who really knows what he is talking about.

The Key to Assembly Success.

1. Before you start lay out all the parts and check them off. The easiest way of identifying a part is by its length.

2. Notice how many holes there are on each piece and where they are located. This helps with identification.

3. Sort all screws, bolts, washers into piles.

4. Make sure to erect the climbing frame on as flat a surface as possible.

5. A cordless drill can save a lot of time and effort. If you don’t have one please click here

6. Climbing frames are large pieces of outdoor equipment and although it is possible for one person to assemble them on their own, we recommend two or more people.

7. Remember to drill pilot holes (sized 1/8th of an inch) before mounting lag screws.

8. Make sure you keep bolts loose and tighten on completion of the build.

9. Remember to firmly anchor the unit to the ground before using the ground anchors provided.

10. We recommend that you apply a wood sealant or protection at least once per year. Proper care and maintenance will help maintain the beauty of the set as well as ensure the maximum life of the frame.

Another little tip is to part assemble the climbing frame and perhaps keep the sections in a shed or garage. This way when the big build comes on Xmas Eve there is less time spent building and more time spent sampling mince pies and enjoying the festivities.

 

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Climbing Frames UK’s Adventurer of the Week

December 8th, 2011

This week we want to celebrate the true adventurous spirit of a woman adventurer. If anyone has brought one of our climbing frames or swing sets for their children they will know that the little ladies can be just as daring and brave as the young men.

Felicity Aston from  South East England is on track to becoming the first woman to cross Antarctica alone. The 1700km ski is estimated to take her 70 days and a lot of muscle power as she pulls all her supplies along on a sled. Felicity’s aim was to reach her destination on the 100th year anniversary of Roald Amundsen’s expedition (one of our very own Wednesday Adventurers) but the bad weather conditions have put her 5 days behind schedule. Clearly a great lover of the cold weather, Felicity has spent the last decade getting involved with various exciting adventures and expeditions. There was the first British women’s crossing of Greenland, a 700km winter crossing of the frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia and a rather adventurous expedition in Iceland. She was also part of the first ever, all-female team to complete the Polar Challenge, a 360-mile endurance race to the magnetic north pole.

Battling extreme winds, snow, freezing temperatures, blisters from her skis and not to mention a little loneliness Felicity is doing us all proud and ploughing (or skiing) on. We know she would think nothing of scaling our climbing frames in the snow, wind or rain.

 

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Sports medicine specialists call for P.E testing in schools.

December 2nd, 2011

Outdoor play equipment – such as climbing frames and trampolines – in the home contribute hugely to keeping children active and healthy, however this is just half the struggle as active lifestyles should also be encouraged at school.

At a recent teachers’ conference in London, sports medicine specialists stressed the need for P.E to be treated as seriously as other core subjects such as English and Maths. This would mean the next generation of adults will be more conscious of the positive benefits of remaining healthy and keeping fit. Currently the NHS spends £4.2 billion every year on obesity related procedures and treatments and educating children to engage in exercise and to eat well should mean a drop in this enormous figure.

Taking it a step further sports medicine specialist Dr Andy Franklyn-Miller suggested we should be looking to introduce testing within P.E lessons in order to monitor children’s progress. His argument being that without testing, no improvement or perhaps decline in skills can be monitored and no help can be given to those children that are struggling with physical activities. There was some opposition from the members of the National Union of Teachers who felt that testing wasn’t appropriate.

What are your thoughts? Should PE testing be introduced or would this reduce enthusiasm for physical education further?

 

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