How to Build a DIY Slip ‘n Slide

Remember when you were a kid? All those long summer days playing baseball, drinking lemonade, and playing on that slip ‘n slide? You know, the one that ripped after the second time you used it? Year after year, good old dad would go buy a new one, and year after year we would get somewhere between one and four days of fun out of it.

What if things could be different? This year, you’re going to learn how to build your own DIY slip ‘n slide that is bigger, better, and far more durable than the ones you’ll find at the store.

Materials

We’re going to start with the items we’ll need to pick up at the hardware store. We’ll try to keep this under a hundred bucks. Here’s your shopping list:

•         10′ x 50′ 6-mil plastic sheeting – $20
•         2 ten packs of 52-inch foam pool noodles – $46
•         4 rolls of 5′ peel and stick velcro strips – $30 (get the waterproof stuff, of course)
•         The sprinkler and hose you possibly already have in your garage if you have kids

Total cost = $96

(Note: If you have a huge backyard, you can double all of this and make your slip ‘n slide twice as long!)

Step 1: Lay Out The Plastic Sheeting

Lay out your polyurethane plastic sheeting on the ground. You might actually not need the 10′ size unless you want to let two people slide at a time. As this can be a safety issue, it’s not recommended, but having a wide runway can be fun just for one person to slide all around on.

Step 2: Add the Pool Noodles

Lay your foam pool noodles along either side on the very edges of the plastic sheeting (end to end). You can leave about a foot of space between each noodle. Beginning at one end, wrap the plastic around the first pool noodle until you’ve plastic on plastic.

Step 3: Use the Velcro Strips to Hold it All Together

Cut four 2-inch strips of velcro for each noodle. Attach one at either end of the noodle and two in the middle (so you have a velcro strip every 16 inches or so). Continue down the entire side of the plastic sheeting, adding velcro every 16 inches to hold the pool noodles in place. When you finish, take a break and then switch to the other side and do the same thing.

Step 4: Attach the Hose

Now comes the moment of truth. Get out that hose. A sprinkler hose would be really cool because you can lay it along the side of the slip ‘n slide, but honestly a regular hose will work just as well.

Step 5: Turn On The Hose and Get Wet!

Flip over your plastic sheeting so the foam noodles are on the bottom. Drag it so there is a bit of a slope and place the hose at the top of the slope. Turn it on and spend the rest of your summer sliding down your cool new slip ‘n slide!

References

https://www.amazon.com/Oodles-Noodles-Wholesale-Pricing-Connector/dp/B01N8P3Y2G
White Velcro Fastener
https://www.daveabels.com/wet-and-slippery-floors.html
Wet Floor Sign 25″
Warp Brothers – 10x25ft 4mil Black Poly Sheeting