My Free $100.73 Porch Swing

Several weeks ago my husband went to play cards at the local senior center.  He plays Sheepshead every Wednesday afternoon.  One of the ladies he plays cards with asked if he wanted an old porch swing.  She purchased a new one.  Of course we took it.  We hadn't had a porch swing for many years.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/07/playing-cards-at-senior-center.htm

So here it is.  Not too bad and pretty sturdy.

The first thing we had to figure out is where to put it.  My front porch really didn't have enough room.  Next we thought that our deck would be a good place for it.  It has a view in many directions, and the swing wouldn't be in the way.  Now where to hang it?  The only place to hang it from was from the overhang.  We weren't sure if we would have enough clearance.  I asked if we (meaning my husband) could build a frame to hang the swing on.  It would be moveable, and it wouldn't compromise the overhang with the weight of the swing and anyone sitting on it.  I even went online and found a pattern for a swing and stand.  It was a "buy it now" on ebay, so I bought it.  Next my husband spent some time planning and making notes for himself. 

Before you know it we were in the truck and on our way to the lumber yard.  Yes, we needed the truck.  We purchased long pieces of lumber, chains, nuts and bolts.

We got home and he started cutting pieces.

He laid out all the new hardware.

When he got the frame all cut and assembled, we thought the swing itself was a little tacky.  At first he was going to strip the boards but there were several coats of paint on them, and we didn't know the condition of the wood underneath.

Nearly finished assembling the frame.

So off to the lumberyard we went again.  This time we bought boards for replacing the slats on the swing.  We bought stain, varnish and paint for the metal parts.

This is all that is left of the original swing.

Staining and varnishing the new slats.

So after two round trips to Oshkosh in the gas guzzling truck and who knows exactly how much money, we have a swing that we didn't even know we wanted in the first place.

Dad trying it out.  We think it needs a cushion to support his skinny rear end.

All and all it turned out pretty well.  We have more seating on the deck, and a perfect position to watch the Baltimore Orioles build their nest.

Baltimore Oriole nest nearly finished.