Platform for kids??

[FunFinder]

Oh, forgot about that part. I used a saw to cut the extra off the legs and then made it smooth with a sandpaper block. I glued the shelf liner over the entire bottom and used a razor blade tool to trim, rather than trying to cut the strips before putting it on.

 

[Pauls234]

Sawing the legs worked great! I used the jb weld for the shelf liner on the bottom. Will have it in the pool today for the kids test it out and will share a picture. Happy 4th!

 

[Pauls234]

I've made 4 of these because we have young kids and a huge pool. I will share more info about construction and have questions, but first a pic!

 

[Pauls234]

To recap:

Home depot utility shelves, saw a bit off of the legs, zip tie poly wall to make it easier on the feet and then jb weld shelf liner to the bottom. Total cost is a bit under $70 for two of them.

The biggest challenge is these suckers want to float! In fact, they would make pretty good floating serving trays ;-) The first time I put one in the water and then weighted it, the thing just pulled itself apart. So, to counteract that, I used speaker wire (because that is what was within reach) to tie the top and bottom shelves together. Glue may work but I like the idea of being able to break them down for winter storage. I used twine for the last three rather than speaker wire, but am not excited about either of those being in my pool for an extended period of time.

Thoughts on what I could use to tie together? Maybe large zip ties strung together?

How did you deal with this Fun Finder?

Otherwise, these work great and the kids love them!

 

[FunFinder]

Wow, your pool looks like fun! Glad the platforms worked for you. Mine do come apart when floating, but when I have the bottom part weighted down, the top part stays snapped on with the legs. Are you pushing the legs in all the way? I have not had to attach the bottom and top shelf together with anything other than the legs. Maybe try reversing the direction of the legs? I can't remember if only one side snaps in or not. If you need something to attach the shelves- maybe fishing line? It would be easy to cut off for removal and you wouldn't be able to see it. Just make sure it's placed so no one can get a foot or hand stuck in it. I put the two big boxes on the bottom shelf so my kids wouldn't try to swim between the shelves and possibly get stuck. I think your zip tie idea would work also. What did you use for weights? Thanks for the pics!

 

[Pauls234]

I fiddled with the legs, tried reversing them, pushing them in further, etc and I did notice that some of the legs have a much tighter fit than others, but not all of them. I'm sure if I got 3 or 4 tight ones on each platform it would help considerably, but I've got 4 of these things going so I'll probably just use zip ties or fishing line.

I used some retaining wall blocks to weigh them down, but I remove them after swimming. I am concerned that their porousness offers too many hiding spots for algae, so I will either paint them with an epoxy paint or, more likely, fill bleach bottles with quickrete and see if that does the trick.

Overall though, these work great!

 

[FunFinder]

that's a lot of work after a swim! Thanks for the updates. I hope all of this info helps out others too!

 

[Pauls234]

Bumping this thread to share the idea with others this year and again to thank FunFinder for the great idea. I left these outside all winter when I closed the pool, some of the zip ties needed replacing and some of the shelf liner on the bottom peeled away or is loose in spots, but easy fixes. As I noted above, I have a large pool and young kids, so these were a huge hit last year. I think I have 5 total now and have placed a few near the entry stairs and place the rest as little bases throughout the pool. My girls love swimming from platform to platform as they become better swimmers, adults sit on them, kids use them as bases for swimming "tag"!

It is good to remove these with some frequency and rinse them to prevent algae from hiding, but otherwise, they are great!

 

[ksguy]

Pauls234 - that is awesome. I've been trying to figure out how to rig something up for my 3 year old, and this looks like a great start. Thanks!

 

[FunFinder]

Glad this worked out for several members. i wanted to add that I got lazy and didn't take it out for weekly cleaning, but we never had a problem with algae on the platform. I moved it often and our pool got daily use. As Pauls did, my platform stayed outside for the winter and held up perfectly.

 

[HeidiP]

Glad this worked out for several members. i wanted to add that I got lazy and didn't take it out for weekly cleaning, but we never had a problem with algae on the platform. I moved it often and our pool got daily use. As Pauls did, my platform stayed outside for the winter and held up perfectly.

Just getting our pool installed this week and I've been looking at platform builds. These seem much simpler than many things out there. Thanks for the share.

 

[Pauls234]

We still use these platforms all the time! I have 5 total - zip ties degrade and need replacement now and then and have had to re-glue the shelf liner on the bottom in spots, but generally they are low maintenance. I've drilled holes in spots too just to make them a easier to fill with water and encourage some circulation within.

To weigh them down I filled bleach bottles with quikrete, takes two bottles per platform.

They add so much to our (rather large) pool, kids swim island to island rather than just hanging on the ladder or tip toeing around.

For safety I do tell all kids that they are not to try and swim underneath them as they can get stuck. If they do disobey the rules and swim underneath and find themselves stuck then they need to push the bottles off and float to the top.

Maybe besides the heater, these are the best additions to our pool over the years!

 

[HeidiP]

Thanks so much! I'm pregnant with #4 and working FT/getting to know my new pool but I did read this when you posted! Much appreciated.

 

[Pauls234]

Looks like I missed giving this thread its annual bump last year, so here it is for 2019 for those who may benefit!

Can't believe this is our 5th season with these platforms and they are still going strong (with minor annual maintenance) and that is with them left out in the elements all Chicago winter.

My kids can both touch bottom now, but they still love having these in our (rather large) pool.

 

[Pauls234]

Giving the 2020 bump to this idea for others particularly with younger kids, 6th season and still use these regularly even though my girls can now touch bottom!

Happy Fathers Day!

 

[kellyfair]

Love the ingenuity!

 

[PHNJ]

I'm thinking this may work for my dog who wants to keep jumping in the pool and is still learning where the stairs are to get out-brought him in the pool yesterday for the first time but he's big (golden retriever)

 

[Pauls234]

They are still going strong! I did have to refurbish a few end of last season, but that was after what... 6 seasons of sitting in chlorinated water and being jumped on in the summer followed by sitting outside through Chicago winters.

 

[bw_mnpool]

They are still going strong! I did have to refurbish a few end of last season, but that was after what... 6 seasons of sitting in chlorinated water and being jumped on in the summer followed by sitting outside through Chicago winters.

How is the wear on your liner over the years. I'm going to steal your idea, but considering building a furniture grade PVC frame for the platforms rather than using the shelves straight up

 

[Pauls234]

No issues with liner wear. I glued shelf liner to the bottom of the platforms.