Removable Stair Slide

A few weeks ago, my husband finished another fun project he had up his sleeve.  He finished our playroom attic and climbing passage first (see last post) and now turned his attention to a smaller, but super fun project.

 

  After leaving his fun slide he built to the basement in our last house, he wanted to find a way to put a small slide in this new one.  When we realized our stairs were much wider than usual, we figured out a  way to add a slide.  It's just 18" wide, but wide enough and strong enough for an adult to go down.  The 18" still leaves a nice amount of stair width left to pass without it being too crowded. 

 

The best part? It can be removed from the stairs in just seconds.  Most of it's weight sits on those triangular supports. However, to keep it from sliding forward, it is attached by strong, but simple hardware: these interlocking flush wall mounts (meant for heavy items like mirrors):

We got ours from Rockler since they had the largest size. They're very strong, attached with 4 screws for strength and allows for very flush mounting (we didn't want a gap where fingers could be caught.) The slide just pops into the wall's side and lifts out easy for removal. The hardest part of the whole job was getting those latches to line up correctly!

It's actually a very simple construction. We cut sanded plywood and pieced another section on to make it the correct length. We used 3 heavy duty mending plates across the joint to strengthen it. We sanded the joint to make sure it would slide smoothly. We also placed the joint between steps so that the whole length of slide was sitting on the stairs to support it the whole way.

We then added the triangular leg supports by screwing in from the top and then adding corner brackets to strengthen each up. These were also well sanded to make sure it wouldn't tear up the carpet.  Finally, the hand rail (we chose a low-profile one) was screwed to one side from underneath.  At this point, we were a bit nervous because it was super fast with just the unfinished wood! I chose a strong enamel paint from Sherwin Williams in gloss that matched our home's white trim. Luckily, this slowed the slide down to a reasonable speed. I still insist on the cushion at the bottom, though!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

It's already a big hit with the kids! They do come a bit quicker to dinner now!!haha