How to extend a kid's swing set to accomodate an extra swing

Like every Australian household with young kids, a Hills swing set takes pride of place in our backyard. We chose the standard model consisting of a normal swing, roman rings and a sea-saw swing. This seemed like the perfect configuration for our then 1 child family. When our second child came along, we added a slide that attaches to the side of the swing frame and replaced the roman rings with a second normal swing.

With the arrival of our third child, and no room to add any more swings it was starting to look like it might have to be upgraded to a bigger model.

But reluctant to part with the slightly small, but perfectly fine centre-piece of our backyard, I thought there must be a way to make room for our youngest toddler.

The horizontal beam that supports the swings is made from RHS (rectangular hollow section). Apart from some bolts that intersect it – this beam is completely hollow. After a brief inspection, it was obvious that a slightly smaller, snug-fitting RHS beam could be slid inside the swing’s beam to make it longer and accommodate an extra swing.


I purchased a 1.5 meter length of RHS that would fit tightly inside the swing’s beam. I removed the bolts that fasten the legs to the beam and inserted the RHS. The RHS is now covering the bolt holes from the inside of the beam so they need to be drilled through. Once that was complete, the bolts could be re-inserted securing the swings legs, beam and extension.

After some paint, a toddlers swing was attached to the beam and a very excited toddler placed in the swing.


The extension works well. It would only be suitable for toddlers as I don’t think it could handle the forces exerted by an older child and they would possibly collide with the legs of the swing – but it more than does the job for now. The photo below shows the extension and the umbrellas I mounted on top of the swing for shade. Read about the umbrella project.