Backyard Halfpipe

Sean, Jim and Ryan relaxing on our new ramp!

Here are some notes and photos on our project to to build a 24' half-pipe for skateboarding and rollerblading in our back yard. We are following the excellent plans for a skateboard half-pipe published by Rick Dahlen on his website. Thanks Rick!

If you're interested in building this ramp yourself, you might want to start by reviewing my Materials and Cost page. If you have any other questions, send me email!  jim(at)ajaxusa(dot)com . This project evolved over five days (see below) spread across three weekends.

=> Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five

The first weekend was mostly spent wringing my hands about starting such a large and costly project that might endanger the lives of my children. But I got over that pretty quickly, and set about clearing and preparing the site where we'd build the thing. I also did my shopping for materials.

The second weekend was the big push to complete the majority of construction including painting and the usual series of trips to Home Depot. The third weekend was for the final touches: Attaching and painting the decking and building the safety rails. And of course, the inaugural skate session!

Or just visit this photo page to see a few pictures. And if you're going to build the ramp, you might also want to check out my notes on materials.