How to make a kid car wash.
I am a total sucker for backyard birthday parties. So when it was time to plan my daughter’s third birthday, I headed to Pinterest to browse, pin and plan the best we-don’t-have-a-pool-but-we-can-still-have-fun-with-water birthday party ever!
As I searched various birthday related pins, I came across two for a kid car wash. It was an adorable contraption made from PVC pipe, pool noodles and some creativity. It looked like the perfect thing to entertain big kids and little kids alike – not to mention be tons of fun for the rest of the summer.
I printed the directions and handed them to Peter (the hubs) and asked if he could make it. He looked it over and responded that he could definitely make something just like it. His response made me a little nervous, but his enthusiasm was promising so I turned him loose and waited. And the results? Were awesome! Total work time was about 5 hours with an additional 1-2 hours for decorations.
How much fun does this look?! I have to admit, I’ve been through it and it’s the perfect amount of water! And the bubble machine on top made it even more exciting. The kids could run through, ride bikes through it, use buckets to collect the streams of water…the possibilities are endless!
Here’s the supply list and instructions:
Construction Materials:
15 – 31″ long pieces of 1/2″ PVC Pipe
11 – 3.5″ long pieces of 1/2″ PVC Pipe
4 – 15″ long pieces of 1/2″ PVC Pipe
4 – 20″ long pieces of 1/2″ PVC Pipe
10 – End Caps for 1/2″ PVC Pipe
1 – Hose connector for 1/2″ PVC Pipe
13 – Tees for 1/2″ PVC Pipe
9 – Elbows for 1/2″ PVC Pipe
20 – Pool Noodles
1 – Bubble Machine
Directions:
1. 1/2″ PVC Pipe is typically sold in 10′ pieces. You will need 10 pieces to cut/create each of the pieces identified above.
2. To cut/create each of the pieces identified above, a simple PVC handsaw ($5.00) will get the job done.
3. Assemble the 5 feet/base as follows: Cap -> 3.5″ piece -> Tee -> 3.5″ piece -> Cap.
4. Assemble the hose connector (which doubles as a foot/base) as follows: Hose Connector -> 3.5″ piece -> Elbow.
5. The lower section will consist of 6 – 31″ pieces of 1/2″ PVC Pipe.
6. Connect the lower section to the feet/base.
7. Assemble the side rails as follows: Elbow -> 31″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe -> Tee -> 15″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe -> Tee -> 15″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe -> 31″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe -> Elbow.
8. Connect the side rails to the lower section.
9. Assemble each upper archway as follows: 31″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe -> Elbow -> 20″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe -> Tee -> 20″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe -> Elbow -> 31″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe.
10. Connect the upper archways via a 31″ piece of 1/2″ PVC Pipe.
11. Connect the upper archways to the lower section.
12. Drill small, random holes in the PVC Pipe so that water will criss-cross over the opening of the carwash.
13. Wrap the PVC Pipe with pool noodles (should require 10 pool noodles).
13. Hang the remaining pool noodles from the upper archways.
14. Mount the bubble machine on the rear, upper archway.
15. Hook up the hose to the hose connector and have fun!
This is awesome! Can we invite ourselves over for a playdate?!
[…] handy with PVC pipe, you can turn your backyard into a mini water park with this kid wash by scottsdalemomsblog.com. Kids will love running, playing and riding bikes through this aquatic contraption that begs for […]
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