Natural Playgrounds Bass Drum User manual

Bass Drum
Installation Instructions
NOTES: Please check for any damage caused by the shipping company. If there is damage, take
numerous photos and send them to us, then refuse the shipment. If there is damage and you accept
the shipment, there is nothing we can do to reimburse you.
*Please call Digsafe and check for any underground utilities before digging anywhere.
Materials needed
Post hole shovel, level, tape measure, screw gun, and bags of fast-setting premixed concrete (not
included), water. Concrete amount required may very depending on how deep you can get the hole.
Concrete amounts can be easily calculated at http://www.quikrete.com/Calculator/Main.asp.
Instructions
1. Remove items from package..
2. Pick out the location for the drum.
3. Use the post hole digger (or a shovel) to dig a minimum 14” long hole x minimum 4” wide hole x a minimum
of 24-30” deep (deeper in cold climates where the frost line is deeper). Fill the bottom 6” of hole with
drainage stone.
4. Set the vertical support board in the hole to your desired height. You may adjust the depth up or down
depending on the age of the kids using the bass drum.
5. Using a bubble level, plumb the vertical support board in both directions by placing the level on two
adjacent sides of the support. It is optional to hold this positioning by using strapping and stakes, but it is
not required.
6. Holding the Bass Drum support upright by hand or with strapping, fill 1/4 of the hole with fast setting
concrete mix and add water per instructions on bag. Recheck to make sure post is plumb, and make any
adjustments.
7. Fill the rest of the hole with concrete per instructions on bag, stopping four inches below the grade line.
Recheck to make sure post is plumb periodically while concrete cures. Let cure for 24 hours.
8. After concrete cures, backfill rest of hole and hand tamp good draining soil firmly to 3” below finished
grade, install top soil to finish grade and plant grass to fill in around hole.
9. Fix drum top in place as shown in the photo using hardware provided.
10. Attach the back braces as shown using hardware provided.
11. Drop mallets in holes and you’re good to go. If the mallets have not been attached with wire or cord, you
may want to do this to make sure the mallets don’t “walk.”
12. Drum heads are removable by unscrewing from inside and under the heads. In freezing temperatures drum
heads may crack if hit hard enough, so it is recommended that you bring them inside when temperatures
drop.
13. The wood is treated with kid-friendly preservative, but as is the case with all wood facing the elements, it
needs to be cared for, so check it periodically for rough spots, splinters, etc, and sand them out, and treat it
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Bass Drum
Installation Instructions
with kid-friendly wood preservative (we have it available if you can’t find it) once or twice a year to keep the
wood from deteriorating. We also carry replacement drum heads, should one or both get damaged.
14. Enjoy your Bass Drum!
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