Do It Yourself: Ball Pit

      This is one of the best things I’ve ever invested in for my kids.. BOTH of them, an 11 year old and a 1 year old. I saw SO many online, but they just didn’t fit our needs in our play room space.

I CAN’T WAIT TO SHARE THESE DIY PLANS WITH YOU!

First, let me explain why I chose this design.

1.)    A 1 foot entry is PERFECT for young babies to stay inside safely and play while also learning to pull up and stand. My favorite part of this design, is that my toddler can climb in and out of this entry! Likewise, as your child grows, you can add more balls… which is another reason why the 1 foot entry is perfect for having a good depth of balls (without allowing them to pour out all the time)!

2.) The tall (3 foot) sides aren’t really necessary. They were for us, because we have a ledge upstairs, and I didn’t want him to use the top noodle as a step to look over. That’s just plain terrifying! 🙈

The main reason for having the tall sides… a fort, of course!

Why waste the space on just one use- when you could have two!? All kids love forts! Bag up the balls, flip the pit over, toss a few blankets on and let them read, watch a movie, or tell flashlight stories with friends! My son loves how easy he can whip up a fort. Wa-La! A true ‘kid cave’!

(I didn’t cover it much so that you could see inside 😉)

NOW LETS GET BUSY!

SHOPPING LIST:

– PVC :  (I used 1″ diameter PVC, because of durability. If you wanted to go lower, to 3/4″, I think it would be just fine).

Black or White PVC? – I used black. You could always buy white and paint it a specific color too!

PVC is mainly sold in 10 foot pole sections.  You will need 7 of these. You’ll have a little left over.
Here are all the pieces needed:

(How many pvc sections)      Length 

• (4) 1 ft
• (14) 2 ft
• (4) 2.6 ft
• (7) 3 ft

* 29 pieces total

Home Depot, Lowe’s, or your awesome husband will cut the sections for you. 🤗

Connectors

• TEES= 10
• CORNERS= 8
• ELBOWS= 2

* 20 pieces total

– Netting :

This is a type of snow netting. It is plastic and has been completely safe for our toddler and pre-teen. No, he doesn’t try to climb it, and no, it doesn’t cut him.  *Make sure the roll is 3 1/2 -4 feet tall since the ball pit is 3 feet tall! My roll was about 25-30 feet long, which fit around perfectly allowing some extra.

Any similar plastic netting would do the same job!

– Bag of large zip ties 

– Pool Noodles 

    About 12 noodles. I used some that we had left over from summer and bought a few more. You could always gather well-loved noodles from family and friends! I used different colors because I wanted it to have more pop in color.

This project will be roughly $130.00 depending on brands and where you buy your materials.

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TIME     TO      BUILD    !!!!     🎉

1.) Connect all pieces

This layout I drew should REALLY help you to build the pit!

2.) Wrap netting around sides, cut extra off & zip tie netting to PVC

Two people are needed for this. Make sure netting is pulled fairly tight!

Having a little extra netting on top, to fold over in a zip tie under the noodle, doesn’t hurt!

For zip tying— Use a ton! I zipped top, side, and bottom PVC like crazy! Make sure to cut the remainder of the zip ties when done. Happy zipping! 👍🏻

3.) Cut noodles down the middle & then pop them onto the PVC.

4.) Throw all those balls into the pit and don’t worry about them being EVERYWHERE anymore! If looking to buy more, Amazon has awesome deals!

YAY!!! I know your kid’s will enjoy this now and for years to come! I would love to see a picture of your final masterpiece- send me a comment when complete! 😊 

Feel inspired & enjoy!