By chance I mentioned it to a friend at a local garden centre.
He said he had some wooden single bed frame slats that they had saved and had no use for and did I want them?
After checking them out I realized that the wood was very lightweight and wouldn't add a lot of weight to my frame, and, they also were solid enough for an adult to lie on - so i took them home.
I measured them to my swing and of course length-ways they were too short, but width-ways they were not. So I placed a piece across the swing slightly overhanging the back bar and marked it with pencil slightly overhanging the front bar.
I then sawed it and did the same until i had around twelve pieces of wood cut. The first and the last piece I had drawn around the curve of the bar underneath to fit flush with it. Then I had to think what to bind them on with and decided on cable ties. So i drilled a small hole in the wood that sat just on the inside of the bar and tied it through and pulled it. This looked great and fitted tightly onto the frame. So i untied it and then prepared all my wood the same.
Now i wanted something to make the wood waterproof - so I hunted around my shed and found an old tin of varnish. It was walnut colour. Two coats later Voila!
As soon as it was dry i cabled tied them all on. Now for the back.
The back of the swing's material was still in good shape so I cut it off to where it would meet the wood properly underneath, and, with the help of a staple gun borrowed from a good neighbour, I stapled it on. This needs two people and with one hand you need to hold the wood so that the cable ties don't snap when you staple them! If they do you can thread another cable tie through with a bit of effort...
The original cushion and cover still fitted because it fitted over the top of the swing seat. You should really have the cushion on because like a mattress it spreads the weight out when you sit on it.
So far so good. How long will it last who knows but for now it's good and we have our swing back. Take a look.,,,
Note from a builder friend of mine - cable ties do weather after a while (a year maybe or so) so do check them now and then, so I would be tempted to put a strip of carpet tape or waterproof tape across them to keep them dry maybe? You can also buy stainless steel cable ties if you want, these would pretty much last forever! Also the staples underneath will weather over time so maybe varnish them over too or put a tiny strip of carpet or waterproof tape on them too.
As for the single wooden bed slats, you can google them and they are everywhere and inexpensive. You could also be cheeky and ask a local bed centre if they are throwing any out. I used 12 slats on the two seater swing. Do let me know how you get on and you can send me your pictures if you want - any improvements will be posted!
One year on and one of the slats got water in and split,
so I took it off and got a new one and varnished it over again. I did think of using a wood preserve but varnishing does seem to be the better long term option for this type of job. Do check it every year and re varnish as necessary. Happy renovating!
A couple of years on and I have decided to cover the slats with carpet tape wrapped over them all, and, theoretically if they are not exposed to the elements they shouldn't weather and will stay good. But will check and keep you updated!
We have also tried on 24/03/2025 laying a clear sheet of plastic over the slats, and adding 2 strips of gaffer tape, to see if we can stop any weathering whatsoever like so - we shall see....happy renovating guys!!
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