Building a Rope Bridge

[Tyler]

Hello everyone.

I'm so glad I found this forum and it is great to be here! So over the past few days I was lurking around and finally decided to register. Hopefully I can get some help here.

I'm a carpenter and the kind of DIY guy. One of my hobbies is actually building tree-houses. That is why I also do some volunteer work on the weekend at our local rope course to support them and maintain a few things. It is just a small one for the kids around, but they like it very much.

We recently finished two new, wooden platforms and we want to connect them via a small and simple rope bridge. Here is a picture of what we have in mind, so you get the idea.



My question is, is it possible to built this kind of bridge or is it even better, and more secure, to buy one? I already found a few rope bridges on the for sales website http://www.for-sale.co.uk/rope-bridge. But as you have already guessed, we are a bit short on money. So I thought I give it a try.

So what do the experts here say about this? Is it possible? And what materials (ropes) do I need? And can anybody give a rough estimate on the costs of the rope?

Any support and feedback is highly appreciated.

Tyler.

[Tyler]

Any advice? Anyone?

[Sweeney]

Hi Tyler and welcome to this forum. You might first off have a look at this thread - though not strictly relevant to your type of bridge it may give you some insight -  http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=3312.

There is no reason why you should not attempt to build your own but it's difficult to offer advice without knowing exactly what your design is like and how big your bridge is likely to be. The type of rope you use should be rotproof and UV resistant if the bridge is to stay out in all weathers - artificial hemp (polypropylene)which looks like natural rope - is a typical choice for this kind of thing. The bridge in your picture consumes a lot of rope most of which looks like around 10mm diameter so you would need to calculate the cost of buying rope by the coil or ready made cargo netting for you to attach or a complete off the shelf bridge. The rope at the top and bottom of the bridge is likely to be pretty expensive though.  Finally I suggest you search for other designs which may be cheaper (or at least easier to build) and by all means come back to the forum with your further questions.

Sweeney

[Tyler]

Hey Sweeney.

Thanks for the link. I just bookmarked it and will read it later. I skimmed it quickly, but it looks like it is really helpful.

The design of the bridge will be like in the picture I attached to the thread. It is like a V-shape. But no planks in the middle. Just one or two big rope to walk on. The distance is about 17 feet.

I guess I will discuss it with the guys from the rope course and see how much budget is available. Then I'll do some more research on the design. Pick a simpler (cheaper) one.

Thanks for your help!

[JimmyD]

hi Tyler,

The latest issue of Knotting Matters #135 has a nifty way of making cargo nets in it where you open the lay of the rope and relay, leaving no knots so would use less rope also.

Another way of stopping a fall could be to use trawler nets cut and secured on larger ropes in place of the rope cargo net...you could still have the large rope in the centre for you to walk on. Would be cheaper and faster than making cargo net though maybe not have the same appeal your after.

Love what your doing, would have loved something like this near me when I was growing up. Good on ya.

James Dunningham

[SarahMay]

To be honest, at first impression, I thought that it will be straightforward to build a rope bridge. After I bought all the materials, it was tough to work on this project. Especially that I've started it one month ago and it's so hot outside. Anyway, I had some headaches with the rope, so I googled for a stronger one, and I bought it from https://www.growgardener.com/best-rope-for-tree-swing/. I remained very impressed with how strong is this kind of rope. Also, I made from it a tree swing in the backyard for my kids. They are delighted with it.