7 Funny and Weird Uses For Old Tires You Won’t Believe Are Real

Tires are one of those things that somehow fill up your garage inexplicably. Once they’re off your car, what are you supposed to do with them?

Instead of just dropping them off at the dump, you can repurpose them in some interesting, albeit somewhat weird, ways. If you don’t mind attempting DIY projects and potentially ending up with a lot of tire furniture in your house, then keep reading.

We’ve got a list of 7 projects and uses for old tires that you can attempt with all the extras you have laying around your garage and basement.

1. Classic Tire Swing… with a Twist

Okay, so this option isn’t super shocking or out of the box when it comes to tires. But installing a classic tire swing in your backyard is like a right of passage. Imagine all the angsty poetry you could write about swinging on it with your first love during a summer night.

But you don’t have to stop with the classic rope around the tire that’s tied to a tree. You can craft a horse-tire swing out of just one tire and a pre-planned design.

If you have many different sized tires, you can make a double, or even triple, decker tire swing. Try putting rope or netting over the top of the tire hole and hanging the tire horizontal to create a tire swing/hammock combo that’s perfect for two.

Have fun with this one. Tire swings are nostalgic and classic, but that doesn’t mean that your tire swing has to follow all the rules.

2. Children’s Playgrounds

Did you know that a lot of public children’s playgrounds are made of recycled sneakers and tires?

And we don’t just mean tire swings. The tires are recycled to make the ground of the playground.

You know how the ground at playgrounds is squishy and soft? Old tires and recycled rubber are used to create this type of texture that will absorb impacts and make landings softer.

Kids jump and play and fall at playgrounds all the time. So this type of ground is perfect to prevent injuries. It’s also a perfect way to recycle old tires. Who knew!

3. At Home Playground

Besides public playgrounds, you can use your old tired to create an epic playground right at home. You’ll be the coolest parent out there (and if you don’t have kids, then you’ll be the coolest adult with an at home playground).

Start with a tire climb area. Paint them fun colors and stack them up in different sized towers. Space them out to create a sort of tire jungle gym that your kids and their friends (or, let’s face it, you and your friends) can climb, jump on, leap to and from, etc.

You’ll already have a tire swing, as per our first tire recycling option on this list, so the swings are all set.

There’s even a way to make a teeter-totter with your old tires. Sure, you’ll need a bunch of other supplies, but the tire is a key component.

4. Garden Planters

While you’re working on your DIY playground made of mostly tires, you might as well work on your garden at the same time. The good news is, you can keep up your tire themed decor with garden planters and compost bins made of old tires.

There are a few different tutorials you can find online on how to turn your tires into planter “boxes.” Not everyone digs the rustic look of plain tires, so why not paint them pastel pink or green to make your yard look like a Brooklyn hipster’s rooftop?

Since they’ll be outside and might be moved around and stepped on, you might want to think about having a coating on the tires to protect them. Speedliner can help you out with that; check out their site for more info.

5. Shooting Range Bullet Backstop

We don’t have a clever segue of how to get from garden planters to shooting ranges except that they can both things to do with old tires.

Layer your tires and fill the inside with dirt and/or sand. This will stop bullets in their tracks, give you a nice project, and use up a bunch of your old tires. It’s a triple-win.

6. Coffee Table

We took a quick break to discuss shooting guns and now we’re back to talking about decor. So far you could’ve made an outdoor playground, a swing, and garden components.

Why only work outside? Sure, tires are usually an outdoor thing. They’re on cars, get dirty, hang out in the garage, etc.

But there’s no rule that the can’t come inside. In fact, tires can make awesome furniture. Let’s start with a coffee table.

Simple pain the tires a color of your choosing. We like the idea of white to give it a nice minimal-meets-rustic look. You can simply stack them and attack a wood or stone top to make the “table” part. Or if you want to be a little fancier, you can attach legs made of wood or metal to create a cute little coffee table.

7. Indoor Furniture

Let’s continue with the furniture theme. Besides coffee tables, you can make end tables as well. Depending on the size of the tire, you can go big with a dining room table (this would be a lot, but you’re already on a tire theme so you might as well go for it).

You can also try wrapping the tire in different types of fabric or cloth to make a pseudo-circle-chair like this one.

Need Uses for Old Tires? There’s 7 of the Weirdest!

It’s not every day that you need uses for old tires. But when you do need some ideas, these 7 will provide you with fun and usable projects that will put those old tires to good use.

Looking for other projects to do with reusable materials? Check out our other articles on that topic.

Tired of tires and just want more weirdness? We’ve got plenty of that too with our other popular and out-of-the-box articles.

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