DIY Outdoor Scoreboard

As soon as it is warm enough, my boys start setting up the net for volleyball and badminton. We got a new corn hole game for Christmas so they set that up too. I love that we have a yard big enough to play outdoor games. When I was invited to be a part of an outdoor game challenge, I knew I wanted to make a scoreboard to hang on the fence that would work for all the outdoor games we play. Today I am sharing a simple DIY outdoor scoreboard!

I wanted to make it easy to use so it has pegs that you move around as you score. My youngest had just as much fun moving the pegs as he did playing the game!

Supplies:

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Plywood cut to desired size

3/8″ wood dowel

2 large wood beads (or cut out 2 3″ circles)

Paint

Helmsman Spar Urethane

Rope

It really is very easy. Even the pegs! I had some large wooden beads left over from a previous project. You can find them in any craft store or online. I cut 3 inch pieces of 3/8″ dowels. I had to use a 3/8″ drill bit to make the holes in the beads a tiny bit bigger. Then I used a hammer to fore the dowel all the way through to the other side. I spray painted them when I was done.

For the actual scoreboard, I cut a scrap piece of plywood to 20″ x 30″, sanded it, and stained it a warm brown.

Once the stain was dry, I stenciled the letters and numbers.

To help the number stand out, and to tie in the black stripes, I outlined the numbers and letters with a black marker. It was tedious and definately optional, but I think it really took the scoreboard up a notch.

I waited to drill the holes for the pegs until I had the numbers on so I could make sure the holes were centered under the numbers. You have to be careful when drilling large holes in plywood. Plywood tends to get ripped up while drilling. Two things help with this. Drill slowly and put painters tape over the area before drilling. I forgot about the tape trick until I had already drilled one hole. I added tape for the rest of the holes.

The holes got outlined as well with a black marker.

It still needs to be sealed. I couldn’t find my Helmsman spar urethane (outdoor sealer ) before it was time to take photos for this post. Of course I found it as soon as I was done. Go figure!

My kids didn’t waste any time putting the DIY outdoor scoreboard to good use. As soon as it was put up on the fence, they were shouting “I’m team blue!”