LMK Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi, Ok Hive, I want to pick your collective brains! :001_smile: We are planning on getting a wooden swingset for our back yard. I want something that is going to last for more than a couple of years. Some of the ones that I have seen locally just look so beat up after a few years. So, here is my question: If you have wooden set: 1. How long have you had it? 2. How does it look now? 3. Have you done any maintenance (like sanding/refinishing)? 4. What brand is it? 5. Is it still as stable now as it was when you bought it? 6. Do the kids use it a lot? 7. What would you do differently? Hmm..anything else I am missing? We are planning on getting at least 3 swings and a separate tire swing set up. Probably a tunnel slide (so then I don't have to worry about someone falling off at the top...the bottom 2 DDs are jumpers!) :glare: What else is popular with your kids? Monkey bars? Rock wall? Thanks for your input! :bigear: LMK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We made our own from a Sunset plan book we bought at Lowe's. If you have a mitre/chop saw, it's pretty easy. We saved a TON of money and got exactly what we wanted. After four years of strong sunlight, we had to re-do the redwood staining/sealing, but that's all. We made a "big kid" version that is sturdy. Adults can swing on the swings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 My input would be to make sure you budget for a safe surface underneath it. People I know are generally shocked when they start pricing surface materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) We have a wooden set. It is about 7 and a half years old, looks weathered and has lichen growing on it. We have done minor repairs to the platform in the tower as a board split through a knot. It is about to be moved and I will probably replace a couple more boards that have minor cracks but they are non structural parts, more cladding. Generally it has lasted really well. It's normal for wooden swings to go grey and look weathered over the years. Edited February 23, 2012 by lailasmum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We have one that is very old, probably about 20 years. It belonged to a friend whose children had outgrown it (they are in high school now) and they had had it for quite a while. There is nothing special about it. Just a yellow slide and two swings, although it could hold three. When we got it, my husband painted it with one of those water repellant paints for wood (it was the old, gray wood look) and it looked like new. He also built a nice set of stairs to replace the broken-down ladder that was original to the set. We have had it now for about 6 years and it has been through 2 moves. My husband gave it another coat of paint 2 or 3 years ago and it could use another coat now. Overall, it is still in excellent condition. The boys play on it a lot. I have no idea of a brand name though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We have one from here: http://www.kidscreations.com/ We've had it up for about 2 years - it looks as good as it did when we first put it up. It was pricey, but SOLID. (and bonus was we didn't have to pay for it!) I have neighborhood kids all over it multiple times a week with no issues. My church is ordering one from here for our new building. This is ours: http://www.kidscreations.com/swing-sets/walkaround-wooden-swing-sets Ours has a picnic table under the ladder. I would say it was probably the BEST home improvement we've done to date. It was a BEAST to assemble though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 mine is 18 years old. :D The kids loved the rope ladder and rings to hang from as well. The biggest hit, though was the fort. We put steering wheels and telescopes up there, attached to the beams. Those were the cheapest items and also the most used. Go figure! We have restained ours once. It is just as sturdy now as it was the day we got it. I don't have a brand name. I saw them at an outdoor place, picked ours out, and had it assembled and delivered. Our youngest was too daring and kept getting hurt so a couple of years back we turned the fort into a chicken coop. We enclosed it entirely, put on a roof, and added an outdoor enclosure, using the frame and adding on so there is plenty of space outside for the chickens. It even has a window in it. It is really pretty cute. :D On bad weather days the chickens still stay outside but stay safe from the elements under the fort. We have perches inside. We checked the frame and all before adding onto it to make it a chicken coop. It truly was as sturdy as the day we got it. I prefer tire swings hanging from a tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I would also look at the content. Is it all cedar or redwood? Or just part of it? Some companies still use a version of pressure treated wood but I think there are still come concerns with the chemicals in the newer version of pressure treated wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I prefer tire swings hanging from a tree. :iagree: Ours has a tire swing, and I want to remove it and put a sandbox there instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMK Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Wow! The Hive sure works fast! Thanks for all the replies. I will definitely price out how much the wood chips or whatever surface is going to be. We actually are going to level part of our yard first, so that is going to be expensive already. If anyone has any other brand recommendations, please keep them coming! Off to check the link! Thanks again! LMK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Rainbow Play Systems, purchased on clearance. 10 years old and going strong. It needs retightening of bolts on the swing section every year or two (as the movement of the swings loosens things a bit), and we restained it at 5 years (and need to again), but no real problems so far; any would be covered by the lifetime warranty. If we had it to purchase again, we would get the one with the huge platform/club house, as the 4" square one just isn't big enough for several kids at once when they get into mid-elementary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We had purchased one from Creative Playthings a number of years ago. We kept it for about 6 years. If we had sealed the wood every year like we were supposed to it probably would have held up better. The basic structure was still sound but by the time we got rid of it some of the ladder rungs had to be replaced because they rotted and broke. Our rope ladder also had to be replaced once due to it rotting away. It was certainly a worthwhile investment. I got rid of it when my youngest was 10 because no one really used it with any regularity anymore and my yard is just not that big. Although I do miss being able to hang my laundry to dry on the monkey bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We have a rainbow playset we purchased through Costco three years ago. Some of the stain is starting to fade a bit in areas--we have a lot of sun, wind and rain here--and I'll probably try to match it and cover the raw wood this summer. It is incredibly sturdy and has gotten very heavy use. We chose to get one with a wooden roof to the covered playhouse area....the canvas ones tend to fade and rip after a couple of years. I'm glad we did. (And I'm also glad we purchased through Costco--the identical playset through Rainbow sold for twice as much!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We had an amazing Rainbow Station, but we sold it when we moved here because our children were getting older. It had 4 swings (but we mostly used the 4th slot for a rope/disc swing, a tire swing, a rope ladder, and a big slide, plus lots of things inside the elevated area. My husband and I thought the Rainbow was the best investment since we were homeschoolers. Our children would play on it for hours and did for years. You mentioned wanting a tunnel slide "so then I don't have to worry about someone falling off at the top...the bottom 2 DDs are jumpers", but I wanted to say that won't stop them. It is my experience at parks with tunnel slides that children would climb up the top of a tunnel side to get to the top and the fall off a slick round tunnel slide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Cedarworks is another company with a solid reputation. I think more people are familiar with Rainbow, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi, 1. How long have you had it? 2. How does it look now? 3. Have you done any maintenance (like sanding/refinishing)? 4. What brand is it? 5. Is it still as stable now as it was when you bought it? 6. Do the kids use it a lot? 7. What would you do differently? :bigear: LMK Both sets were from Woodplay www.woodplay.com the first set was a basic with the larger hut...more sq. footage up htere is very useful when many kids are over...our first one is 12 years old and at our 4th house (moved from Washington ST. to TN with no problem...took it apart and put it back) our kids were getting older so I actually called them and designed my own set...they weren't into swinging any more so I had a swivel cushion seat put in for them to read under...a taller tower and a longer slide....a second tower that was shorter but larger for sitting in, rope ladder to get to the taller tower...the kids love the larger slide, we run the hose down it and it becomes a very fast water slide! :) Our second one has been moved to our latest home and held up great! Solid Western Red Cedar...I would only use cedar for a playset, no pressure treated anything, too many chemicals...I have restained it once with their brand of stain...it was really easy and made it look brand new.. My main suggestion is to make the area under the 'tent as big as possible.....too many playsets you can only fit 2-3 kids comfortably in a 20 sq. foot playhouse area..the bigger the better and the bigger more durable slide the better, the twisty kinds look fun but are not fun to slide down, go with the biggest highest you can get...they are much better made..my kids love our swivel swing that fits underneath our tall tower, picnic table converts from the floor of it...love it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 You've gotten great recommendations, my friend. One thing, do not go to BJ's and think you'are getting a deal. We spent $700 or something and it was horrible, unsafe and we ended up getting rid of it after two years. I might get a cheapo set from Walmart which we also had once; at least that one got played with and was not much uglier than the wooden one from BJ's!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 My sis got hers from Rainbow Play Systems about 6 years ago. It still looks brand new. She mentioned that they have wonderful customer service. When she thought they were going to move a few towns away, the quote they gave her for moving the swing set was very reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We have a Rainbow that is about 7 years old. It needs to be restained but it's nice and sturdy. My dad anchored it in concrete when he and DH assembled it. I agree with the person who said to price materials to put underneath. They can be pretty pricey. We went with pea gravel, which the kids play with as much as the playset itself, lol. I would buy through Costco next time. They have a better deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We got ours at Sam's. They no longer carry it. http://www.cedarworks.com/product/view/trading_post We have had it since 2007. Now they have one with a tire swing. We would have gotten that one if it was available when we purchased. It is cedar and is now a silver color. Occasionally we need to fix the ladder rungs as the tend to pop out but that could have been our error as we made it. We have one boar on our roof that has warped in the Texas sun and sticks up. The rings are showing signs of wear mostly plastic + texas sun is trouble. It gets used a lot. DH teases because it is empty some but often when the kids head out the the chickens I look out and they are upside down on the bar. So yes it is used. We like it. And have been very happy with it. When we got it a board was damaged and the company sent a replacement out. We had one post that was hard to get in but we did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeemama Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi, Ok Hive, I want to pick your collective brains! :001_smile: We are planning on getting a wooden swingset for our back yard. I want something that is going to last for more than a couple of years. Some of the ones that I have seen locally just look so beat up after a few years. So, here is my question: If you have wooden set: 1. How long have you had it? 7 years 2. How does it look now? weathered silver color 3. Have you done any maintenance (like sanding/refinishing)? no 4. What brand is it? Cedarworks 5. Is it still as stable now as it was when you bought it? yes 6. Do the kids use it a lot? yes, and so does half the neighborhood 7. What would you do differently? I would have set it a little further back in the yard...my DH carved out the area in the yard while I was out... Hmm..anything else I am missing? We are planning on getting at least 3 swings and a separate tire swing set up. Probably a tunnel slide (so then I don't have to worry about someone falling off at the top...the bottom 2 DDs are jumpers!) :glare: What else is popular with your kids? Monkey bars? Rock wall? Thanks for your input! :bigear: LMK My Kids love having picnics in the fort. It is also used as the "jail" in many other games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hopeliaibia Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 And for the time been here Im only owned 2 of those SX1 and S55 but in my whole family all together we owned more than 5.Well I voted for 2 about my case.Because Im just owned 2 of those 5 well my father uses the C55 and my sister uses CF62 as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 1. How long have you had it? 8.5 yrs 2. How does it look now? It looked okay when we took it down. But we had restained it every other year. 3. Have you done any maintenance (like sanding/refinishing)? See above, plus tightening bolts a couple times a year. 4. What brand is it? I can't remember now, but my folks got it at Sam's Club 5. Is it still as stable now as it was when you bought it? That's why we took it down. However, we live in the desert and the dry climate is terrible on wood. 6. Do the kids use it a lot? Our kids really loved it! We had 2 swings, a teeter totter swing, slide, and fire pole, with the fort above. They played on it for years. Ds12 is a bit too big for it. Ds9 would have loved to keep it but it was starting to wear out. We are getting a swing built for him as that is all he wants. 7. What would you do differently? I would not put wood chips underneath. The kids were constantly getting splinters. Worst mistake I made. I also would have done concrete footings. We made it work but it would have been better if we had. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Our current house came with an old wooden swing set with a fort. The wood looked bad but was structurally solid. We pressure washed it and then put 3 coast of stain on the whole thing. We replaced the 2 swings and our next door neighbor said that it looked better than it did when it was new. They do take some upkeep but so does everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Answers in red. Hi, Ok Hive, I want to pick your collective brains! :001_smile: We are planning on getting a wooden swingset for our back yard. I want something that is going to last for more than a couple of years. Some of the ones that I have seen locally just look so beat up after a few years. So, here is my question: If you have wooden set: 1. How long have you had it? We've had it for about 8 years, and the previous owners had it for probably 10 years. 2. How does it look now? Like weathered hardwood, *g*. 3. Have you done any maintenance (like sanding/refinishing)? We don't sand, refinish, or paint. Too much trouble! When we got the set used, we replaced all of the hardware at a cost of about $200. dh tightens screws and whatnot as needed. 4. What brand is it? No idea, but it's all hardwood. 5. Is it still as stable now as it was when you bought it? You will need to tighten screws and such over the years to keep it stable, no matter what kind you buy. 6. Do the kids use it a lot? They used it a tremendous amount when they were younger; nearly daily use. At 11 & 13, my youngest often uses the swing, and both them and their friends use the fort quite a bit. 7. What would you do differently?It was given to us, so nothing, really. The most popular items by far, in my family and every family I have seen, are swings and forts, followed by monkey bars and slides. I don't think rock walls keep their interest for long, unless you can change it up a bit. Instead, I would just do a slanting piece of plywood and a rope. We live life on the edge and never did a protective surface, just good ol' grass and dirt ;) Hmm..anything else I am missing? We are planning on getting at least 3 swings and a separate tire swing set up. Probably a tunnel slide (so then I don't have to worry about someone falling off at the top...the bottom 2 DDs are jumpers!) :glare: What else is popular with your kids? Monkey bars? Rock wall? Thanks for your input! :bigear: LMK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMK Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks Again Everyone! I knew you all would have great input! :001_smile: LMK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 We bought a do it yourself kit from Menards about 10 years ago and it is still going strong. We bought the COMMERCIAL grade kit though. When looking at kits or ready made ones, look at what weight range and how many kids they are rated for. Some are rated for 2 kids up to 70 pounds each or maybe 3 kids up to 80 pounds each, etc. Ours is rated for up to 10 kids at a time with up to 500 pounds PER item......so no problems with multiple kids playing at once or adults using the equipment. That way it isn't easily outgrown. It is more pricey to do it that way but so worth it. My girls still enjoy swinging or just sitting out in the little 2 story "tree house" and reading on a nice day. Just a warning, it takes a LOT longer than the box suggest to put these things together. Also, make sure everything is square and plumb as you go so you don't end up with a crooked set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 we got one for my son about 3yrs ago-it was a basic wooden swingset with ladder up to a little covered "clubhouse" area and a slide with room for 3 swing seats or other swing toys....it hasn't lasted as long as I had hoped but I'm not sure if it's the quality or the hard play my ds put it though the past few years...he's grown dramaticly since we first got it and went through stages where he likes to bang on it with sticks sooo LOL it's very wobbly now and he knocked the ladder up to the slide off and broke it...so now I want to get him another one-something more sturdy because he loves to just go outside and sit in the swing....I'm looking at this one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2308692&cp=2255956.2273442.2255969.2257593.2257618&green but haven't really made up my mind yet-waiting on tax refund too LOL :tongue_smilie: would like another wooden one but I would like to find a better way to get it into the ground where it would be more stable.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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