# Wooden Swingset?



## wife&mommy (May 26, 2005)

Does anyone have any recommendations for building a wooden swingset for the backyard? Good brands to go with? One that could be moved with us if we decide to move?
Has anyone had experience with this?
Thanks!


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## twogreencars (Oct 24, 2006)

We've got a Cedarworks swingset and my kids LOVE LOVE LOVE it - the 13yo still adores it as does the 10yo and now the baby!


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## pellifoli (Feb 12, 2005)

I grew up in Maine down the road from Cedarworks and they are awesome, we have friends there who were considering other brands, but ended up shelling out the $$ for theirs, the mom & dad AND kids can swing/play on it & it's solid!


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## lotus.blossom (Mar 1, 2005)

: So did I! I hope to have the money at some point to get one. My uncle has one that is about 20 years old and no longer using it and I am sort of wanting it but he thinks its in bad/unsafe shape so he is going to get rid of it


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

If money is no object, go with http://www.barbarabutler.com. Sigh.

Cedarworks are great, but pricey. Cedarworks is so creative, and that would be my first choice if I could do it. However, Sam's has three totally nontoxic playscapes made by Cedarworks for much cheaper called the "Play a Round". A friend of mine who is practically obsessed with toxins in the environment just bought one of the the Sam's playscapes made by Cedarworks. Here is the link for the most expensive one, but there are two less expensive ones: http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/nav...233&pCatg=9666

While you are looking at Sams, avoid the Cambridge since it has some safety concerns (search slickdeals.net for those review threads)

The Costco Sunray has rave reviews and has its own forum dedicated to the Sunray, including slide shows. Its a great deal at the store, where it is several hundred dollars cheaper than buying it online: http://tinyurl.com/234fk7 I think it is a fabulous, solid choice and is made by Rainbow.

Rainbow seems like a great brand and they often run specials. http://www.rainbowplay.com

Of course, you might luck out and find an incredible deal on Craigslist like we did. It is solid as a rock, but is made of pressurized lumber. We have had to repair and replace some items but basically this was a wonderful deal and similar deals come up all the time on CL.

You can also go to the link below and have fun designing your own playscape on the grid. http://www.outdoorfunstore.com/plays...%20Grand%20Den'


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## HipGal (Aug 16, 2006)

How big does your yard have to be for a playset? My kids would love something like this, but I wonder if our yard is too small. Anyone with a small lot who has a playset?


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

The recommendation is six feet around the play area for a swingset. Our lot is considered small, and we have a huge playset. Our lot is even smaller because of a built in rock patio with huge rocks. We had a dickens of a time figuring out whether it would fit. My dh used graph paper and cut outs of the playset and kept making arrangements until he found something that worked. If you get something modular, you can rearrange some of the pieces. There are also space saver versions.


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## LuckyMommaToo (Aug 14, 2003)

We also have a small yard, and the set takes up about half. Here's a photo:
http://parkhaus.blogspot.com/2007/05...urrenders.html

I thought it would really bug me that it takes up so much of our available space, but it's fine. I'm sure in six or seven years we'll remove it, but it works for us now.

-e


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## twogreencars (Oct 24, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Treasuremapper* 
Cedarworks are great, but pricey. Cedarworks is so creative, and that would be my first choice if I could do it. However, Sam's has three totally nontoxic playscapes made by Cedarworks for much cheaper called the "Play a Round". A friend of mine who is practically obsessed with toxins in the environment just bought one of the the Sam's playscapes made by Cedarworks. Here is the link for the most expensive one, but there are two less expensive ones: http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/nav...233&pCatg=9666

Wow! These are a GREAT value!


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

Well, our new used playscape is finally up. We decided to put mulch underneath the playscape in case of falls, since it is such a big playscape. The mulch was the most expensive thing about the playscape! To save costs, we put cheap cedar mulch on the bottom half and the expensive kiddie mulch on the top. We are almost done.

Swingset, wooden, playset, playscape, mulch, swing set. Just in case someone is looking for this thread!


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## Subhuti (Feb 18, 2005)

If you can't afford the cedarworks, the sam's club playaround is an excellent knock-off of all cedar. We have the medium sized one and it's great for our two toddlers... it's non toxic and very solid. Highly recommend!


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## HipGal (Aug 16, 2006)

Oooh. I'm hoping to get a playset this spring. We want to get the poured-in rubbery surface. Does anyone have that? I have no idea what the cost is, so I don't know if it will work out.

Our yard is pretty small, but I found a set that should fit. The cedar ones are so beautiful, but I have to remind myself that they won't look that beautiful forever (if we let it turn gray instead of staining I guess). The set I found was from the rainbow playset place. But we haven't ordered anything yet. Does anyone know about the plastic covered wood? Part of the set I was looking at is made of that.


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## ceay05 (Oct 9, 2006)

We just bought one of these http://creativeplaythings.com/wooden...oden-swing-set

It is not here yet though. Dh really liked the way these were built and they are a bit cheaper. We paid around $4500 and it has a turbo slide and a regular slide. We mainly wanted to stay with cedar and/or redwood.


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

Hipgal, I did some research on the plastic coated wood, and found that it is NOT recommended because the wood under the plastic tends to rot and warp. The wood is usually lower quality under the plastic, too. The poured in rubber was cost prohibitive for us, but you may have more resources. Poured in rubber looks like a great choice, though, if we could have afforded it. Hipgal, I am eager to see your swingset when you get it. I think the plastic coated wood should not be that much of a concern, but that's just what the dealers say. Here's some info on the subject: http://www.swingsetbuilders.com/woods.html

Ceay --- oooh, the Durango! It looks incredibly fun! do you have pix of it in your yard? Which configurations and accessories do you have? I have wondered about adding a rock wall -- does yours have one?

Here is ours: http://www.outdoorfunstore.com/plays...%20Grand%20Den'. Ours also has monkey bars added. Since we had to restain it anyway (it was used from CL) we stained ours in really bright colors.


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## HipGal (Aug 16, 2006)

Thank you so much for the info! That makes sense about rotting on the inside. I wish there wasn't like $2000 difference for the all wood. Hmm... Still, gotta think long-term.

I'm hoping since it is a small area, the poured-in surface won't be too bad, but I'm starting to worry that it will be too expensive. I just dread the thought of having to say "No throwing the woodchips/gravel/sand" a million times a day.


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## chrissy (Jun 5, 2002)

i really want the big cedarworks knock off from sams.


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## ceay05 (Oct 9, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Treasuremapper* 
Hipgal, I did some research on the plastic coated wood, and found that it is NOT recommended because the wood under the plastic tends to rot and warp. The wood is usually lower quality under the plastic, too. The poured in rubber was cost prohibitive for us, but you may have more resources. Poured in rubber looks like a great choice, though, if we could have afforded it. Hipgal, I am eager to see your swingset when you get it. I think the plastic coated wood should not be that much of a concern, but that's just what the dealers say. Here's some info on the subject: http://www.swingsetbuilders.com/woods.html

Ceay --- oooh, the Durango! It looks incredibly fun! do you have pix of it in your yard? Which configurations and accessories do you have? I have wondered about adding a rock wall -- does yours have one?

Here is ours: http://www.outdoorfunstore.com/plays...%20Grand%20Den'. Ours also has monkey bars added. Since we had to restain it anyway (it was used from CL) we stained ours in really bright colors.


It is not here yet. We ordered it almost 3 weeks ago and they say 3 to 4 weeks. We got ours pretty loaded, that is why it so high. It has a regular slide in front with a climbing wall. It's not the rock one. It has a rope and a walk way. Then out from the back you step up to a small platform and it has the tunnel slide. Swing wise, it has a glider, trapeze bar, 2 swings, and a tire swing. Then we got a few things for the fort. A steering wheel, phone, telescope, and I think that is it. I will take pics when it gets here. I hope this week!!

We also decided instead of mulch, we are doing synthetic mulch. Dh and I went to school with someone who fell and got stabbed with a piece of wood mulch. He had to go to the ER to get it removed. It was better than nothing though.


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

Ceay, it sounds exciting. I am eager to see pix. It sounds like you got all the bells and whistles!

I know, Hipgal, I hear you about the coated wood. Ours is pressurized lumber, and though we are sealing it, I still have concerns about toxins. I compromised.


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

*****UPDATE*****

We finished staining it! If you look by the boulders, there are a bunch of river rocks that turn into a creek when the hose is used.

http://tinyurl.com/27f5ku


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

Ceay, did your playset show up yet? Will you post pix when you get it set up?

Hipgal, did you find a swingset yet?


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## BethSLP (Mar 27, 2005)

Treasuremapper,

I looked at the pics of your playset, and it is AWESOME!! WOW!!!
















that is the coolest thing I've ever seen, and I am AMAZEd you got it for $100 on CL. People on our CL know what they have apparently, because I've never seen a Rainbow for less than $1,000.

You guys did an awesome job!

XOXO
B


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

Thank you, Beth! I see you live in Houston, and I just noticed a free wooden playset on CL in Austin right now. Smaller, but free. Search google with the words "craigslist" and try words like playset, swingset, playscape, and playhouse.

We had so much fun staining it and decorating it. It was plain old brown when we got it.

It belonged to rich people who just wanted to get it out of their yard -- the local dealer for our Playnation Royal Crusoe Clubhouse priced our package at approximately seven thousand, two hundred dollars, including shipping and taxes if it were new. Ours is three years old. But I have the feeling that the dealer cost is sort of like dealer cost for automobiles, where people wheel and deal at playset dealers.

But we ended up putting another seven hundred bucks into it for things like paint, stain, replacing some hardware, getting a new tarp and cargo net and fun things like binoculars and so forth. We also paid someone more money to move it and someone to install it (moving a playset this huge is a major undertaking).


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## HipGal (Aug 16, 2006)

Update on our progress!

On Friday, we had our concrete removed from our backyard. The yard looks SO much bigger now! (The concrete covered almost half of it). It is exciting.

We went to the Rainbow showroom and asked a bunch of questions. I am pretty satisfied with the one I picked out of the catalog, which is good because I think it is the only one that will fit (with a 6 foot perimeter) and has everything we want (climbing wall, monkey bars, swings).

I asked about the poured-in surface and she said it starts at $10 per square foot!!! For our tiny area, that would be like $6000. Yeah. It is so sad because I was envisioning how nice it would be to have that around the playground and the kids could still ride tricycles back there and walk in bare feet and not have things to throw at each other.









SO I am trying to figure out what surface to put under it. The rubber mulch is about $3 per square foot, so it would still be quite expensive. And I don't really like that stuff because I think it is ouchy to walk on or sit on. We could put in grass, which would be nice for other activities but might not be as safe. I'm not sure how I feel about pea gravel - on one hand it might be fun for the kids to play with. On the other, it could be trouble. Luckily (?) we have no room for lawn beyond the play area in the back yard, so we don't have to worry about pea gravel making its way to the lawn. I have no idea what pea gravel costs, however. We could also do wood mulch, though I worry about it attracting bugs because there are black widow spiders in the neighborhood.









So... more research and pricing in my future!


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