Opinions on outdoor playsets?

[sissybells]

Starting to look into an outdoor playset for DD's. We have looked at a few places but there is a lot to take in. We are trying to keep it at or below a thousand dollars. What are some of your experience with these, are the ones you may have as sturdy as you thought and safe? It's hard when you can't physically see these set up. Thank you for any help you can give me.

 

[summerrluvv]

This will be our third summer with this set from Walmart and I really have no complaints other than a crack but that was our fault from over tightening. I paid $399 with free ship to store, it's now up to $449. I bought a few accessories from Lowes trapeze bar, steering wheel and baby swing. Funny that a high end swingset store nearby sells this brand for $$$$$ more than Walmart does

Check out their site, they have a few.

Also BJ's and Sam's have a GREAT set that is $999

 

[SaraJayne]

We have a Rainbow Playset and we love it. It was well worth the investment...I love how sturdy and safe it is, as well as all the different price options they offer.

It's also made/assembled in the US (North Dakota). After doing some research and visiting a Rainbow showroom, that sealed the deal.

We've had ours for 2 years and we're just now having to do the first maintenance on it. We restained it yesterday and today and it looks brand new.

 

[brymolmom]

We have the SAMS version from about 5 or 6 years ago. I struggled with spending that much and tried to find one we liked as much for less - but finally relented. And within 2 months I realized it was worth every cent! We have gotten way more than $1000 of use out of it and will do so for years to come I am sure.

 

[SkinsFan76]

We bought a "Big Backyard" set from toys r us and it has been great. Was really reasonable and has held up great so far. It has a 10 year warranty and is alot more sturdy then I thought it would be. It definately won't last a lifetime but it will hold up long enough for our son.

 

[celestialred]

We just purchased a set from Menards (I don't know if you have them wqhere you are, they are located primarily Midwest) that is coming together quite nicely. Paid $700 for it. I researched the sets from TRU and WM and the reviews I saw said that the wood wasn't the greatest so I became leery of them and went to Menards instead. They have their playsets stocked/display set up year-round where I am, in the lawn and garden area, so it's very easy to inspect what you're buying. Plus the kids can play on it so you get the "quality assurance" testing out of the way.

 

[Serling126]

Another vote for the Rainbow sets here... it will run you more than $1000, but if you go with one of the smaller sets its still a good deal. You also may be able to find a used set that will be cheaper than buying new. They are made of cedar & redwood (if my memory is correct), which are naturally pest resistant so they do not have to be sprayed with any pesticides like other woods have to be. And, it is STURDY! I have many hours of fun on it along with my children, and there are no worries about me making it tumble down

 

[kkwis2]

Another vote for Rainbow! My DH and I were just commenting on what a great investment we feel we made when we bought ours. We got it when our kids were 1 and 3. They are now 6 and 8. Our set still looks brand new, and our kids love it! It has kept them busy through all their different play stages so far and has been so many different things in their imaginations! We all love it!

As for upkeep, in the five years we have had it we have only had to stain it once, will probably do it again this summer. And as I said already, it still looks brand new.

I would second looking for a used one if you prefer that route. My friend found one in our area that had been neglected for many years. Her husband re-finished it (sanded and stained) and it also looks beautiful now and is structurally very sound.

 

[mom2faith]

We bought this one from Home Depot. It is a simple one, but you can get more complex ones as well:

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-O...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

It is very sturdy as it is made out of 2 x 6 and 4 x 4's. There is a lot of double clamping, etc when you assemble it. It was easy to assemble (well, with my Dad's help - LOL!! DH is not very carpentry savvy )

Have fun shopping!!

 

[mjkacmom]

We have a Rainbow Playset and we love it. It was well worth the investment...I love how sturdy and safe it is, as well as all the different price options they offer.

It's also made/assembled in the US (North Dakota). After doing some research and visiting a Rainbow showroom, that sealed the deal.

We've had ours for 2 years and we're just now having to do the first maintenance on it. We restained it yesterday and today and it looks brand new.

I LOVE our Rainbow! It costed us $3500 7 years ago, and is played on everyday, and is SO sturdy. We originally purchased a $500 wooden playset from Toys R Us, but it was not sturdy enough by the time my oldest were 5 and 7 (lasted 3 years). We always have a lot of kids here, and the Rainbow has been used as much as any public playground equipment. It has been our best "toy" investment so far.

 

[jmpellet]

We have a set from Backyard Adventures which is comparable to Rainbow. It cost $3500 about 8 years ago and it still looks great.

 

[MomRN]

Good question...because I'm looking for the same thing... a nice wooden swingset <$1000. So far I am considering the following:

Sam's Club locally has one for high $900's. While it's the top of the budget, even a little over with tax, it is so far my favorite.

Menards has a one for $599 that is my second favorite. I would go for this one over the first...except the wood is not pre-cut. My husband has the tools to do this one, but it will end up being much more time consuming. Yet, we are leaning towards this.

Walmart has one for $599 that is my least favorite, but in the price range, easier to assemble, and basically what we want.

I was not impressed with Toys R Us.

 

[3boymthr]

If you, your DH and/or someone in your family is handy one way to save a lot of money and get a really quality set is the Swing-N-Slide playsets.
We have one - my dad built it for the kids - the cost was $599 and it has a fort with sandbox underneath, slide, rock climbing wall, two swings, monkey bars. We got ours at the local lumber store. This thing is super super sturdy. When they dropped the wood off the guy said it weighed about 1 ton . It was made with all pressure treated wood, super heavy duty bolts and nails and after 6 years shows very very little signs of wear.

 

[renae3]

We have a cedarworks playset. They are not cheap...but worth every penny. We bought ours 4 years ago and it still looks brand new. I researched a lot and this is definitely one of the best companies that make playsets.

 

[Donnainnj]

We have a Costco set, it is from quite a few years ago, but has a Rainbow plaque on it, I didn't know it was made by them until it was up in our yard. Not sure it the current ones are made by them, but the ones in the store are under $1000, and look great, all the bells and whistles, (the ones online are different and more money (shipping cost?)) and they are the larger sets that will allow older children to continue to use it.
Donna

 

[khgreen]

We bought a play set from PlayNation and our kids have been using it for 6 years. The kids really enjoy it, it was expensive but definately worth it.

 

[dhardawa]

I bought an $800 set from Toys R Us originally. The day it went together I knew it was crap. The boards were so bowed that the guys putting it together had to take a bunch back and exchange them. Once together, it was so flimsy that the whole thing would torque and twist with my 41 lb child swinging on it. Then the screws started coming out. Let me tell you, when the two screws that hold the entire slide on come out and you don't know it (because you put them back in about two weeks earlier) and the slide comes crashing to the ground with a child on it, it makes you really re-think the entire play set.

So, last summer I started looking for better quality. I looked at Cedar Works, Rainbow, and Gorilla. I really think any of the three would have been great as far as quality goes. I went with Rainbow for two reasons. First, I could go to a dealer and actually see the item I was buying. Second, they put it together for free (well, I'm sure I paid for it, but it was built into the price). I paid around $4,800 for it and it is amazing. It is really tall and I can stand up in the clubhouse part and can't reach the top of the ceiling. I can slide with them (and not crash to the ground) and both my 11 year old and 3 year old can swing at the same time and the thing doesn't move. I expect it will need to be stained next year, but that is okay.

 

[RangerPooh]

We bought this one from Walmart at the end of last summer. On their site it retails for ~$350. Instead we purchased it on clearance (with an additional 50% off of clearance prices) for about $75 It's a nice, but small play structure. The wood planks are 1"x-- and DH and I reinforced many with 2x4s, plus we built on to extend it so that more friends can play together. Honestly, I wish that they had used more 2x4s in the construction, hence why we replaced many on our own.

It's still fun though. We added a baby swing instead of putting up the trapeze bar, and the slide is very fast. Oh and the canopy was never put up as it ripped coming out of the box.

 

[kirstenb1]

We bought one form Sam's Club for 1100 bucks. DH reinforced it with concrete footings, due to uneven ground, and 2x8s. The only thing is with any of these systems, you have to maintain it. I stain it every year, or 2 yrs max. This is key

 

[vroomagain]

Heads up, this thread is a year old and was brought back to life by someone promoting their company.