Swing Sets - Metal, Plastic or Wood?

[becka]

We thought that we might get a swing set for DS for his 3rd birthday next month however I had no idea how much some of them cost! I still have not gotten over the sticker shock. The metal ones seem much cheaper than the plastic or the wood sets but they do not look very sturdy and we want something that will last us a few years especially for the kind of money we might have to invest.

We want something with a good slide and at least 2 swings. A fort type area would also be nice. We want something that both our kids can use for many years (until they are at least 8-9ish) but we also probably need something that can be moved in a few years because we don't plan on staying in this house forever.

I have looked at the do-it-yourself wood kits but with lumber and the kits the cheapest we are looking at is around $700-800! The sets I really like are at least $1000 even building it ourselves.

Can anyone recommend a manufacturer or give some advice on things we might what to look for in a swing set? I am pretty much a novice here except from playing on them as a child.

 

[orangeblossom]

If I were a parent, I think I would choose metal (less chance of splinters and more durable, IMO.)

 

[melk]

At our old house we had a metal swing set that started to rust after only a couple of years. When we moved a neighbor took it, don't know how well it's holding up now!

At our new house we thought we would save some money and buy a do-it-yourself wooden swingset kit. My advice: don't do it! If there is any way at all you can get one installed or pay someone else to put it together, do it!! It drove DH absolutely nuts, and he is normally very good with putting things together. It was a total pain in the neck and almost destroyed our marriage But seriously, to do it yourself is a lot of work. However, the kids love the wooden swingset and so far it is holding up very well. We got it at BJ's about a year and a half ago.

 

[FreshTressa]

And then you hear about the wood ones being treated with dangerous chemicals. We debated so long about this, my kids got too old for one, lol.

Good luck!

 

[Mimi Q]

We've had a metal swingset about 10 years, and it has held up just great. No rust, no problems. Our 3 yo is getting plenty of use from it now. Bought it at Wal-Mart. Didn't have much money at the time, or we probably would have gone for a wooden one just because I think they look nice.

 

[JimB.]

We have a wooden set that has lasted 14 years. An occasional tightening of bolts & light application of bleach to kill mold is all we have done.

Near the ocean, metal ones tend to have a shorter life, but they ARE significantly cheaper..............

 

[Lars624]

We've had a Rainbow for about 8 or 9 years & even though they are quite expensive I think they're worth it.

 

[janette]

We have one of composite woods, we've had it about 4 years and it still looks like when we got it. Very low maintenance, it was about the same cost as a wood set but it's made out of some plastic / wood chip combination.

Their website is down, don't know if they are out of business but you might try to find something like that in your area. We were looking for a larger set since our kids are older but this really should last a long time.

 

[Patty3]

We bought the Grandkids a wooden set made by Creative Playthings. We had them deliver it to their house and install it. This was just last March and it cost us about $1600. I know that they were selling the kits and said if you were handy, it was not too bad to put together. Good luck! FYI, it took the installers only about 2.5 hours.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We have the little tikes plastic--good until they are about 6 or so (whatever the weight limit is--so my kids will be good until 7 or 8).

With the metal--technically--you gotta do the cement and wood was too expensive for us.

 

[scoutsmom99]

We've had a Rainbow for about 8 or 9 years & even though they are quite expensive I think they're worth it.

Ohhh I'm so jealous I always wanted a Rainbow swingset when I was little! We had nieghbors that had one, but they moved when I was about 9ish and they took it with them Well at my ripe old age of 23 I have resorted to leafing through the Rainbow catalog I got at the mall and planning a future swingset for my kdis some day.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

At our first house we had a wood swingset, but I can't remember the brand. We lived in Texas and moved to Maryland and couldn't bring it. When we moved we bought a Rainbow one and used it for 8 years while we lived in that house. It was nice, but the carpenter bees also liked it. We moved nearby, but it was too hard to bring the swingset since the bolts were rusted. We wanted to get another swingset a couple years ago for our "caboose baby", who is now 5yo, but didn't want to spend a lot of $, so we got one from Costso. It looks nice, didn't cost too much, and I thought it was easy to put together, maybe because I got to watch from inside as my DH and my older son put it together. My DH didn't think it was easy. It isn't the most durable swingset, but for what we wanted it was plenty good. It would have bought one of the Creative Plaything sets if it had of been for more than just one child, but I couldn't justify it for us.

T&B

 

[FroggyinArk]

we looked into becomeing dealers for a couple of the wooden set duistributors a few yers ago, we liked the cedar works sets, and the Childlife, but both were so pricey that we thought we would never be able to sell any, both places have websites, i prefer thre wooden versions, but that being said,, we had a metal set we built out of three older ones and it lasted dd for 11 years

 

[georgina]

We've had a wooden one (Backyard Adventures) for many years. The good ones are not the arsenic-treated wood, I think ours may be redwood? I hope they didn't cut down some old California trees for it. We had a small metal one for a few years before, but the kids outgrew it. I think this one will be around for our grandchildren to play on.

 

[sweetheart2576]

We've had our metal one that we bought from Toys R' Us 10 years ago and there is no rust on it whatsoever. It has been through 10 winters and is still in pretty much perfect condition. I like the look of the wooden ones though.

 

[SPAM]

i say plastic

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Walmart *should* carry 2 kinds of wood ones that are very nice and between 300-400 The Tacoma and the Durango

The metal ones such as the Amusement Park is pretty good also though its pretty wide

-em

 

[magicmouse2]

We got DDs a metal playset that also has climbing frame and slide on it. DDs are 7 and 9 and quite big for their age, but the metal playset is holding up fine. I couldnt afford a wood one.

 

[jel0511]

Another vote for a Rainbow swingset. We've had ours for 5 years now, and it still looks almost like new. My kids are now 7 and 4 and they LOVE it and are no where near outgrowing it. It's made of redwood, so the wood is naturally resistant to decay and doesn't have to be treated like the other woods need to be to last outside. Any of the wood sets will attract carpenter bees, but the redwood is usually slightly better, since they really don't like redwood and usually prefer the treated wood, like used in the cheaper sets and decks. We haven't had a problem with carpenter bees with our set, and neither has any of our neighbors. Just about everyone with kids in my neighborhood has one, so they're really popular here!!!

 

[Mskanga]

Becka, I went to my local hardware store and bought the swing set kit ( two swings and a monkey bar with all the brackets , no lumber ) , and then I bought the lumber separate. The swings kit was on sale I believe like 30% off , and after I bought the pre-treated lumber from the home depot , I paid $110 for the whole thing. We have had it for 7 years now and it's the best investment I made in my backyard, my kids still play with it. I had another metal swing set before and I found that it was too low to the ground by the time it was anchored , so I got rid of it when my oldest one was 5 ( she's 12 now ) but I kept the slide and I attached it to the wooden swing set.