What to look for when buying an Outdoor Playset?

[BadgerGirl84]

We are planning on buying one of those big wooden playsets either this summer or next summer. We want one with swings, a slide, a play house, etc. We are fine with a kit that you put together yourself.

The price for these types of sets seem to be all over the board. We have been looking at some sets from costco that range from $1000-1500, like this one: http://www.costco.com/Cedar-Summit-...ayset---Do-It-Yourself.product.100096544.html

Are there certain quality features to look out for? It seems like the shops that just sell playsets (such as Rainbow, if you have one of those by you) are pricing them so much more than Costco for similar looking sets. Do you get what you pay for when purchasing from a company like that?

We want this thing to last the ages -- at least 12 years.

 

[mjkacmom]

My neighbors have the Costco one, but have only had it a couple of years, so I don't know how long it will last.

We have a Rainbow, got it 12 years ago, and it's still SOLID. What you want to look for is height, and space between the swings. My ds16 can still swing on ours (playing kickball), and he's 6'.

This is close to what we have, and it cost about $3500, I think, back then:

http://www.rainbowplay.com/products-page/product-category/os250-imaginary-play-rainbow-clubhouse/

The price included installation.

 

[JanaDee]

We are planning on buying one of those big wooden playsets either this summer or next summer. We want one with swings, a slide, a play house, etc. We are fine with a kit that you put together yourself.

The price for these types of sets seem to be all over the board. We have been looking at some sets from costco that range from $1000-1500, like this one: http://www.costco.com/Cedar-Summit-...ayset---Do-It-Yourself.product.100096544.html

Are there certain quality features to look out for? It seems like the shops that just sell playsets (such as Rainbow, if you have one of those by you) are pricing them so much more than Costco for similar looking sets. Do you get what you pay for when purchasing from a company like that?

We want this thing to last the ages -- at least 12 years.

Get a Rainbow. Playsets are one one of those things that you get what you pay for. It will be worth the cost. Right now they are offering $99 installation, which is a GREAT deal.

 

[shoney]

My parents bought us one from Costco. It wasn't very sturdy, IMO. It stayed with the house when we sold it.

When we moved, we went with a vinyl covered one. It stays so much nicer. Ours is 9 years old (we need to get rid of it this year!) and still looks great without any maintenance. They were a little bit more money when we purchased it. At the time this was around $4,000 delivered and installed.

http://www.amishdirectplaysets.com/vinyl-swing-set/vinyl-swingset-C-1.html

 

[Lilliputian]

Look at the thickness of the boards. We got a cedar one from Sam's that looked really good, but it was looking pretty worn after 2-3 years. Now we have a Rainbow, and I can see why it will last a lot longer.

Go to the showroom if you're interested in Rainbow. Ours had significant discounts on models that were built on the floor. You pay the list price for custom, but the display models were about half of that. And you didn't actually get the ones that were on the floor. They just ordered a lot of the ones they built and sold them for less.

 

[sam_gordon]

Ours is ~11 years old. We got it from Lowes. We have not maintained it, but it's not in bad shape. The swings need to be replaced (chains are rusty), but still serviceable. Unfortunately, our kids just don't play on it any more.

 

[design_mom]

We got the Costco version in 2003. We took it down last summer (10 years old) because the kids rarely used it anymore and decided they'd rather have the space to play sports, etc.

Our Costco version had some plastic-coated beams and the plastic split and did not look very good. But the wooden and metal parts were fine. (The Costco version you linked to does not appear to have plastic-coated beams, so maybe they learned that was a design flaw.) We put a coat of stain on ours a few years ago, and we tightened the bolts every year or two, but other than that we did not do any maintenance. The slide, the roof, the ladders, the swings were all fine.

That said, our neighbors have a Rainbow that they got about the same time we got ours. Their beams are a lot thicker and theirs still looks practically new. It is definitely a higher quality product and if someone offered me one for a great deal, I'd definitely jump at the chance. However, our Costco version was as much fun to play on, and lasted as long as we needed it to last, for a lot less money. I don't regret going with the Costco version.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Ours wasn't from Rainbow, but from a good company like it. (Can't think of the name right now.) They were sold at a place that only sold pools and playsets. Anyway, we bought ours one fall, at about half off its regular (springtime) cost. (I think we paid about $900, but that was around 1999 and half off.) My DH built onto it to make a playhouse with similar wood, etc.

Anyway, we had it for about 13 years and it was still in good shape, maybe needing a coat of stain. (The swings needed to be replaced quite a while back, which we never did as our kids really didn't use it anymore; the yellow "horsie" type thing was the only one that held out.) We gave it to our next door neighbors two years ago, and can see it from our yard where it still gets daily use with many of the younger neighborhood kids. I agree, it's better to buy a good one.

I see a lot of them on Craigslist - if you are able to take it down, it's usually free or low cost. People just want to get rid of them after a while. Our neighbor came over one day with a few of his friends and disassembled it, moved it, and reassembled it in his yard in a couple of hours. Good luck! It is a great thing to have when the kids are little.

 

[AnAmericanInDisney]

We bought a Rainbow in about 1999 and gave it away last year. It was still in pretty good shape. I think it cost about $800. My advice is buy a used one.

 

[wallawallakids]

We used to have a Rainbow and I did like it but it required some work and was a pain to put together. You do not have to stain it every year but if you don't it fades and looks gray. Some people are ok with that, I liked the redwood look, so I did stain ours. Cedarworks is great as well but it does the same thing. We moved cross country so when we got out here we were in the market for another set. I ended up buying the Lifetime one from Costco and I love it. Ours is the biggest one they sell, with 3 swings, monkey bars, two slides, etc. I just noticed it is on sale again for $2000 including shipping from Costco, which is what we paid a few years ago. That is a great price if you look around at Lifetime from other places. I love that it doesn't rust (we live next to the ocean so this is important), it needs no up keep and it looks nice. (The green and brown are not offensive at all and kind of blend into the yard) I also like that they are made in the USA (my own little issue). The kids all love it (I have 4). In fact I thought my 12 year old would never use it and she is on it every day she can be! I have had 7 neighborhood tweens on it at one time! Every day I have at least one neighborhood child asking to go on it. (This can be a good and bad thing! ) Good luck!

PS: IT was MUCH easier to put together then our Rainbow as well. DH and I did both together and we hated each other half way through the Rainbow!

 

[marlynnp]

We purchased a kit/hardware from our local lumber yard. Swing-N-Slide, and I see that Home Depot carries them. There were several plans/accessories to choose from. The lumber yard had the price already figured out for the lumber (pressure treated 4x4 and 2x6 lumber -- sucker is sturdy!) needed to go with the kit.

All told it came in under $500 for our set which was comparable to pre-builts we had looked at in the range of $2000 - $2300! It took 4 of us about 4 hours to build it -- I invited a couple of 'mechanically inclined' friends over to help and then stay for beer & bbq

We've had it almost 14 years and the only thing that needed to be replaced was the tarp over the second level platform.

 

[caitlinsmom]

We bought a Creative Playthings set for around $2000 in 2004. Sold it in 2013 for $350. It was still in great shape but the kids didn't use it much anymore.

 

[drinkme]

Look on Craig's List. People sell them for around $200-$400. You just have to take it down yourself and reassemble it at home. People just want to get rid of them once their kids are older. You could probably haggle for even less.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Thanks to everyone who has responded--you've given us a lot to think about!

 

[sksjasams]

OP, have you looked at Menards? I think we paid about $500 for ours from Menards, although that was years ago.

One thing I did want to mention, at least based on our experience. I would avoid the vinyl covered wood ones. We thought it was great at the time, however when we took it down, we could feel that the wood posts inside the vinyl had rotted from moisture being trapped.

 

[bjscheel]

Get the swing seats that are the flexible rubber sling type- not the hard plastic molded seats. We started with the hard ones and our girls would slip off of them when they didn't want to. The sling style holds them better. Plus if someone is pushing the hard ones without someone seated on them they hurt more when they hit somebody!

We got ours from Menards. The wood has grayed but it is still sturdy and functional after 13 years. Make sure you stake it down. We never thought it would catch the wind but it tipped over once.