The link below may be helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Suggestions for children's playsets

Just an observation: Our neighborhood has expensive and elaborate playsets in the yards of just about every home where there are children. They stand empty 99% of the pleasant-weather months -- and 100% of the cold-weather ones.

kathyanddave -- No, I don't mean nobody's playing outdoors, I just mean that the expensive playsets stand unused once the initial thrill is gone. There are some pretty elaborate setups, but...the kids are riding bikes or building 'stuff' with scraps -- playing ball, tag, just doing what kids do -- running in circles, whatever!

My point was that they don't NEED playsets to have fun outdoors. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

And, yes, there are still 'way too many 'organized' activities, indoors and outdoors.

hi chisue, yes i understand what you mean - do you know the age of the children in these homes? my twins are 2.5yo, and i am expecting my third child in march. dh and i agreed that if the kids play with this set unitl they're 8-10yo, then it would be worth the cost. also, my kids are like kathyanddave's kids - they are not allowed to watch tv and right now spend most of their time playing with their train table and legos. so i think they would play with it often given the lack of other options. ;)

hi, i have a question about playsets - my dh is absolutely not handy, so it looks like the diy options like cedarworks will be out of the question. does anyone know of the differences between the installed sets like backyard adventures and rainbow? those are the only two dealers that are located near my home. i've heard good things about creative playthings, but the nearest location is more than an hour's drive!

We looked at various sets (those you mentioned and a couple other brands). You need to look at the dimensional lumber they're using for the particular set you are interested in. Some companies/sets use full 4" lumber and others use a lot of 2" which is much more flimsy.

In the end, we got a $3,000+ set from a neighbor for $99. I did have to install it, but they even helped us load it to get it out of their yard. I was taking it apart and moving it in a van, but he was so anxious to have it gone, he threw part on top of his Mercedes.

There's another avenue available with all those empty sets in everyone's yard-resale. Some folks even advertise and do the take downs and re-installations.

Sorry to say the kids are of the right ages to be using these things -- range from pre-K to middle school. Mom and Dad spend a bundle and the kids are all over these things for about two weeks, then...nothing. Now a treehouse they build themselves with Dad's help...that's different. (Dad has to promise to supervise and help and not make it HIS house.LOL)

I like the idea of buying something simple and cheap -- second hand is a great idea.

I admit, they're expensive...I also find my kids love them and for us it has been worth the investment...I researched all the available ones and went with Woodplay out of NC...they use only redwood..stay away from pressure treated lumber...and they're built very well and solid. We moved our first set from WA to TN with no problems and set it back up easily...when we moved to AL..our kids were older so I designed my own set and the local carrier set it up for me...they had to get my design approved and it works great! We went with two towers...a taller one since my kids are older without the canopy and it works great for a stand for star gazing...I love the great big cushy swing that I designed to hang underneath the taller tower...that's a spot where I always catch the kids reading and relaxing in...oh and me, too! :)
Tara

have you looked at the ones at lowes and HD? in my area they will install them for a small fee.

i have a 3yr old myself. we have decided that we will put up one of these this spring for her. gonna start small and add on as she gets older.

I wanted a playset so badly for my kids. I combed through eBay, craiglist and the newspaper for a used set for under $500. No luck and the take apart/re-install looked so daunting (my husband is not handy!) I looked into Eastern Jungle gym brand where they have installers that will take apart and reinstall old sets for you, but it wasn't cost effective. It made more sense to purchase a new set after adding up the costs. Even looked for handymen to put together a Costco/BJs Rainbow set, but they charged too much too. My husband was really against buying a set that he thought the kids wouldn't use or lose interest with.

Finally I found a Creative Playthings playset. We paid approx $2000 for it. We waited for their special deals where they sell a specific model for a sale price and threw in a free ramp or rock wall. I thought 2k was a really good deal, relatively speaking. We looked at Backyard Adventures and the models we saw were way too expensive. Playsets started at 4k. They touted some specific wood that wouldn't splinter and had a lifetime guarantee. The salesman was very persuasive, but did I really need the playset to last forever? My kids were 6,4 and 3. I think 8 yrs max was enough. My friends have a Cedar Works set, but I really didn't like the way the cedar discolored after a year. The Rainbow dealer was too far away and their prices seemed high like Backyard Adventures. Backyard Adventures sold some economy playsets that were wood/painted wood combo, but those sets didn;t seem very sturdy and I was afraid how sturdy it would be if we have many kids playing at once.

Its been over 2 years with the playset and my kids still love it! They loved the swings and double swinger. In the beginning they never used the clubhouse on top or slide, but this summer they discovered it. My daughter put a bunch of plastic chairs up there and plays house. The boys love the slide now. I think the monkey bars will be next season. They are a little afraid of the height. My husband and I are so happy we purchased it. I have to admit that we limit their tv and do not own any electronic video games. They are outdoor kids. I'm not sure spending 10k on a playset is worth it (my friend spent 20k flattening her backyard for the playset and like 15k for the playset. I would rather use that to pay for a year of college!), but I thought 2k was reasonable. Looking back I don't think I needed to spend $20 on the telescope or $200 on the rope climbing accessory. The basic playset would have been just fine.

Good luck with getting a playset! I love ours!

We have a Rainbow set bought at Costco and assembled by DH and and 3 BIL's. Took about 16 hours to assemble. My girls are 5 and 7.

Do they use it everyday? No. But we live in MI and they don't even go outside everday. Am I glad we have it? You betcha -- without it, our yard would be very boring. I don't allow them to ride bikes while I make dinner -- I do allow them in the backyard so I can see them from the kitchen window. Also great when you have friends over with kids.

Must caution you though -- at my DD's age (7 1/2) her and her friends tend to use every part of the playset in a way it is not intended to be used (swinging standing up, going down the slide face-first). When they have friends over you have to watch them like a hawk. We already had one neighbor girl fall off the swing because her butt was wet (swim suit) and she kept leaning back while swinging. Also, 3 year olds are definately too young for my set -- my DD was 5 when I got ours.

our family just came back from looking at the creative playthings store and i agree with you - there is no point buying a playset that 'lasts forever' if your children won't play with it forever. it seems like a reasonable price (if you're in the playset market) for good quality.

in the meantime, my husband's boss offered to give us his 9-year old cedarworks set since his two children no longer play with it. the equivalent set would cost at least 3,000 (from creative playthings) or $8,000 (backyard adventures, etc). can anyone vouch for the sturdiness/durability of a cedarworks set that's this old? while i really appreciate the offer, it would be very disappointing to the kids if we took the time to set it up, create the play area, etc., only to find out that it's not usable.

We have a Cedarworks set that is about 3 years old. Obviously not the same as 9 years, but it's held up perfectly for the 3 years we've had it. Some change in color of the wood, as someone above mentioned, but still plenty sturdy and no issues with it.

My BIL and family had a cedar swingset, and now that their kids are grown, his wife converted the swingset to a plant display. She took down the swings and replaced them with macrame plant hangers, and replaced the teeter-totter with a bench seat for herself. I can only describe it, I don't have a digital camera, but it certainly makes use of as yard monstrosity.

After searching for a second hand playset two years ago, we caved and installed a new rainbow set for our boys (they are 3 & 5). we regraded part of our sloped lot to fit it in, and it was the best thing we did. Expensive, but worth it. The boys love to play on it and it makes playdates lots of fun. Also, we don't have a park nearby so the playset gets lots of use. The rainbow set, while expensive, is solid. I would try and get a "clearance" or "factory second" set -- the price is greatly reduced and any blemish is minor and barely noticable. We looked at Cederworks but the logistics of curbside delivery and no set-up did not work for us. By the way, our friend inherited a creative plaything set (about 8 years old) and the darn thing had rotted in quite a few places -- they ended up having to get rid of it (who knows, maybe the previous owner didn't maintain it -- but creative play things basically said "too bad"). Our friends replaced it with a rainbow set. Good luck.

We got our playset when my twins were 2 1/2 (they are now 9 1/2) and I have younger kids that are 5 and 3. My husband was COMPLETELY AGAINST it -- thought it was a waste of money -- he was wrong (and admits it) It has been so well used and continues to be.

We got our from a local dealer for under 2000 at the end of season sale -- I think they charged us $200 to move it last year and set it up at our new house.

Our old house was very sloped -- I rented a tiller and took the yard down 16 inches front to back to prepare before they installed it.

It does sway quite a bit when the big kids get going but they all do and it seems they are designed to give and not break -- although we felt that the green Child Craft sets were much too flimsy and small to grow with kids - Cedar Works - too expensive to justify to DH and didn't want to deal with install ourselves.

Our has 4 swing positions (wooden horse, 2 swings and ring/trapeze or baby seat - rotates)
A monkey bar ladder
A ramp
A big bumpy slide (that is very fast for little kids)
A ladder into the fort
Sandbox underneath that we never filled because we have a large one nearby
2 steering wheels and corner seats under.

It was worth every penny -- and our kids have a lot of other options in our yard.

Here it is at our old house

reviving this thread... hoping for advice on swingsets.

I have two kids, very different ages, abilities, interests so choosing equipment that will keep them both using the swingset is my challenge.

The 2.5 year old boy loves to climb, is very agile, fearless, loves a sandbox. My 6 year old girl loves gymnastics (so I am thinking a trapeze bar), and loves the monkey bars.

I have been looking at Cedarworks and am truly in love with their sets, but I just don't want to spend that much (dialing it back I am still at $8K and that doesn't include installation!!).

I have looked at Creative Playthings and while you get a lot for the money and they have really cool options, that has been crossed off of my list as I know (for 100% certain) that we will not sand and stain it as recommended by the dealer to maintain the warrantee and to prevent splintering (which is more important to me than maintaining the warrantee).

There are some nice Childlife sets at 20-30% off because they got bought out by another company. Lots of bells and whistles for in the $4K range and that includes installation.

Am wondering if that is even too much to be spending on this??? Just want to be sure it is captivating enough to keep them interested but really don't want to overdo it. Honestly though I feel like a kid in a candy store looking at all the options and am getting VERY carried away.

Any advice? At this point, am considering the clearance ChildLife, and possibly a reduced scale Cedarworks set that could be added to in the future if need be (10% off right now but still, with the high price, it adds up quick).

So, really any little bit of advice, even small would be appreciated.

#1 goal is to keep 2.5 year old boy moving so he'll wear himself out. He is a very active little guy!! (but also want 6 year old dd to have fun too)

we have one like the one picture above bought on end of year clearance from an 'Amish' vendor for $1400. It was already stained at the time. We just restained it for the 3rd time. Its 10 years old now and was moved from our prior home to our new home. The kids are now 12 and 8. It still gets moderate use from our 8 year old and her friends.

FYI: I see almost the exact same set for sale *used* for as little as: FREE-you haul to $350 or so. If you have a friend with a flat trailer and already have sloped land look for a used one and a $25 can of stain. If not, you probably can get the folks who sell them to move and set up your new *used* one for you. If your lot is fairly level the set up fee / delivery fee will likely range from $250 - $500 depending on whether or not they are simply moving and doing some minor leveling or that plus installing r/r ties and adding mulch. Our lots were each level. I added pee gravel under the set at our old home. There is nothing under it at our new home....just grass....though the kids are bigger now and less likley to get hurt...I may add mulch just to alleviate mowing under there.

I know there have been reported issues with pt wood but we have always kep ours stained. We never had splenter issues. THe new Vynil sets look great though I bet they find something to nit pit about them at some point. Many *rich* neighborhoods have elaborate systems with tunnels and ramps etc etc. They appear to be more status symbol than anything else since I seldom see them used.

My in law makes a good point, his kid enjoys her swing every day as do mine when they visit. Is was $20 at WalMart and thrown around the limb of a tree!

Good Luck.

Just came across this thread and had to chime in -- after much research we initially purchased Cedarworks, spent plenty of $$$ for delivery, pad building, and set up. Moved that set with us after 2 years to new location. The wood weathered to a nice soft grey color, no splinters to speak of, BUT the base of the supports rotted after another year or so, ladder rungs became loose -- truly became unstable and unsafe to play on. Very disappointing to spend that much $$$ and have this not last beyond 5 years.

We moved to a new location 6 years ago and went with ChildLife playset this time -- VERY pleased with this one! After 6 years, still gets use several times a week, and while the canvas tent top is a bit more loose than install day, the slide shows a bit of wear, the finish on the structure itself still looks great and it is as sturdy as the day it was put up. ZERO maintenance, other than adding to the mulch under the set when it gets too compacted.

I would defintely put this company on your list. I think the version we have is the "Sandcastle". We added a longer slide off side opposite the swings. We have a swing, a buoy ball and the old wooden version of the glider (which I like better than the one shown on the web site now -- this has proven to be one of the favoirte features). While fairly simple in design, this set up has given our three boys hours and hours of enjoyment and has worked for a wide variety of age ranges when friends and family come visit.

Here is a link that might be useful: ChildLife Sandcastle playset

I am sorry to say that now that our next door neighbor got a huge trampoline -- my kids hardly used our Rainbow set this summer. Our girls are 6 and 8.

Most of the time they are not even jumping on the trampoline -- they are using it for a clubhouse, coloring in it, playing ball, etc...

hi, thanks for chiming in livvysmom and alice.

I looked at some many different options and for the money I wanted to spend sliced and diced and thought so hard about it. I called so many friends with older children to see what aspects of their playgrounds the kids still used.

In the end I had to cross Cedarworks off of my list for cost reasons (alice after reading your post, i am glad I did... that is just not right and I would be very upset to spend that much and not have it last).

I saw a demo model at Backyard Adventures that I loved that had everything the kids could have wanted and would have provided years and years of fun for them, however, even at 50% off, it was still out of my price range.

In the end I went with a Childlife set, the Mt. Shasta. When I called them last Thursday they had 40 sets left (nationwide). On Friday, they were down to 24 sets, and the only larger scale model they had left was the Mt. Shasta and in this model, only 2 sets left, so I really didn't have time to slice and dice anymore, I really had to make a decision and fast. Incidentally, when I called them yesterday to ask a question, they were down to only 2 sets left (both very small for younger kids, wouldn't have been good for me).

livvysmom, my brother has a great backyard with everything a kid count want. he has a basketball court, bocce court, heated swimming pool, swingset, trampoline. the kids like the trampoline the most!! I want to get one for our yard but my husband thinks they are ugly. A friend put one in for his daughter and since he is in the landscaping business actually dug out the ground so that the top of the trampoline is flush with ground level, cool huh?? (but beyond my abilities/budget at this point).

thanks again for the feedback.

if possible could you check in on my other posting about mulch under the swingset and off any advice? thanks

I stumbled across this on craigslist. This could be a good deal for someone that lives in the Minneapolis area....

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/tag/836527479.html

Here is a link that might be useful: $100 swingset !!