Please help and recommend a good wooden playset / swingset!

[Silly Burrito]

I am looking to buy our 2 year old daughter a new wooden swingset sometime between now and August. I found the thread located here (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=485691&page=21), and it has good information, but I'd like to find out from other people their recommendations on a good wooden swingset.

I was leaning toward Rainbow, but I learned today that the local Rainbow dealer has switched to Woodplay, stating that Rainbow is starting to use inferior wood, and lowering its lifetime warranty to 15 years.

I also stopped by a Backyard Adventures, and it seems to be a nice place, but you have to design everything from scratch. While I appreciate the flexibility, I wouldn't mind getting a good price on a complete set.

I've looked at some other various online sites, and they're all claiming the best. What are your experiences, and what wood would you recommend for someone living in southern Louisiana? Is redwood the end all and best choice? I'd like something that I can swing on as well, so I definitely do not want wood that is easily breakable.

Thanks!

[scottlwill]

Hi-

Saw your post on the other thread. Kid's Creations does use 100% con-heart redwood; I've installed some of their sets, and they are very nice for the money.

[Silly Burrito]

Hi-

Saw your post on the other thread. Kid's Creations does use 100% con-heart redwood; I've installed some of their sets, and they are very nice for the money.

Thanks. I can't find many reviews about them on the net, but from what I can see from their website and doing a bit of research, it seems to be a nice set.

[scottlwill]

If you want a review- I've installed them. If I had children I would not think twice about purchasing one of their sets; I don't work for them by the way.
The Rainbow sets are not made as well as they used to be, but they are still very good swingsets; only major thing is they cost a lot more than the Kid's Creations sets. I'd be careful with the Backyard Adventures sets- they had some recalls in the past few years.

[Silly Burrito]

If you want a review- I've installed them. If I had children I would not think twice about purchasing one of their sets; I don't work for them by the way.
The Rainbow sets are not made as well as they used to be, but they are still very good swingsets; only major thing is they cost a lot more than the Kid's Creations sets. I'd be careful with the Backyard Adventures sets- they had some recalls in the past few years.

Thanks! On their website, they claim that it takes much less time to put one of their sets together since they do most of the work at the factory. When putting it together, do you feel the same way?

[scottlwill]

I predominantly put together boxed kits, like the ones sold at Costco, Sam's Club, etc. With those sets, it's basically a giant jigsaw puzzle.
The Kid's Creations sets have most of the hard work done for you already: the rockwalls are preassembled, the ladders, railings, etc. As long as you can follow directions, have basic knowledge of how to use tools (hammer, drills, wrenches, etc.)- then you can install one of their sets without any major issues.

[Silly Burrito]

I predominantly put together boxed kits, like the ones sold at Costco, Sam's Club, etc. With those sets, it's basically a giant jigsaw puzzle.
The Kid's Creations sets have most of the hard work done for you already: the rockwalls are preassembled, the ladders, railings, etc. As long as you can follow directions, have basic knowledge of how to use tools (hammer, drills, wrenches, etc.)- then you can install one of their sets without any major issues.

That is great to know. Thanks for helping me out, it's much appreciated!

[scottlwill]

No problem at all. Let me know if you need any other advice, etc.
Glad to help.

[Silly Burrito]

No problem at all. Let me know if you need any other advice, etc.
Glad to help.
Actually, I do have one more question. Do you think that the KC sets are safe for adults to swing on as well? They claim 250 lbs. per swing. Would you think that it's pretty safe for the whole family to use this set? Thanks!

[aenima49]

Does Kid's creations have a website to locate dealers etc? Are they larger liek the rainbows vs the crappy tiny things that toys r us sells? Had one of those in our old house andit looked like crap aft a year and wasn't sturdy, nor was it big enough really for a child older than preschool age!

[Silly Burrito]

No problem at all. Let me know if you need any other advice, etc.
Glad to help.

Does Kid's creations have a website to locate dealers etc? Are they larger liek the rainbows vs the crappy tiny things that toys r us sells? Had one of those in our old house andit looked like crap aft a year and wasn't sturdy, nor was it big enough really for a child older than preschool age!

I don't believe they have dealers, but here is their website:

http://www.kidscreations.com/wooden-swing-sets.cfm

I just sent a looong 14 question email to them. I used their designer last night, and it's pretty cool, just be sure you're using a Windows PC and not a Mac. I had all sorts of problems trying it out until I just used IE on the Windows PC.

[scottlwill]

To answer the other questions- yes, the KC sets will and do hold adults- no question about it. Even their lower priced sets use the same material (solid con-heart redwood) for the swing beams, which is usually a solid 4x6 piece of redwood.
ToysRUs is now selling a version of the 2006 Sunray Premium Playground; very similar in all aspects. Not a bad set for the price they have it at.

[Silly Burrito]

Scott, thanks for all of your help. We ended up buying a Kid's Creations set just now. Here's my configuration.

http://www.kidscreations.com/3dbuilder.cfm?config=65348000301551301141111010000 0023200047

I figure this should give them plenty of activities. At $3191 shipped, it's pretty comparable to the Woodplay, Rainbow, and Backyard Adventure sets that I priced. It's obviously more expensive than some of the boxed sets, but as long as this lasts, I'm happy.

Thanks again, and I'll have to remember to post back to give my opinion of how the setup went.

[birddog2005]

We bought a swing set from www.kidscreations.com 2 years ago and love it. They really are easy to put together. Took me and my brother about 4 hours start to finish.

[Silly Burrito]

Cool! Have you had to stain it or give it any other kind of treatments or upkeep?

[Bob411]

Playsets come in kits?

[Silly Burrito]

Playsets come in kits?

They can, yes.

[Lehigh98]

At $3191 shipped

:omg: Holy crap

I need a swingset too but that seems like a ton of $$$ for one,

[Lehigh98]

To answer the other questions- yes, the KC sets will and do hold adults- no question about it. Even their lower priced sets use the same material (solid con-heart redwood) for the swing beams, which is usually a solid 4x6 piece of redwood.
ToysRUs is now selling a version of the 2006 Sunray Premium Playground; very similar in all aspects. Not a bad set for the price they have it at.
Which one is it? I have the catalog in my hand right now, :)

[scottlwill]

Which one is what???

[Silly Burrito]

:omg: Holy crap

I need a swingset too but that seems like a ton of $$$ for one,

I agree that it seems that way, but if you look at the one we made, it's pretty much got everything under the sun on it. Plus, we as parents can actually swing on it as well, unlike some of the other cheaper sets.

I know there are other good cheaper sets out there, but this pretty much met all our needs, and it's actually a pretty decent deal for what we got.

[Lehigh98]

Which one is what???

"ToysRUs is now selling a version of the 2006 Sunray Premium Playground; very similar in all aspects. Not a bad set for the price they have it at."

I don't see anything listed as "2006 Sunray Premium Playground", what is Toys R Us calling it? Thanks!

[birddog2005]

I did not stain it. After a year or so; it turned gray but still looks nice.

[scottlwill]

Lehigh98-

Sorry for any confusion. To clarify, ToysRUs is selling a "version" of the 2006 Sunray Premium Playground, which only means the Rainbow All-American Palace they are selling is very, very similar to the 2006 Sunray. Main differences being the tarp roof is multi-colored as opposed to solid blue, and there is a dedicated monkey bar separate from the swing beam (the 2006 Sunray had an integrated monkey/swing combo.
Outside of that, the sets are probably identical.
The Sam's Club All-American Kingdom is also extremely similar to both of the mentioned sets, but has a wooden roof.

[aenima49]

Can you help me? I am looking for something similar to the rainbow sunshine castle #10. We want a slide and swings (of course) and I want the separate monkey bar (vs being combined with the swings) but the hard part is that all my daughter is asking for is to have the wooden roof with the little window over the platform.

I don't want it to be teeny or chintzy like the one we had from TRU before, and I'd also love to have a picnic table etc under the platform. I am 5' tall and under 100 lbs (when not pregnant) and that POS from TRU really couldn't be used by me.

[scottlwill]

49-

You may have to make a compromise somewhere with regard to all the items you list.

[birddog2005]

Can you help me? I am looking for something similar to the rainbow sunshine castle #10. We want a slide and swings (of course) and I want the separate monkey bar (vs being combined with the swings) but the hard part is that all my daughter is asking for is to have the wooden roof with the little window over the platform.

I don't want it to be teeny or chintzy like the one we had from TRU before, and I'd also love to have a picnic table etc under the platform. I am 5' tall and under 100 lbs (when not pregnant) and that POS from TRU really couldn't be used by me.

http://www.kidscreations.com/Grand_Stand.cfm

This is what you want!!!!

[aenima49]

The problem I am running into is that all my daughter wants is a little wooden roof with windows like this one

http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Play-Systems-Inc-Clubhouse/dp/B0015BERVQ/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1Q35FMDBX98PH&colid=3GXGLH07CXJHU

Other than that, she'd be happy with a swing and a slide. She's not big enough to use monkey bars without help but with another baby on the way *I* wanted the monkey bars & swings to be independent, kwim? I like the picnic table but it's not really necessary either!

I just don't want ot have to buy another one. LOL

P.S. I am an idiot, it's not the sunshine castle it's the carnival clubhouse!

[scottlwill]

If you're not set on wanting the monkey bars- have you considered the 2008 Sunray Premium Playground?
It has a wooden roof, and the windows you want.

[aenima49]

If you're not set on wanting the monkey bars- have you considered the 2008 Sunray Premium Playground?
It has a wooden roof, and the windows you want.

Was there a link to that one? Can the monkey bars be added later? WDYT of the woodplay sets?

i was looking at this one three days ago but now the item is gone from their website.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3025501

[scottlwill]

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11257173&search=sunray&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=sunray&Ntt=sunray&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

[Silly Burrito]

The Kid's Creation swingset came in Wednesday, and we put it together on Friday. Let me tell you, this is a really nice set. It took my father and my brother-in-law six and a half hours to complete this swingset (I was taking my newborn to the doctor, and they decided to surprise me and start without me).

195057

This is what it looks like completed. If you'd like to see more, I added some additional pics to my Flickr page. (http://www.flickr.com/keithsagona) I'm surprised that my 2 year old daughter climbed the rock wall mostly by herself this morning (with me standing behind her as catch duty). This set has everything but monkey bars, and we can always get those later. But, with a sandbox, rock wall, tire swing, baby swing, glider, trapeze, etc....there's plenty of activities for them for a long while.

The only two problems while putting it together...they sent 2 steering wheels and one telescope, instead of the other way around that I ordered. A quick call, and they promised to send one on Monday just to make sure I didn't need any other parts (I didn't) and told me to keep the extra wheel. Then, I lost the sandbox instructions somehow, and Jeff sent me a quick spreadsheet showing the basics on how to get it to work (incidentally, this sandbox holds roughly 24 cubic feet of sand, so I bought 24 1/2 pound sandbags from Walmart to fill it halfway and it works great).

Thanks again to Scott (Scottlwill above) for all of his help in deciding which set to get, and for helping me to get an additional discount on the set as well. If you're in his area (northeast US, I believe), I highly recommend contacting him for help on installations of swingsets. The man knows his stuff! :)

[scottlwill]

Very welcome- and congratulations on the new baby!!!

[knicksfan]

ScottWill,

I have a Sunray set, purchased from Costco about 3 years ago. Is there any product you recommend to re-stain/protect? something considered safe for kids? that doesn't require a lot of prep-work?

Thanks