Swingsets, where else to look?

[Bearhut]

Hi, we are looking for a smaller wooden swingset for our child. I would like to have a swing, slide, trapeze, small elevated platform with a ladder. We are hoping to spend about $1000, but may go a little higher if we must. So far we have looked at:

Cedarworks - beautiful, but VERY expensive although we are still considering their Play-a-round set.

Creative Playthings - there least expensive set (the Hampton) is still being considered, but the others are expensive and too big.

Rainbow - I just found them and am waiting for a catalog.

Costco - they only have one model at our local store and it's too big.

Does anyone have any recommendations of other brand sets that they are happy with!

TIA

[brittone2]

In that price range, I would have gone for the Cedarworks Play a Round. We debated getting that or the Costco set, but I ended up opting for an inexpensive metal set for the next 2-3 years since we may be moving in a few years, and because w/ DH in grad school right now, if we could get by without a huge set, it would be a bonus.

I've seen less expensive wooden sets (smaller like you are looking for) at Toys R Us (some of theirs are partial cedar...like the playhouse area), Kmart and Walmart (online). ETA: Home depot has kits, including one that DOES contain the actual wood, not just the hardware.

If you go w/ an inexpensive wooden set, from reading online reviews it looked like it was a good idea to somehow seal the pieces before you even assemble it. I know some of the less expensive sets seemed like they tended to crack during the winter, etc. (especially things like ladder rungs). Also the less expensive sets tend to be treated wood...most manufacturers aren't using the arsenic-containing pressure treated lumber, but I picked up an information sheet at Home Depot on the ACQ treated stuff (which is what most inexpensive wood sets are made of now) and that didn't look like great stuff to get in your mouth, iykwim. For an older child it wouldn't have bothered me as much, but I was concerned about my 2 year old putting his hands in his mouth after touching the wood. That's one of the reasons DH didn't opt to build our set himself...and cedar is soooo expensive to buy even on your own.

So it is a cheap-o metal set for us. So far, so good.

[Karenn]

We drove out to a Rainbow "showroom" this weekend and it was really worth it to see the sets, and to find out that some of them were actually reasonably priced. (Not to mention the fact that the kids HAD A BLAST! They cried when it was time to leave because they were having so much fun!)

Where I live, they are having their spring sale and that brings a few of their pieces into the "around $1000" range. (or actually just above.) They have a "Fiesta" line which is a build it yourself kit that's starting at $999 on sale. I think the the smallest "Fiesta" set is 16' x 16'. If you're interested, you might call Rainbow and make sure they send you the "Fiesta" catalog. It's a seperate catalog and not part of the regular Rainbow catalog so I didn't find out about them until I actually visited the store.

HTH,

[Bearhut]

Thank you so much for your help. I think we had decided on the Play-a-Round, but now are backing away from the idea all together. There is SO much to look at and the prices are so very high! We've actually decided to forgo a swingset for now. Not only were we looking at the cost of the set, but we were going to have to regrade the yard and put down a "fall-safe" surface to accomodate it. At this point, we are returning to our original idea of hanging a swing from a tree. That being said, it's still very likely we will have a swingset eventually...it just seems like SO much $$ when we have a state of the art brand new playground a few miles away where there is always a friend to play with.

[tjham]

I went to the Cedarworks site but couldn't find anything called Play around. ??? What's it like?

How much was it? Could it be Climber six?

[AmyZ]

Here is the link:
http://playaround-swingsets.com/swingsets/index.php

edited to change title for clarity
Amy Z

"Ma!" to Eliana 2/04 - She's 2!
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[jasmine_bay]

Which metal swing set did you end up buying? I wanted a wood swing set, but am thinking that a smaller metal one will be good for the nxt few years.

[LiznSeb]

I was thinking about a regular Cedarworks set, but it appears that DH will NOT go for it, no matter how much cajoling I do.

The Play-a-round seems like a GREAT value...Does anyone know if that will be included in their 10% off sale in late summer/Sept.? If so I might wait until then...Thanks in advance.

Liz