No chickens, but WHICH COMES FIRST? The swingset or the mulch/pea gravel?

[JFC]

We have finally bought our swingset and DH and Grandpa will be assembling it this weekend. I thought we'd assemble it and then box out an area and fill w/ mulch or pea gravel next weekend, but GPa is saying we need to mulch first...What did you do???

P.S. I will appreciate ALL responses, even if they support GPa's approach. ;-)

[dules]

CedarWorks told us to assemble on top of the soft surfacing but that could be because our spot tends to get wet and we're using pea gravel.

Can you call the mfr and see what they recommend? I was going to do it the other way until I asked....

Best,
Mary

[JFC]

Thanks Mary - that is a great idea! Why is the simple answers always seem so smart! ;-)

[cimberdog]

Rainbow told us to cut out the area (remove the sod with a sod-cutter) but not to add the mulch or pea rock until after it was installed, so they could easily level the playset.

[JFC]

Thanks! That's perfect - especially since we bought the Sunray from Costco. I did call them and they said to install it first and to mulch after we finished/staked it to the ground. Thanks again!

[mommato2boys]

Personally, we leveled our area, had the company come and install it and then spread the sand around the area after. My husband and I are in the grading business and it is hard to get level ground with sand/pea gravel/mulch without compacting it which defeats the idea of a soft cushion under the playset. Hope that makes sense.


Plus, another thought, where we staked out the playset, the company actually angled it a little different to work better, it was still the the basic same area, but tilted slightly more to allow for better use of everything, so if we had spread the sand first, we might not have had full coverage underneath, KWIM??

[JFC]

Thanks. It makes me feel better to know others have gone this route. We ended up assembling it (almost done) and have been leveling areas as we go/as needed. We have the hardest clay soil ever...I'm jealous right now that you are in the business and I'm sure didn't use shovels and picks... ;-) Thanks again!

[dules]

Our pea gravel came! Here's a pic:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70...n/stone001.jpg

CW emailed us with links to the assembly instructions for our set this AM and it says to install the mulch or gravel first. I remember the woman at Rainbow telling me that they recommend the other way - perhaps because they may need to be staked?

Anyway, thought the picture might be helpful. The play area is 26X30 and the timbers are 6X6X10. The dumptruck guy was great and put it right in the middle.

Pardon the clutter - I had to move all the other plastic junk out of the way in a hurry as I didn't think they were going to get here today. :)


Best,
Mary