Play-A-Round by Cedar Works..Any reviews??

[pjsmom30]

I have a 2 and a 4 year old also! The four year old is extremely safe on it. I always stay with my 2 year old as he climbs, as the rungs are round, not flat. but he has gotten steadier and steadier at climbing.

The only places that are not protected by fences, are where the rock wall, ladders, slide, rope ladder and ramp are.

We bought plastic handles to add to the set at each climb up spot (at our local Lowes).

I wouldn't wait....it is so much fun! The kids play on the main area and slide the most. But they are often on the other side. They play "house" and pretend to nap on the bridge. So cute!

The picnic table is awesome. We eat lunch out there all the time.

This set is SOLID. It is not going anywhere. I swing on it full bore (and I am not the lightest mom) and it doesn't budge! We put our own baby swing for the little one on instead of one of the swings.

I do have pictures of the assembly process. I don't think I can post them here? but I can email them to you. Send me a PM with your email addy!

[quinnsmom]

Thank you so much for your reply! PMing you now with my email addy.

[My3Boys]

We've had the Fronteir set for a few months now & have been very happy with it (we have twins that just turned 2 and our oldest just turned 4).

For two year olds, I think the set is fine (recommended age is 3-12), but you may want to stay somewhat close to them for the first week or two until they master some of the climbing accessories (ladders, ramps, etc.). As was posted earlier the two forts & bridge are fully enclosed with fences (except at the access points of course), so it's about as safe as a set like this can get. We also got some "helping handles" from a local swingset store to put near the top of each ladder / ramp (they also have them at Lowes, Home Depot, etc). The kids seem to be using them, so for $5 or so a piece it was worth it.

As far as the product goes, it's great. You can't beat the quality of the wood (white cedar), size, stability, & accessories for the price. We researched playsets for about a year & came very close to dropping a lot of money on a "real" cedarworks set, but when we saw the Frontier version offered at Sam's, we thought it would be a good "compromise" on quality v. cost. After having set it up & used it, I don't feel like we compromised at all... it's everything a kid could want & very sturdy / robust. With some minor annual maintenance I see it lasting much longer than we need it to (FYI - We did put a thin, clear weather sealant (Thompsons) on ours... just for looks - we wanted to keep the "new" white cedar look indefinitely. It took the sealant very well & maintained that great cedar feel (soft) & smell).

On assembly - Very straightforward (almost fun), but it will take some elbow grease & some time (a day or so for a few handy people).

Only complaints - Freight company messed up (& we missed our initial setup weekend) & they shorted us some lag screws (fixed by $5 & a quick trip to the HW store). Also, the firepole is a little hard to get to for younger kids... although all three of mine still love it (they just need a little help from Mom or Dad to get to it).

A few "extras" we got included a little bell (not sure the neighbors are big on that!), a few extra "rocks" for the rock wall (from Home Depot), and a 1/2 bucket toddler swing.

It's tough to drop $2k on a set like this without being able see / touch it, but after having looked at a lot of sets in person (& their cost), we feel great about our decision. It's not quite as robust as a Cedarworks or Rainbow, but for 1/3 of the cost, you just can't beat it.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We got the Lookout last year, and we've been happy with it. My3Boys was smart to seal it right away. We waited a year+ and had to pressure wash it. Now we'll be sealing it with some dingy areas. Also, the Lookout only has 1/2 of a picnic table, not a full one as shown in the picture. Bizarre!

[My3Boys]

One suggestion on sealing it (for those that haven't bought / assembled yet), we put all of the "wood" parts together & then put the clear sealant on with a Wagner power sprayer (think our version was $30 or $40 at Home Depot). Including setup & cleanup, I think it took about an hour (v. probably an all day job if done with a brush!). We let it dry a few days & then put on all the plastic & metal parts.

It worked out really well. Of course, I'm not looking forward to it in a few years when it needs to be re-sealed... I'm thinking it might be worth it to just to take some of the bigger parts off (slide, swings, etc) & just tape over some of the smaller parts & go ahead & spray it again (v. trying to do it with a brush). I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.