Back Yard Playset

[lrogers]

Belinda and I are thinking about setting up a play set in the backyard for when the grandkids visit. Wally Wolrd has one on sale now that is stained cedar. Any one know how these hold up to the elements? Is it safe to treat it with something like Thompson's Water Seal?

[robtonya]

I've always been told Thompson's is something to avoid. They say the best stuff is sold at paint stores, such as Sherman Williams. We ended up getting a Rainbow swing set, so I can't comment on Wally Worlds, but no complaints with the Rainbow.

[Copper]

I wouldn't worry about rot with the stained cedar. However, the color will fade pretty quickly. We haven't treated ours with anything since I can live with the fading. We got it at Sam's Club.

I'll give you a heads up about putting it together. The bolt holes should be considered pilot holes. Dig out your spade bit and re-drill all the bolt holes during assembly. It will save you a lot of grief. I wish I had started doing this earlier in the process of putting ours together.

[mschrank]

We put a playset up for our kids a couple years ago. I'd strongly suggest comparing the Wally World set to one from Rainbow or the like. We did, and even with a woodworking background, I didn't catch all of the shoddy aspects of the Wally World set until I compared them.

I don't mean to sound like a snob, but when it comes to a structure that my kids will be playing on, I want it to be built well.

We ended up with a set by Rainbow. It came pre-stained, and still looks good after two full years.

And IMHO: Thompson's Water Seal excels only at marketing. I used some on a small deck once...didn't protect the wood for even a full year.

[buckeye95]

I concur with Mike.

We bought a Walmart playset about 3 years ago. The cedar has held up well, but the main structural members on ours are not cedar, but rather 2x4s encased in plastic. At the point where the cedar rungs of our ladder and monkey bars enter the drilled out holes in these members, water leaks in and has rotted them. Even the cedar rungs themselves have deteriorated not from the weather per se, but rather from water getting in and sitting on them. I have since replaced two if these members with regular 2x4s (painted) as well as replacing all of the rungs. Fortunately, the first rung that broke off to alert me of the problem was on the first step up, so my daughter was not hurt.

Good luck,

Pete

[vaking]

I don't have any playsets but I have a cedar swing in my back yard. I did not put any protection on it, installed just as it came. Had been there for more than 5 years and still holding. In 5 years you will be getting rid of a playset anyway because kids will be beyond the playset.

[dielectric]

Here's another -1 for the WallyWorld playset. The neighbors across the street have one, and it's total junk. The swing beam totally let go and put some kids on their butts, and the whole thing leans like that tower in Pisa. He spent some money rebuilding it this spring, so I guess you could figure that into the purchase price. As long as you don't go overboard and built the Taj Mahal, Menards and Lowes carry some playsets for a reasonable price. They fall somewhere between a Rainbow and the Walmart sets as far as construction goes.

[DaveS]

I built my own for not a lot more money that the store bought ones, and a lot less money than the Rainbow systems.

It was one of the funnest projects I have ever done.



Here is a few more pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seekins/...eat=directlink

[krdomingue]

I built my own for not a lot more money that the store bought ones, and a lot less money than the Rainbow systems.

[/URL]

That is impressive!

[lrogers]

Thanks guys!

[cabinetman]

Cedar has a natural resistance to insects and the elements. Whatever it is treated with will eventually break down losing its UV properties. Prolonging protection over time can be done with a BLO/ms mix applied periodically. A UV stabilizer like Polytek or similar can be added to the mix.
.

[wbsettle]

I'll 2nd the Lowe's kit. I'm sure the Rainbow quality level kits are better, but 5x? I would also have loved to designed my own, but with some 30-40 hours just to assemble a kit, I can't imagine the extra time needed for design, lay out, cutting, and drilling a custom unit. Especially given how fast the kids outgrow them. After only 2 years, ours is mostly something that makes the yard harder to mow.

I would encourage some extra attention on the length of the swing beam on any kit considered. To me, most kits seemed a little short for safely spacing 3 swings apart, even though they met some "official" guidelines for such. The stock Lowe's kit came with an 8' or slightly under beam, but I replaced it with a 12'.

-Brent