I wouldn't spend the money for a Rainbow. We got ours from Costco for about a grand and have been happy with it.
Outdoor play sets for kids
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Got this at Walmart for $500.
We had a bigger one, but a wind storm tore it apart last summer. I don't really think that the extra money is worth it. No idea why someone would foot the bill for a Rainbow unless they are looking to waste money. But, man, do these things take awhile to assemble.
We had a bigger one, but a wind storm tore it apart last summer. I don't really think that the extra money is worth it. No idea why someone would foot the bill for a Rainbow unless they are looking to waste money. But, man, do these things take awhile to assemble.
We started with a small, generic playset when the kids were young, like 1 to 4 years old. They used that thing every day. Then when we moved back to Ames we upgraded to a Rainbow playset - the kids were 3 to 7 - and they and all the neighbor kids used it constantly. Then of course a year later I took a new job in Washington state... But I think the playset helped to sell the house, which was in a neighborhood full of young families. According to Google Maps Satellite View that playset is still up.
We're looking at buying an outside playset for the kids soon. A few questions...how weather resistant are these? Specifically our yard doesn't have the best drainage, so when the snow melts or have a big storm with a lot of rain, there will be some standing puddles in our yard. Would this be okay or would I need to do something to the bottom supports?
We got a Sam's Club one, too. It's been okay. My kids enjoy playing on it, but the wood isn't the best. Had a few pieces break, and it's not as sturdy as it could be. It's not a danger or anything, but like the picnic table broke and a board on the climbing wall came off. Like others have said, if you're sure your kids are going to use it ton over the next 4-6 years, maybe consider spend the extra, otherwise Sams/Wal-Mart/Costco will be probably be fine for a fraction of the cost.
CtownCyclone
Been waiting for this moment all my life
My wife is pushing for one at our house. I'm not super excited about the idea, as we don't really have a good place to put it and we live an eighth of a mile from the neighborhood playground.
Three neighbors on our street have trampolines and a couple swing sets. We have 3 dogs and a lot of poop in our yard. So the kids go next door a lot.
You should definitely take a look at Craigslist. As people mentioned, lots of people realize kids don't use them and you can get a nice one for cheap, just need a way to move it.
I bought a 3-year old $1700 (she included the receipt) play set for $300.
I bought a 3-year old $1700 (she included the receipt) play set for $300.
You should get this one. $750 and you could probably bargain down to $650. Pre-assembled, recently stained, most likely better than any you could get for the price. Note: I have no relation to this post.
https://iowacity.craigslist.org/for/6049490415.html
We bought a used CedarWorks off of craigslist. Quality construction and it gets heavy use.
https://www.cedarworks.com/
funny post! my wife wanted to go to menards last night to look at these.
are they stained or do you need to stain them? do you put pea gravel around them or just put in on the grass? there were SO MANY choices it was hard to figure out what was good and what was bad.
are they stained or do you need to stain them? do you put pea gravel around them or just put in on the grass? there were SO MANY choices it was hard to figure out what was good and what was bad.
That all depends on what your wife wants. Also I highly suggest staying away from pea gravel or any other kind of rock. It does the job and is cheap but they are kids and it won't stay where you put it.
We got ours years ago when Kmart was still in town. We paid less than $500. The kids played on it a lot early on, but soon lost interest. We had it probably 6 years. It took me the better part of a day to put it up by myself. I re-stained it once. I had to re-tighten all of the hardware every spring.
I would say unless you are looking for it to add value to your house for a possible resale down the line I wouldn't spend a whole lot of money on one.
I would say unless you are looking for it to add value to your house for a possible resale down the line I wouldn't spend a whole lot of money on one.
Funny thing - the entire wood treating industry was changed a few years ago because of this. (More specifically, the big gargantuan wood playsets you see on school playgrounds and so forth.) Seems the kids would accidentally ingest the treatment chemical - copper chromated arsenate, or CCA for short - by grabbing the wood with sweaty hands, and also putting their fingers in their mouth afterward. More than a few got pretty sick. Not a risk of death, but still not a good thing, either. So the EPA required a different treatment, one with no metals and more easily tolerated ingredients.
If I was going to do this (my kids are all grown, maybe grandkids though) I'd use cedar and just let it gray or silver naturally. There are stains and water repellants to keep them looking nice, but they need to be re-done regularly, which is a royal pain. Some folks don't like the look of weathered cedar, but I can just about guarantee you the kids won't care.
If I was going to do this (my kids are all grown, maybe grandkids though) I'd use cedar and just let it gray or silver naturally. There are stains and water repellants to keep them looking nice, but they need to be re-done regularly, which is a royal pain. Some folks don't like the look of weathered cedar, but I can just about guarantee you the kids won't care.
We recently got a Rainbow clubhouse style one. So far so good. Kids are 5 & 2 with one on the way. They were more interested in the clubhouse thing on the bottom than the actual slides, at least for now.
If you have the time/desire to put one together you will save a good chunk of money. We didn't really have either of those. Went to work with an old and falling apart swing set in the backyard, came home and a nice shiny new one was there. Happily paid more for that.
If you have the time/desire to put one together you will save a good chunk of money. We didn't really have either of those. Went to work with an old and falling apart swing set in the backyard, came home and a nice shiny new one was there. Happily paid more for that.
Anyone have experience with buying a playset recently? Seems like the higher lumber prices have made this a bit more expensive.
Anyone have any experience with these folks? https://www.backyardplayset.com/
Or any other Iowa/Midwest companies?
Anyone have any experience with these folks? https://www.backyardplayset.com/
Or any other Iowa/Midwest companies?