Hi! My husband & I went with our three kids to Crown of Minnesota to shop for playgrounds for our backyard. We went there because friends just got one and we love theirs. The pricing is outragious!! We didn't even look at the top of the line and it was almost $3000; and that's with the Home and Garden 40% off discount. With the economy down and my husband looking at being downsized this month, we just don't want to spend that kind of money; not to mention truely can't afford to spend that. So, we then went to Menard's, Lowe's, Home Depot, and we know Sam's Club has a version too. There are so many options and the pricing is certainly less, but we don't know anyone who's gone this route. Does anyone know of the quality of these playgrounds? They have the same look, but are they as safe, durable, and resellable? Do we need to have the store install them, or can my handy man hubby do it himself in a weekend? Thanks for the advice!
We were thinking of going to Menard's and getting one of their playgrounds. There's no way I'm spending so much money on a playground. My daycare provider got hers at Menards and she's had it for several years and the kids are constantly playing on it in the summer.
Try craigslist there have been alot of playgrounds on there from people lossing there houses and hings. If your husband has a few frends come over you can get it done in a few hours.
Hi S. -
Our neighbors got one at Menards (or Home Depot)and have not been happy with it at all. It definately is not the same quality of a Crown or Rainbow system. Another friend of mine bought one from Costco (I think Sam's Club would be similar) and it's fantastic. They did need a couple of people to help them put it together. They ordered from the web-site, so they didn't have to deal with picking it up at the store. We ended up with a Rainbow (close-out display model) and we like the system, however our installation was an absolute nightmare, and because of that I wouldn't be able to recommend them (we had a half put together set in our yard for several weeks - try explaining that to your kids!). If we were to do it again, we would go the Costco route, for sure. Good luck!
We bought one at Home Depot a few years ago and were not happy with it- the slide broke. The thing I have learned is they are starting to use some wood that looks like Red Cedar that is from China and is not Red Cedar and will actually rot. We were at Costco this weekend and their kit is a Rainbow kit.
We received a playset from sam's club in 2001. It has held together pretty well and my kids still use it. My husband put it together with the help of his dad & brother. If you go that route, definately have at least one other handy person to help. We just have to tighten bolts once a year(usually in the spring). It also needs to be restained every few years or so. Not sure about the upkeep on the more expensive version. It has served our purposes well anyway.
