Wood Swing Sets - Franklin,OH

We have a wood swing set that was my husbands when he was little. Its still in really great shape. Its pretty heavy also.

We have a Rainbow. It survived a year in Rhode Island winter, two moves, and three winters in Colorado. It is still in great condition. That being said, I have no idea how old it is. It was donated to us four years ago, but I'm pretty sure they had teenagers, so who knows how old it is. We did need to replace one of the bolts that you hook the swings to, and we had to replace the fabric cover on the top (the roof?) because during a hurricane strength wind storm in RI something went flying through it and ripped it, but that was a cheap fix at Jo-ann's. Point being, it may be a better idea to spend a little more on something that will last longer.

Side note, my dad built me a swing set when I was 9, like from a plan, without a kit. It is still standing at my parents house almost 20 years later and my children now play on it. Just a thought. :)

We bought the the most affordable Cedarworks of Maine set, which was still about $1,200 and comes with a ladder from which 2 swings and a double "horse swing" hang, as well as a climbing ladder on one side holding up the swings and a climbing tower with slide on the other. It is cedar so it weathers and does not need to be stained. The reason we went with Cedarworks is that each swing can support an adult at the same time, and after 10 years in the yard in a Boston suburb (snow, sun, hot weather, freezing rain) it is still in great shape (it did weather from fresh cut tree color to a greyish white). My kids are now 11 and 14 and still play on it, and my husband is close to 200 pounds and can climb over the whole thing as well as sit in the swings. A lot of the cheaper sets get wobbly over time, or can splinter. But a $300 set from ToyRus could be fine if you want something that will last a year or 2.
More importantly, make sure you create a surface kids can fall on. My husband dug down 10" and outlined that box with 8x8" logs and filled it in with 8" deep pea stone. When the kids fall the pea stone gives way and they don't fall on a hard surface. We went with pea stone and not mulch since we live near an orchard and lots of ground wasps like to live in mulch, and it can also harbor ants and spider, plus it can create splinters.

We have a wood one that has the swings, fort slide and a fire pole. We attached a sand box. It is very sturdy. We have had several wind storms that have knocked trees over and it is still standing. Make sure that it is anchored to the ground though. Some just sit on top or people do not anchor them and then they get un sturdy due to the stress on the joints. Also with wood you will have to re-seal it so it does not start rotting on you.

I'm not sure how handy you or someone in your family/friends circle are but its actually cheaper to build one yourself instead of buying the kit. We've priced it out as my husband is planning to build one for our son this summer and its going to cost between $300 and $400.

I got the wood set from Toys R Us. Totally regret it. Granted it took five years to fall apart but I think the last two years were us ignoring it since the kids wouldn't get on it any way. My brother got a Rainbow which is now six years old and looks brand new.

If you can put it together yourself they do sell a really nice rainbow set at Costco for around 1,200. I know it is twice your budget but it has so much. Like it has the sandbox and a picnic table. Ya know, things they may not need now but might like when they are older.

my wood swing set was a hand me down from a friend whose kiddos are now in high school and college. It's been moved at least twice and will still support my husband with no trouble.

My best advice would be, that if you want something that will last for the grandkids years from now, get a good system from lowe's or someplace similar. Otherwise if they are properly put together the ones from walmart are just fine, and will last until your children are old enough to not use it anymore.

We purchased one from Meijer 2 years ago and it is still going strong. I think it was a clearance so we got it for around $400. We didn't put it all together at first - just the main house, swings and slide. The next year we added the climbing wall and then we think next year we will add the monkey bars portion. It is a thinner wood than the Rainbow sets but it is on year 3 and still looks great! I just couldn't see spending over a thousand on a swing set. I have never felt unsafe on ours and we have at times had 2 adults and 2 kids on it. We have also had 5 kids climbing in it at once. I will say my husband put almost 30 hours into putting it all together but he built it alone. Good luck on your decision.

I forget where we got ours, but we put it together ourselves and it's survived many bad storms, including one where we had to repair it after an 80ft pine tree fell on the "treehouse" portion. I think we put it together the year the older daughter was 8...and she's now 16. We replaced the slide that got "treed" with a climbing wall and more recently put a slide on another side for our younger daughter. I say evaluate what your child is into, what will grow with him, and what you can do without. Don't go huge if all he wants is a swing and a slide.

I don't know many boys that play on swing sets long. My nephews mostly use the little club house part of their wooden one and the sandbox underneath. They haven't used the swings since they out grew the baby swings/toddler swings. I'm sure once they get a little bigger they will use the monkey bars but right now they can't use them alone. I know my boys would rather play in the sand, play sports, look for bugs, tag, etc so we did not bother with a swing set however we are building a club house for them this year.

My kids loved ours and when we moved and had to leave it behind they were not happy. I would say it all depends on who puts it together. My husband put ours together and it was very sturdy. However my husband is one that makes sure that everything is done safely as well as he over does some things. If he did not like something in the kit then he changed it so that he felt better about it. That is just the way he is. But we got ours 5 years ago from Lowes. they no longer have the kit that we got. Not sure why. I am looking to get another one if and when we get a bigger yard. I have been checking out Costco's. If you are a member of Costco or Sam's club they both carry them.

I would suggest looking on Craigslist for a higher end system (i.e. Rainbow) at a reasonable price. They Rainbows systems last a long time (they may even have a lifetime warranty). There are also people that will move and set up used systems, we found someone on craigslist. Good luck!