Outdoor playsets

[bagofpucks]

Hey CP,

Thinking we may look at an outdoor play set for our daughter and know there’s probably a lot of expertise on here. We live on an acreage, so space is not an issue and would be fine to pay a little extra for something that will last. Is Costco the safest bet? Looks like wayfair has some too? Any brands to look for?

Thanks!

[Ironhorse]

We bought the Costco one about 14 years ago (the older cedar set) for around $1,400, kids played with it lots, and I sold it 3 years ago for $250 still in great shape. The only item that really died after 10 years was the canvas top. Highly recommended.

[SportsJunky]

We also had the Costco set. Kids loved it. Once the kids outgrew it we gave it to a new family in the neighbourhood. These things get weathered over the years but remain quite sturdy.

[Ashartus]

They have a lot of good play sets at Bluegrass garden centre (near CrossIron).

[calf]

I've been looking at these as well - but my backyard has a slight slope to it. Does the ground need to be flat, or is there usually a way to install it so it is level when the ground isn't?

[Tron_fdc]

God speed to anyone who attempts the Costco play set with that yellow tube slide.

That dog's breakfast took 3 days for me to get together. The slide alone was 8 hours.

Surprised I'm still married after that nonsense.

[Ashartus]

If you can afford it paying for assembly/installation is worthwhile, unless you have a lot of free time on your hands.

[troutman]

I was lucky to have a handy Dad (and he was an Engineer). He built us a big swing set, and an elevated fort. You climbed up a ladder to get in the trap door in the bottom. In the winter he made a backyard rink for us, and hand-painted the Red Wings logo at center ice (I liked Gordie Howe). He built our garage himself. I inherited none of these skills.

[You Need a Thneed]

If you are a little more handy, Rona sells “build it yourself kits”, which supply the hardware, and lists the wood pieces you need - which you buy on your own. This probably saves a bit of money over the sets where everything is precut.

I did that option 8-10 years ago, it stayed at our old house when we sold.

At our current house, I built my own structure 5 years ago when we moved in, now the kids want sone swings.

[bagofpucks]

Alright, the bluegrass sets are super nice, but very pricey.

Folks who built these - did you put down mulch or anything else? It looks like that’s the safety requirements, but I see lots of them just built on grass.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

God speed to anyone who attempts the Costco play set with that yellow tube slide.

That dog's breakfast took 3 days for me to get together. The slide alone was 8 hours.

Surprised I'm still married after that nonsense.

This is true. I had some friends come over to help assemble our Costco structure (I was recovering from emergency surgery), and it was a two day process. Having impact socket wrenches on the second day made a huge difference.

[topfiverecords]

There are hundreds all over the city free for the taking. Just spray with Lysol first before loading in the truck.

[MacDaddy77]

just put it on grass. took me about 5 hours to put this together

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/swi...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[GP_Matt]

I ordered one from Costco a few days ago. We still have a bunch of snow in the backyard but I am worried that there will be a run on these in the next few weeks as the weather improves. The kid is going crazy with the playgrounds closed right now so hopefully this will provide a nice distraction.

[GreenLantern]

My kids 3rd birthday is in May but we're looking to have a playset put together for him earlier as an early present given the current situation and his rising isolated boredom (no siblings yet, one on the way).

Is this the Costco one people are talking about?

https://www.costco.ca/cedar-summit-h...100601147.html

And you can pay extra to have them put it together? (both the wife and I are still working and Grandpa is a high risk so we don't want him near the house for his safety).

[bagofpucks]

That’s the one I was looking at. It is $1299 in the warehouses if you can pick it up. Seems like you can find “installers” on kijiji.

[GreenLantern]

I might be blind but, is there dimensions anywhere to see how long/wide it is?

[GP_Matt]

We went with this one. https://www.costco.ca/lifetime-adven...100337124.html

[bagofpucks]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I might be blind but, is there dimensions anywhere to see how long/wide it is?

Yes, from the Costco site you can go to follow the link to the KidKraft page for that specific model. Based on the recommendation of 6 feet of space around the structure, you almost need 800 square feet of space.

[GP_Matt]

Looking on Costco it seems that all the sets are now on back-order. Ours was delivered this weekend and took a week from order to delivery. Now waiting to set it up. Will probably start this weekend or earlier if it stays nice this week.