Help me pick new playset

[nakedbabytoes]

The cedarworks ones are nice BUT they are small. Just FYI. Look at the size of the kids playing on them & going down slides. We wanted ours to last for years AND more importantly, FIT big kids.
On our KidsCreations one, we can swing & climb & slide WITH our children. Most of those other slides have too low a weight limit & are short. And swing beams that can't handle more than 100lbs a swing. Ours can hold 250lbs PER SWING POSITION. SO our beam can hold over 1000lbs of swinging weight at a time.
Try that with a big box store one!

The steps are beefy. The slats are beefy. The decks are solid. Heck, even our tarp roof beats the pants off of any tarp I've ever seen sold anywhere.

Here's ours:

[Minniebees]

Cedarworks makes huge ones, Just FYI. The really big ones can be pricey, though. They aren't all toddler sets. the indoor playsets are smaller (duh, they have to fit inside ) but the outdoor sets can be absolutely enormous. The cheapest outdoor playset is about $3,000, but you get what you pay for.

They are having a 20% off sale until the end of the month on their inside playsets and beds.

[nakedbabytoes]

In my opinion, the weren't big scale wise, just more "stuff" & "longer" the more expensive you got.
I meant scale BIG, not footprint big.
Our top deck is 10ft off the ground. Our bottom deck is 6ft off the ground. Our slide is 12ft long industrial commercial grade. Our swing beam is 15ft long with 4 swing positions. The decks are 6x6 inside dimensions. My son on top is 9yrs old and he looks small compared to the swing set. When you look at pics of the other ones(in my opinion, smaller), older kids have to bend over to play on things or their feet practically touch the ground from the top of the slide.
If I'm gonna spend that kindof money, it better fit them longer than toddler thru elementary school. That's all I mean. Scale was VERY important to us. And scale knocked out alot of the competition right off the bat.
But it might not be important for OP. So, to each his own.
I was just letting her know My opinion.

But I do agree with you that you get what you pay for.
KidsCreations is 50% off until Feb end. FYI.

[ericak95]

I strongly suggest you go ahead and put down at least a 6" layer of cedar shavings/chips. No matter how soft you think your ground is a 6-10 food fall is dangerous.

We had our backyard leveled and a huge mountain of chips put in then we built the structure. We ended up with the one from Costco, features, wood, price all played into it. We almost went with the Gorilla that's shown in #1. It's about 1000lbs shipped weight -- where as the other one you have listed is only 800 - if they are close to features then they should weigh the same if like lumber is used. Also avoid the playset that use plastic coated/sheilded timibers -- they can rot from the inside and you won't be able to see until it compromises the structure.

[3 ladybugs]

I think we are going to go up to the Rainbow play system store this weekend. I really need to see the difference and I don't want DH or FIL (an engineer) to come out here and say "why did you get that?"

Anyway we slice it, it needs to be able to support DH or me since for the time being DS is an only child so we are the ones that are going to be playing on it with him.

[Minniebees]

Doing the mulch is very important. Grass, even "soft" grass can be as hard as concrete if you fall from a playset.

Originally Posted by nakedbabytoes In my opinion, the weren't big scale wise, just more "stuff" & "longer" the more expensive you got. I meant scale BIG, not footprint big. Our top deck is 10ft off the ground. Our bottom deck is 6ft off the ground. Our slide is 12ft long industrial commercial grade. Our swing beam is 15ft long with 4 swing positions. The decks are 6x6 inside dimensions. My son on top is 9yrs old and he looks small compared to the swing set. When you look at pics of the other ones(in my opinion, smaller), older kids have to bend over to play on things or their feet practically touch the ground from the top of the slide. If I'm gonna spend that kindof money, it better fit them longer than toddler thru elementary school. That's all I mean. Scale was VERY important to us. And scale knocked out alot of the competition right off the bat. But it might not be important for OP. So, to each his own. I was just letting her know My opinion. But I do agree with you that you get what you pay for. KidsCreations is 50% off until Feb end. FYI.

Maybe they make them bigger now? I have their current catalog right in front of me and almost all the playsets are 12 or 13 feet tall.

I really wouldn't want something too tall, personally. A fall of 6 feet can be fatal to children. Kids can have just as much fun 4 feet off the ground - height doesn't really make a difference.

It doesn't really matter, though. You love your playset. Great! I just wanted to give her another option to look at. I'm not knocking your set at all. We're not in the market for an outdoor playset right now because the kids have a pool and sport court, but if I was going to get one, I'd get a Cedarworks, but that's just me.