Hours of work but truly worth it!
Written: May 14 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great quality swingset, lots of features, many individual options
Cons: Requires a couple of days hard work to build it
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| klgarner's Full Review: Swing-n-Slide Competitor Kit |
We recently decided to get a swingset for our 3 y.o. daughter and wanted to get a high quality wooden one, but didn't want to spend upwards of 2K for one, either. We found the best option for us was a kit made by Swing-n-Slide. They have all sorts of options, from the most basic swingset only, to very complicated, multi-level combination climbing units with swing beams. We chose one of their smaller options, a kit called Competitor. Actually, it has everything my daughter wants. There are two swings, a set of rings, a platform deck with canopy, a wavy slide, and a sandbox underneath the deck. There are other options you can add if you are so inclined, like a climbing mountain, a climbing rope, other types of slides, etc. We haven't yet added any of the other options, but we may at some later point.
The kit itself contains very detailed instructions, the ladder dowels, the multicolored canopy, the swings and rings, all the swing and rings hardware, and all the bolts and metal hardware that keep the big pieces together. We also opted to purchase the instructional video, although that was probably not necessary. After buying the kit, you take the lumber list to the lumber yard, and get all the wood required to build it. Only basic tools are required, such as a circular or miter saw, hammer, power drill (I don't recommend a cordless drill or cordless screwdriver unless it is super powerful and you have a huge supply of charged batteries), and socket wrench.
The instructions for our particular kit listed the assembly time as 10-14 hours. It took us every bit of that and then some. Perhaps it would be quicker if you are very adept at woodworking. We are not, and so it took us a while to get comfortable with the saw and figuring out which piece of lumber we needed to cut. It was definitely not rocket science, just straight cuts, but still it took time to actually get it done. The first few boards, we mistook the 5/4" x 6" boards for the 2" x 6" boards and cut the wrong ones, necessitating yet another trip to the lumber store for more wood. Now that we've put one together, it probably would take us that 10-14 hour time frame to assemble another one.
The kit can be assembled with either nails or screws, but I would recommend using decking screws, even though they are considerably more expensive. Since this is an item that may take some hard use by multiple children, it's worth it to be certain that it will not fall apart!
This particular kit cost $125, the slide an additional $65, the screws were around $35, and the lumber around $200. Plus we had to rent a saw since we did not own one, making our total a little more than $400.
It was a lot of hard work, and naturally we picked a very hot, humid weekend to put it together, but it's so satisfying to see it out in our backyard. My husband and I feel a great sense of accomplishment just looking at it. Plus my daughter really loves it!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
klgarner
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Member: Kristi Garner
Location: Montgomery County,PA
Reviews written: 63
Trusted by: 84 members
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