Post by countthestars on Feb 23, 2020 22:06:07 GMT -5
Go bigger than you think you need! I have two friends that put in smaller structures when their kids were small and regret it now (wish it were bigger). We did a big one last year - I did a TON of research and we are really happy with where we netted out. We bought this one from Costco and we waited to long to have them install it for us (bought in May, they weren't going to be able to install until September at that point) so we got a few quotes for ~$1k for install. Instead I hired a family friend and paid him $25/hr cash and it ended up being over $850, required a ton of my own time, and was a huge headache. If I could go back in time, I'd have just hired it out. We also had to clear the area and change around our yard to make this project happen so all in all we are in this for.... a shitload of money. But, my kids are 4 and 6 and I can see them using this set for many years to come. Our neighbors have a similar one and their 12 year old still swings and uses the fort part.
Ours is Cedar Summit from Costco. We'e had it for 5+ years and it's still in great shape. We've power washed it once and done nothing else to help it. She is 8 and still goes out there all the time for swinging and playing.
Ours is just on grass. We were going to do the recycled mulch with a border but never got around to it (whoops).
I've been really debating one. We have a fenced backyard, and it would be nice to turn the kids out to play for brief periods (well, just DD is old enough for now, but eventually plural). DD enjoys the playground, but it's a whole thing to load up in the bike trailer and go, so it doesn't happen many days a week.
OTOH, the playground is a free resource, and when they outgrow it I haven't invested anything in it (well, besides my town taxes!). We have several in town, including 2 different ones that are 2 miles from home (opposite directions). Plus winter here is long and bitterly cold, so a play structure wouldn't get year round use. And our backyard is limited in size and has a big tree right smack in the middle.
And so the debate continues.
We won't get one for this same reason. We have two parks within (short) walking distance from our house. We go to one or both almost daily in the summer (I'll take them for a bit after school when the days are longer). I think they're actually more inclined to play at the park than they would be to go out in the backyard to play. We also have kind of a terrible yard for something like this. It just isn't level enough or large enough to accommodate something like this without it taking up the majority of the yard.
we are getting ours free from my BFF whose kids have outgrown it. They are disassembling and bringing it over and helping us assemble it this spring and I am THRILLED. We will need to do a new stain on it, but other than that it is in great shape.