Outdoor Playsets

Swing sets are a great way to spend time with your kids in the backyard.  These play sets can run from a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.  The Rainbow set is really the Cadillac of swing sets and they are great play sets.  However, if you cannot afford the Rainbow set there are a lot of other great sets that can provide hours of fun.

Whichever set you buy you should consider layout and maintenance.  Laying out your set is critical to your yard size.  Layout area should extend a good eight to ten feet beyond the set.  There are a wide varieties of materials that you could put under the set but the fastest and easiest is just grass.  However, the least expensive after grass is mulch.  The swing set in the above photo has 4x4 treated lumber as a perimeter with mulch as a ground cover.  Covering the ground and or grass with a much makes it a nice are below the swing.  With mulch you will not have to worry about mowing around the swing set and you will not have worn spots in the grass.

The lower swingset is getting maintainance done with a fresh coat of stain/sealant.  The stain used was a Bher Red Oak (water based) from Home Depot. Before slapping on the stain, the swing set was power washed to remove any dirt and mildew.  Instead of a power washer you can use a light detergent and a garden hose.  No scrubbing was involved.

A one gallon can did the whole set with two coats.  Some parts were disassembled to allow for easy staining.  Not all parts needed to be removed.  However, removing parts helps in not having to tape off sections that may get stain on them.

Note:  This swing set was purchased at the Home Depot and is now part of their Disney swing set package.

The lower photo shows the completed set after a fresh coat of stain has been applied.  The Rainbow set does not need any maintenance as this swing set did.  This swing set will require a fresh coat of stain about every two years.  It will also need board replaced when needed.

As you can see each swing set has their good points and bad points.  You may pay a little less but it may require more maintenance.  However, just maintaining a swing set will give it years of use by the whole family.