Wooden Swing Sets - Argyle,TX

We bought a nice expensive one ($7000) but that was also the half off price and the floor model as it was winter time (that's when to buy the really nice ones). We have a lifetime guarantee, my hubby and I can totally swing and play on it with the kids etc.. It's been dismantled and moved across country with us etc... and it is the best swingset ever. Just this summer with the hot texas heat, we had wood that was splitting and drying out. The companies rule is that if there is a split larger than a width of a quarter they'll come out and replace the wood, free of charge. Now, my neighbors on the other hand, bought a cheaper one from Costco (about $1200), looks fairly similar to mine but with no lifetime warranty. After the first summer, termites found it and began eating it away. One day their daughter was swinging when one of the legs gave way. When they had the termite guys come out in fear for their house, they found that the cheaper wood was the culprit on why the termites feasted on it. I've had mine for over 6 years and it still looks awesome thanks to the wood being replaced for free, my neighbors, only had theirs a year and it was a victim to termites. So yeah, you do get what you pay for.

I forget how much we paid - we put it up ourselves and I think it was under $300 and probably a lot less. Just three swings, a slide, a "fort" and some climbing number things to get into the fort. Nothing too fancy. It's survived having an 80F pine tree fall on it (needed minor repairs). We got it when SD was about 8. She's 17 now and we are still using it for our toddler.

Ours is something like this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=wooden+swing+set...

we bought a metal swingset in 1989 for our children who were 1,2 and 8 at the time. the swingset is still standing and still being used. I love the wooden swingsets but they take up so much space. the set we bought was the one that looks like a big t on each end has monkey bars running up the middle, swings on each of the t's arms and a slide down one end. If you want something they will play on for a long time ours was great and the grandchildren use it now.
oh yeah cost wise it was about $200 then so probably closer to $500 now

Hi H.,

We found ours on Craigs List I believe. It's a Rainbow Structure which tends to be sturdier. We paid less than what you would at WalMart and bought extra swings at Lowes...and both hubby and I get to play too! (Just an idea!)

We bought our cedar play set from Costco. Looking at in and the ones available online at Walmart, they appear to be very similar, but made by different companies. You may want to go online and check out the spec side-by-side. Regarding our Costco one, though, I can tell you that it was a terrific investment. My kids--and many of the neighbor kids--played on it for years. It also held adults. We has it almost four years before we moved, and it was still going strong then. I hope that this helps!

We just bought the $300 Wal-Mart one in March. So far it is holding up pretty well and both my husband and I play on it. My daughter is 2 1/2 and loves it. With the Cedar ones you have to sand it down and stain it a couple times a year. We were able to put it together the 2 of us in about 6 hours over a 2 day period.

After reading all sorts of reviews on every swing set out there...we bought one last year from:

Tom Haralson
Haralson Construction Group
###-###-####
____@____.com

They came out and installed it. More expensive than walmart but they have a 10 year gaurentee. I read too many reviews of the cheaper ones falling apart so I decided to spend more for better quality. I liked that Tom bascially built it to fit in my yard and I was able to customize it the way I wanted it. (We have a pool so I wanted the fort far away from the pool and I wanted some extra features so he moved things around to make it work.)

It is very nice and my husband and I play with my daughter all the time. We can climb up into the fort, swing on it and go across the monkey bars. It is very sturdy. We did have a problem with one of the ropes getting funky. I contacted Tom and he has ordered a replacement. It hasn't actually been replaced yet...but I sort of forgot about it until just now. ;-)

We bought metal ones at Walmart. They were cheap for sure and junk. But they did the job for about a year or two.

We paid about 1800 for ours from kids n swings and it had a 5yr guarantee. I think the company was sold to Rainbow. Not sure on that. They had some sets installed at a nearby store and we went and tried them out, played on them, checked the sturdiness, etc. If you can do that, that's the best research! Anyway, it was a wooden playset witha fort, slide, climbing wall, rope/ramp thingy, 2 swings and a bar that swings (for hanging upside down). It was VERY sturdy, my hubby and I and grandma played on it w/ the boys all the time. Only prob was it had those nylon covers on the top, and when we had very strong winds and hail last yr, it ripped it and was impossible to just patch, had to replace it for $50. We had to leave the set as part of the deal in selling our house and I regret that. It was a very nice playset. We will definitely buy another to put in our backyard for our new house. Check out Costco. I've heard they're reasonably priced, last a long time, and very sturdy.
Paying the most money never gets you the best product. You're a smart buyer if you do your research and are comfortable with the warantee and safety of it. You'll get your money's worth, I'm sure. Good luck!