While these woods are fine in some regards, they are generally used indoors without a coat of paint and (not stain or watersealer) and do not have the natural built-in resistance to nature’s fury. You will also find swing sets made of spruce, pine, or fir. These woods are known for being naturally resistant to disease, rot, and insect infestation. You want to find a wood that is capable of lasting a long time.Ĭedar and redwood are the most commonly selected wood for outdoor swing sets, and for good reason. Throw in insect activity and wood rot, and you have a full-scale battle on your hands against nature. Your swing set will be sitting outdoors under the hot sun, pouring rain, and depending upon where you live, the cold, snow, and ice that arrives with winter. But wood swing sets need upkeep, don’t they? There is a durability to wood, a natural strength that you don’t find in a lightweight metal swing set. Enhancing, most definitely.It’s easy to be distracted and infatuated by all of the accessories and amenities of a swing set, so much so that you forget about one of the most important considerations: will this swing set last?īackyard swing sets and play centers are most often made of wood, and for good reason. Now a gigantic swing set is right there, obscuring my very favorite view.Ī bunch of kids on swings? Enhancing. This is where we take family photos for our Christmas card, where I stage the kids’ birthday pictures, and where I’ve figured out the exact angles necessary to get a good view of the pond but keep out all the, ya know, bright plastic kid detritus that is all over our yard. This is just in front of the water, where the sun sets and the light is just right. The Krieger brothers trying out the swing set.Ī few days after the concrete had set, I was watching the kids swing when I realized that we put the swing set in the spot that I usually take photos in our backyard. (Geometry, in this case, means we just eyeballed it. It seemed to make the most sense, doesn’t get in the way of the clothes line (priorities!) and we did some complicated geometry to make sure the kids couldn’t hit or jump on the fence from their swings. We tried a few places before we decided on its final spot. We spent a decent amount of time trying to figure out where to put the swing set. (Shocking everyone, mostly me, it actually hasn’t been TOO MUCH of a problem.) We both decided that our kids will fight regardless of how many swings we have, and decided that this is one of the many, many opportunities they have to resolve conflict. Tom and I realized that complicated division problem early on. Mathematicians that are reading might have noticed that we have four children and only three swings. They run out to the swing set, then jump off to go climb a tree, then run over to the play house, then back to the swing set, then continue picturesque Norman Rockwell narrative of our children playing outside… I love it because it’s a starting point for playing outside. (And there aren’t many things that captures the age range and interests of all four of my kids.) We really liked the size and design of this particular swing set, so Tom made a mental note to get back in touch with his cousin after we were home from our vacation.Īfter several, SEVERAL phone calls (Some late at night, thank you so much for your patience, Donnie!) a few trips to Home Depot, several Amazon orders, having a few friends over to tilt and move it into place, and a full day of Tom’s dad doing what can only be described as hard labor (mixing and pouring cement) - we are the new proud owners of an incredible swing set. In addition to an actual roller coaster, they also had an amazing swing set in their backyard. Last summer when we were in Pennsylvania, we visited Tom’s cousin.
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