Great Value for a Playground
Written: May 15 '08 (Updated May 15 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Value, Expandible
Cons: Longer to construct than advertised, sandbox
The Bottom Line: Unbeatable Value if you can pick it up on sale, meets all the playground necessities without breaking the bank
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| blueflamme's Full Review: Playstar Ready to Assemble Legacy |
I don't want to rehash over all the basics, you can read that review at Building a Wooden Swing Set and Tower Climber on a Budget!".
Planning
It is critical to plan through the entire setup of this playground or you will waste countless hour and potentially money going back and fixing/adding things.
Site Selection
Location Location Location. You've heard it before but I'll holler it at you again. This is the most critical aspect, period. My lot is huge (7 acres!) so I had the problem of having too many options, I recon most of y'all have 1/3 acre or less so you will probably run into the opposite, trying to cram it in. If you have the option of space you need to consider sight-lines and distances. I placed mine where it is visible from the nursery and kitchen windows and a good 100 yards off the street but leaving another 50 yard field behind it so they can play sports further away from the road.
The size of this thing measures 13' x 17' and they recommend 6' clearance on all sides for safety (falling off tower / jumping off swings). This is excessive because it would take an intentional act to land 6 feet away after a fall of only 4 feet. Adjust the dimensions accordingly to your property and your goals.
Also remember to consider your property drainage. After it rains for several days the kids are itching to go outside, but if you built it on the low-spot in your property they will be playing in mushy mulch or even standing puddles! Plus the more work required to level the ground is just that, more work, and who wants to deal with that?
Intended Use
Stupid question right? Well not for me. I wanted more than just a playground, I wanted an area of family gathering, so first I decided what I want in the area. For me this is an additional gazebo, picnic tables, sand box, and inflatable pool. Again, location planning is involved and I placed mine near our detached garage so that in the future I can build a dedicated grilling area with electricity and also provide floodlights so we can enjoy it at night.
The next part of intended use goes off what mmcphee indicated in her review, you don't have to settle for the standard setup with just the 3 swings. I recently replaced the top 8' beam with a 16' beam and build a new set of legs. I moved all the included swings to the new wide section and put a 4' bench swing in the old opening so the adults can have a place to relax. If I had planned this ahead of time I would have saved 6 hours of tearing down and reconstruction. Other options are to build a new tower from scratch or a kit and determining a method of connecting it and the current tower like a rope bridge, steps, or even a cargo net. Use your imagination by looking at much larger and more expensive playgrounds and determine what is feasible with your skillsets and budget.
If you decide to add an extra set of legs be sure to pickup some ground anchors for the ground section (I got 8 from Sams for under $30).
One final thing to consider if you have really young kids is to replace the rock-climbing wall with some steps so that they can get up into the tower on their own. I decided to keep the rock wall and my oldest daughter was able to scale it by herself before she turned 2; however I can tell my youngest daughter will not be so capable and so someone will have to stand nearby if she wants to play with the slide.
Site Preparation
Second only to location in importance, you do not want to move this thing once you have put it up, and you do not want to put it up on unlevel ground. To be sturdy all surfaces must be contacting the ground. It is ok to be on a slope as long as the ground in all directions is equally sloped and level. Otherwise the tower might be higher on one side than the ground and your slide doesn't reach at the correct angle.
Another large part of site prep is landscaping. What material will you put around the playground? Will you enclose this material? I went with mulch around the playground and peagravel around the gazebo/picnic tables all within a border of landscape timbers two tall. Again thinking ahead, I laid out landscape fabric underneath the tower when I installed it to keep grass/weeds from growing through. Once I got the tower perfectly setup I then put fabric around the remaining areas.
Construction
Enough planning already, lets build the stupid thing. Not too hard, bring the proper tools (please use a corded drill), materials (it is unnecessary to splurge on cedar, just pickup some PT lumber and put the $$ saved in their college fund), and assistance.
The kit includes all the galvanized hardware plus some tools like the correct drill bit/spade bit and a special screw/drill/countersink combo which is pretty useful even when you're done with this project. Follow the simple steps and use your brain. Make sure you have someone to help you or it'll take a lot longer to put together (ie. if only I had that third hand to it for 5 seconds to put this one screw in I wouldn't have dropped it 5 times already and put it in unlevel twice wasting 10 minutes).
The so called construction time on the box is a joke, but with some help and some prep work you can assemble it in decent time. The night before total assembly I went and predrilled all the holes within reason and was able to screw some of the parts together (like sandwiching the legs of the swing supports). That prep work alone took 2 hours but it is better to get it out of the way if your friends are only available for a short period of time.
One key area to pay attention is on drilling for bolts, make sure you are drilling straight and level, you'll thank me for this later, especially when you go to attach the glider bolts.
Conclusion
Well all that other stuff is good to know and all, but how good it is as a playground?
The Bad & Ugly
I'm sorry but the minute area they give you as a sandbox is pathetic, but also dangerous. Any kid small enough to get under there has to either go under the slide, in front of the monkey bars, or heaven forbid through the path of the glider. I recommend adding a 2x4 to block the path to the glider and maybe under the slide as well. I am building my own sandbox because this one is just too small. I also found the triangle handles to dangle from a swing useless so I replaced them with a baby swing and attached one of those handles to a rope on a wagon I pull the girls around in.
The Good
Everything else? My girls love the playground, my oldest has used every feature. She'll spend a bunch of time on the swings and if a friend is over on the glider, than climb up the tower (or I'll help her across the monkey bars) and play with the steering wheel/spyglass and slide. It is not a massive play-complex with extravagant features, but you'll easily top a grand for any of those playgrounds. If you can get it on sale/discount for $199 then there is simply no way to top it for value. At full price I might not have picked this kit up because I would be rather close to the break-even point to design/build my own.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199
Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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Epinions.com ID:
blueflamme
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Member: Scott
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I'm a Christian, Husband, Father, and Computer Engineer. I enjoy technology, sports, and the outdoors.
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