KidKraft Appleton Wooden Swing Set, (Amazon Exclusive)

Got this on sale for $350, which seemed like a great deal. It's been 3 months since I put it all together and so far, it's holding up great. Playset is on the smaller side - don't expect something from a public park, but it's perfect for toddlers and small kids, any under 4'6" and 80 pounds (it's rated for 110 pounds but kids that big are probably on their smart phones instead). Any playset that is bigger will likely cost way more ($1,500+), so this is a great deal all things considered. My set came with all the necessary pieces, nothing broken. Cedar wood is of good quality and smells nice. Cedar is considered a softwood, but these planks seem sturdy enough. Still, be careful when you drill in screws or bolts The wood appears treated in some way as the water beads off, but I'll see how it holds up this winter (I live in Southern California so I'm more worried about sun damage - I'll likely need to stain/seal before each summer). It took me and a friend about 7 hours to assemble it all - we spent an hour organizing and about 6 to build, with a long lunch in the middle that involved a lot of beer (not recommended). Required tools - socket wrench with 5/16 and 1/2 drives along with a power drill. You'll need a Phillips drive bit and the hardware provided include a Robertson drive bit - definitely use it over anything you may already have. Most of the holes are pre-drilled and I encountered only one piece that seemed to be pre-drilled incorrectly (fortunately, I have a power drill). Other tips - you need a flat surface. Sort out ahead of time the wood pieces by number group and the hardware size (bolts, screws, washers, nuts) together by size so they're easy to grab - this is what took so long to organize as we figured out some of the hardware could be set up in advance (bolts paired with their washers and nuts, etc). Don't tighten anything until the end so you can maneuver all the pieces into place, especially when you manhandle the swing portion to the main station. Finally, take your time reading the instructions - they can be a bit confusing and if you look at it wrong, you may mix things up (I actually mirrored the whole set on accident, but that actually worked out to be a better fit for my backyard). I modified my version in order to support installing a pirate ship wheel (basically, there are some horizontal supports you can screw on from the outside of the "fort" rather than inside) and left the back space open, taking out the chalk wall and putting a rope ladder instead. All in all, considering how little it cost, I am happy about this and so is my son, so that's all that counts.

We purchased this swing set for our two boys (2 years old and 8 months). The set and instructions were great! The beginning of the instructions tell you what hand tools you need, and show you each piece of wood and hardware you should have. All of the wood was labeled, all of the hardware was individually bagged and labeled. Each page tells you what wood pieces and what hardware you will need for each step. For 90% off the set up you can do this by yourself. It took me 3 days dedicating 4 hours of work each day. Pros: - Affordable - Good Value - Easy set up - Kids love it Cons: - One small piece of wood had a moderate split (didn’t affect the outcome).

If you have trouble with ikea furniture you will not be able to put this together yourself. I did this myself and it took about 8 hours. I used about 1000 dollars worth of tools to make this easier. If all you have is hand tools it will just take longer, a lot longer. Make sure you have saw horses. Make sure you are on level ground like concrete. It assembles in 2 sections the swing and the fort. I was able to build it on my concrete patio and then move it all myself. USE A SQUARE. If you don't it will come out looking like junk. Read the directions. The way they show things can be hard to see some times, and there are things that get partially attached and secured later. The directions tell you everything. When they say be gentle on the wood they mean it. It is a very soft wood that splits easy. The wood is stained so thats nice. If you have hard soil, when you get the staking part you will probably want to use a metal rod to make a pre hole for the stake, otherwise you will split the stake. The assembly will take TIME. The warranty they have is really nice. This is a nice first fort and swing. It feels sturdy enough for small children. No way an adult should ever climb on this. The swings seem fine for an adult so you can swing with your kid, though you are not going to be going high. My 4 year old loves it!

Very intuitive instructions, Very quality materials, very sturdy, and very great value! I’m easily 220lbs and it holds me and the friend that helped put it all together. Assembly took about 5 hours from unboxing to testing the swings. The seller could have charged double, but they didn’t.. so my kid gets to have her own playground even though we’re not rich. How could anyone complain?

This playset has been good in super hot and extreme cold. Hopefully this helps someone else choose this option too. If you are looking for a wooden play-set that will last regardless of the temperature outside- this is a good one. We have lived in extreme heat and extreme cold and ice. It lasts and maintains the color pretty well too if you hose it off every once in a while. It lasts in big winds if you stake it in the ground. The set up takes time and can be done with one person but will take a day or two if you are organized (few hrs each day after work or one long day- 6-8 hrs.) two people can get it done quicker just ly everything iut and make sure you have everything that should be included like the hardware. Its good size and stable, hardware is included and its stable. Rare for me to really rave about a product but my kids love it and its strong. Retighten the screws every few months to keep it sturdy depending in weather. Its a good buy- if buy it again and a bigger one from the same company if they have them.

We are contractors and remodel homes for a living, so building in general isnt a big deal for us....but....You couldnt make a more poor build design if you tried. Lots of parts that may or may not be labled and labeled without any logic or reason like a toddler was rambling numbers and they stamped them to a part. 25+ diffent bags of hardware that may or may not be used including 8 different sizes screws, 7 or 8 different sizes bolts, washers, t-nuts, nuts, etc that literally took up the entire tail gate of our truck when laid out....they too are labeled like a toddler rambling numers. Instructions were beyond horrible. You will need a full bag of tool: socket ratchet set, adjustable wrench x2, hammer, drill (square bit included but did strip the screw heads so we had to improvise), 1/8 drill bit for lag screws, a square, measuring tape, level, 2 step ladders. We had 2 people, again very experienced in construction, took us about 5 hours to complete. Final product: its small, not for adult use at all, wood is flimsy, most is made with 1x4s, and lots of cracking while it was built, i dont expect the tarp roof to hold up to much wind or snow and im shocked that one of the walls on the platform is just a tarp...with screws in it...ment to stop a child from falling 5 ft...yeah im gunna go to lowes and add 2 more boards to reinforce that "tarp wall"... Anyway, likely over priced for the cheap, way overly complicated design. We laugh as we were building it that it would have been easier to make one from scratch...but not for the price i guess. Itll do for a few years but i dont expect much from it.

I am shocked at the size and quality of this thing! I needed a last minute Christmas gift and was super nervous about something arriving on time. Not only did it arrive on time but it was relatively easy to assemble and looks incredible!! It is real wood (you can smell it!!) and my 3-year-old godson loves it. I like that he will be able to get a couple of years out of it.

Nothing lined up correctly. Very uneven job. Everything is all crooked if following instructions and trying to match up the job done. Half of our hardware was missing and had to order more 2x! Somewhat built to last as far as type of materials. The price was good and it has a lot of features my kid likes but we definitely need something bigger, more sturdy that can withstand all weather a little better and something that actually lines up the way it should as far as pre drilled holes and cuts made in the wood. I guess it's alright for really small kids but not for bigger toddlers to big kids. Highly recommend the option to have someone put it together for you because it was a pain!- but that could be because we had to redrill holes to make everything somewhat align correctly!