backyard playground structures

[z-girl]

Has anyone bought a backyard structure from Rainbow or Cedar Works or anything? I'm just starting to shop and wondering what's out there that people like.

Thanks!

[LunaMom]

We bought one, or rather, my inlaws bought one for dd, and it is from Creative Playthings. It's actually the exact one pictured on the homepage, except we had a few custom things done, like a built-in picnic table under the treehouse, and a two-person lawn swing.

They have a choice between chemically-treated pine, which we did not want, or natural redwood. The redwood is more expensive, but they way it works is that they have about four models of swingsets, each a little bigger and more expensive than the last, so we just went down one from what we could afford so that we could get the redwood.

We're really happy with it!

http://www.creativeplaythings.com/

[mingber]

Hi - we don't have a wooden one, we have a plastic type one. I love it and the kids really like it. We couldn't afford to buy a wooden one - they are very pricey. Be careful though, ask what the wood is treated with. There is a chemical that is used on some pressure treated wood. I think it is called CAC - Chromated Arsenic or something like that. It's an arsenic compound that is still being used today in some woods and especially play sets. Sudo redwood tables, some deck wood, etc. It is EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS and can kill people if ingested (if you touch the wood, then like your hand or wipe your nose). Many children have died from this and it has not been taken off the markets.