Winchester Wood Swing Set Kit

Rating

Bought this playset for my toddler daughter. Overall, I'm pleased. PROS: 1. great design, lots of activities for little ones. My daughter loves it. 2. pretty good looking as these things go, not a huge eyesore in the backyard 3. feels pretty solid so far 4. arduous but not impossible assembly. I'm no carpenter, just a weekend handyman of average ability, but I manged it. (but see below) CONS: 1. cheap, soft wood, especially the 1x4 lumber. Many splits as screws went in. 2. lots of splinters, particularly where wood had to be drilled. I did a thorough safety check with sandpaper, some duct tape, and some caulk to cover exposed screws, rub out rough spots on wood, etc, before letting my daughter on the thing 3. must have a coat of water seal put on, or it won't last an upstate New York winter 4. shipping: it came really fast, less than 10 days. But according to Overstock, the policy on oversize items is for the freight carrier to call before delivery. They didn't. They just dropped the thing (five huge boxes, hundreds of pounds) at the end of my driveway, unannounced. We were away, so the boxes sat out in the weather a couple of days. Not a disaster, because the thing is meant to be outside, but not great either. Call Overstock and INSIST that the freight company call first. 5. took me 13 hours over two days to build, by myself. Spent the first hour sorting and labeling lumber and hardware, and that time was well worth it. Three boards and some small hardware didn't ship; a quick call to customer service (open 7 days in summer!) and they're shipping right away. 6. you need more tools than the booklet says. The booklet is okay, not great. Could be clearer in lots of places. You need to improvise a lot in order to make stuff fit. Some things aren't explained at all. Some stuff had to be muscled into place, despite very careful efforts at building the thing square. I'm still struggling to do one thing: crimp the swing holders closed so the swing chain won't escape. Booklet offers no advice as to how to do this; you need the strength of Hercules to do it. VERDICT: Overall, a good product at a great price. We'll see how it holds up in the long run. Good luck!