A while ago my mom told us that she wanted to buy Malcolm a swingset for his birthday. Not being sure what a one year old needs a playset for, but knowing full well how my mom operates, we started researching these things to find something we would want in our backyard that would suit our needs.
Many factors went into making this decision. Play value was important because we wanted Mac, future siblings and potential friends of theirs to have fun on the structure. Flexibility was important because we wanted to be able to add things or change things over the years as the kids got older. Lack of maintenence was important because I didn't feel like having to constant ly clean or sand, stain or weatherproof anything. And most important were safety issues in two areas: I wanted to feel safe that kids wouldn't get splinters (assuming we went with wood) or injured easily and I wanted to know that I (being the big person that I am) would feel safe and comfortable on the structure (meaning would it hold my weight without feeling like it would collapse).
We looked at everything out there from plastic to metal to different wood materials...from cheap to expensive. And at the end of the day found a company called Cedarworks that intriuged us. Their set was going to be a bit more expensive than we had anticipated but it looked like the benefits would be worth it. Unfortunately, they only sell direct from their headquarters in Rockport, Maine and we wanted to see a set in person. Now, while they do have a program where they'll call up costumers who own one of their sets and ask them if they'd be willing to let potential new customers see one closer to home, we decided it would be fun to take Malcolm on a road trip for a few days.
I won't bore you with the details of our three day trip to Rockport. It was fun and exhausting and Mac did very well in the car and in the hotels we stayed at. But the results of the trip were that we bought a playset from Cedarworks after spending a while at their offices looking at sets and then designing something from scratch that would fit our needs, concerns and more importantly, our backyard (of course, while we were there all Malcolm wanted to do was eat the small stones on the ground around the models they had set up).
By the time we were headed to Rockport, I had become convinced that this soon-to-be one year old would get some major use out of this playset as he's constantly on the move and loves climbing things (and has enjoyed being in swings when we put him in them). So now all we had to do was sit back and wait for delivery. We did decide to forgo the installation fee because I'm pretty good atfollowing instructions when they're detailed enough to tell you the right tools and all the materials are provided and also because my father-in-law, who has been building things for quite some time in his spare time, was on his way.
We had discussed with Cedarworks that we have a steep driveway and that there would be a large motor home in our steep driveway when the set was delivered. They said they would request a small truck from the shipping company they use so that the truck could get up the driveway. The day before delivery, when the shipping company called to cofirm, Natasha again explained the situation and requested a small truck. Of course, when the giant 18 wheeler pulled into our cul-de-sac on Thursday June 22 I knew it was going to be the start of a long process.
The truck driver, Natasha and myself proceeded to walk the 21 boxes up from the bottom of our driveway and store them in the garage (we had just gotten our cars back in the garage not more than a month ago once all the stuff we had been storing from construction had been put back where it belonged). The plan was to assemble small pieces in the garage and then move them to the backyard which is up another steep hill (our house is located smack in the middle of a giant hill that is laden with many rocks...in fact, the middle of our backyard is a giant sloping rock...luckily there is a relatively flat area at the top of the hill which was where the set would be located when done).
Friday June 23 was overcast and threatening rain, but my father (who was also on hand to help, despite still recovering from shoulder surgery), my father-in-law and myself decided to start and get as far as we could. Five and a half hours later (and many trips up and down the hill from the garage to the flat part of the backyard) we were exhausted and had almost reached my goal of finishing the main support structure (what Cedarworks refers to as a gazebo...it's a two level playdeck with a canvas covering). All that was left was to put on the canvas top and the flag, but we stopped for the day as it finally started to rain.
Saturday, June 24, it rained. And it rained. And it rained. After being cooper up all day, and during a brief stop in the deluge, my father-in-law and I put on the canvas top and flag. It then started pouring again, so we quit while we were ahead having finished my initial goal.
Sunday June 25, it was overcast and threatening rain again. And of course, the ground was saturated. But I was determined to get this thing done, come hell or high water (both of which seemed just around the corner) before Malcolm's birthday on Tuesday June 27. So we started back on work with the installation of the swing section (consisting of an overhead ladder the swings hang from and a slanted ladder that supports the side not connected to the play structure). Luckily, just as we had gotten to the step where we had to raise the two structures into place, a job which would take more than two people (in spite of my thinking it wouldn't based on the instructional video that came with the set where two small and skinny people got this monstrosity into place) my dad and a couple of his friends arrived. Now while this was great timing on their part, it was rather headcahe inducing as now instead of it being me with my instuction manual and my father-in-law with his ideas on doing things a bit different, we now had a contractor and another guy who builds things (thankfully my dad, who normally has his own opinions on how things should be done, kept his mouth shut). So after much debate (okay...arguing) and my insisting that we at least look at the instructions, the five of us got the damn thing in place. And then we quit for a while (plus it started raining again).
My father-in-law and I did go back later to anchor the whole structure. Of course, this being New England and us having a giant rock in the middle of our backyard, we did hit rock a few times trying to drive the stakes through the support bars. After doing a test swing (with me as the subject) we needed to anchor it a bit better, so Tash and her father went and bought some rebar to drive through and into the ground. Tash & I are satisfied that the structure is stable enough for kids (as now only the far corner of the slant ladder's stabilizer bar moves ever so slightly when either of us are swinging...so adults be warned...don't swing too high).
On Monday June 26, under threat of more rain, we started to assemble the lower play deck that would connect to the larger gazebo. Unfortunately, here is where we discovered our location was not exactly as level as we thought. The smaller deck is angled a bit into the larger one. It's not a big deal, just looked a bit odd as we were assembling things. Completion was called off on account of exhaustion. If I never have to go up that hill again, it'll be too soon.
Tuesday June 27 is Malcolm's first birthday and I am DETERMINED to finish. Thankfully, the sun came out for a bit. I worked feverishly alone for a bit, then with Tash and then again with my father-in-law. We finished the lower deck, put on the entrance ramp, the booster step from the lower deck to the upper deck, added the slide, hung the swings and put up the extra safety fences.
During Mac's party, we took him up the hill (my ten thousandth trip in five days) and put him on the swing and slide. He didn't seem to enjoy it much. We're hoping that if he sees other kids having fun on it, he'll get a bit more excited about it (he seems to perk up about things when he's around older kids as he loves trying to keep up with them).
So we'll see...maybe a one-year-old doesn't need a playset like this, but at least its something he'll eventually get some use out of. And it was a great bonding experience for me and my father-in-law. And I definitely got plenty of exercise. At the end of the day, I can say with confidence and pride that I built something. Of course, a Lego set would have been cheaper and would not have been as tiring.
I'll be back next time with my Superman review...
Be seeing you.
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