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Swing sets and playsets are mostly used from kids. This should be telling you enough by itself: safety is extremely important. It’s a top priority even over features and price.

How to recognize the safe swing set at the store? How to keep your existing swing safe for longer time? How to build a safe swing set yourself? How to safely use it? To learn this and the other aspects of swing set safety keep reading the article.

Swing Set Safety Planning

The right approach to swing set safety is to carefully plan before you even buy the tool. When choosing the location, make sure it will be large enough, properly drained, flat and with appropriate shape.

There should be enough space around the swing set when your kids are using it. Of course you must have in mind what kind of swing or playset will they prefer – this depends on their interests and habits. A good idea is to surface the are area with gravel and/or sand which is deep enough. Good green grass is also an excellent choice but you will have to maintain it and keep it from prickly weeds. And think about what will happen in the sunny winter days when there is no grass. Sand is better choice. At any costs avoid installing the swing set on a concrete platform – falling on such isn’t nice at all.

It’s recommended that you buy equipment which meets the Home Playground Standard ASTM-1148.

Safety Considerations When Buying or Building A Swing Set

Once site planning is done, you may consider buying or building the swing set. There are several aspects of safety that you have to consider at this stage:

• Safe equipment. The equipment used in your playset should be suitable for their age. A lot of the accidents at the playground happen because young children use equipment which is intended for older kids. Economically it’s often a wise decision to buy the equipment for years ahead at once, but if you do that make sure to remove or hide those tools that are not suitable for your kids.
• Distances and number of tools. The more tools and features a swing set has and the closer they are placed to each other, the more riskier it becomes. Of course it’s nice to have a playset with many things and kids like that but it becomes easier to hit a hand or wedge up a finger in some of them. You should prefer cleaner and more elegant sets with enough distance between the swings. It’s recommended that this distance is at least 22 inches.
• Quality of materials and parts. Most parents are concerned if the playset is stable enough. But I have never seen one that falls apart and thus injured the kid. More often than that the swing set hard parts are not well protected and expose dangerous sharp points. So rather than getting obsessed by the weight sustainability pay more attention whether the parts ares mooth or properly covered.

The quality of the wood, metal or plastic used for the swing is also important.

Ongoing Safety Supervision

After you have chosen a proper location, prepared a smooth surface and bought/built a good safe swing set the swing set safety becomes a question of ongoing supervision and teaching the children to use the tool safely. If it is large and stable enough, use it together with them to show them how to swing without falling from the seat.

Depending on the kids age you may want to supervise them each time when they use the playset. This can be time consuming but it’s also a good way to have more fun with them and feel really safe.

You need to regularly check the chains, swings, sliders, nuts and bolts for deterioration, cracks and tightness. Tighten up the bolts when needed and replace equipment when it shows first symptoms of damage.

Refrain children from climbing on the swing set when wet, when the weather is inappropriate or when they are not dressed safely (any too loose dresses are potentially hazardous when using such kind of tools).

The key here is to find the balance between teaching the kids about safety risks and at the same time keeping most concerns away of them so they don’t get frightened but remain reasonable. Don’t forget outdoor swinging should be more about fun than about anything else!

If you have already done it, you know it’s time to look for swing set plans. You can of course design your own, but if you have no experience, it’s better to download or buy plans designed by someone else.

I have collected the best links I could found and I am giving them to you here with some comments.

Here are some plans

Detailed Play Plans offers several detailed plans for complex play sets. You can download a prospect of the plans for free in PDF format.

Some very good wooden swing plans are available at all4thekids.com at low prices – most are less than $20 per plan. Their plans include a bill of materials as well.

FREE! This link goes directly a free PDF swing set plan. It’s only one, but asks no money.

Photo by Chickenboots at Flickr

If all you need is to build a simple swing set these plans are exactly what you need and cost only $12 each.

Extraordinary and probably not what you are looking for, but anyway I’d like to share it – this is sold for $9. Honestly I would prefer to swing myself instead of the plans, but everyone is different.

Some cheap plans (most under $10) for canopy and adult swing sets can be found at Woodcraft, and again there. They also have a funny plan for toddler swing.

FREE! Very simple, but free plan that can be printed can be seen here.

If the free plans listed here don’t suit you, better spend few bucks and buy some plans – less than $20 is a good price. Some sell plans for $50+ which in my opinion is a bit too much. But spending hours searching for free swing set plans is not a very good idea – believe me, I have spent enough hours already to find free plans for you.

You can keep an eye to this site and subscribe by RSS because I plan to publish some free plans and more guides on building swing sets here pretty soon.

The Purpose Of Swing Set Accessories

Most accessories are made for wooden or plastic swings, there is less to add on a metal swing which is another reason to ask yourself twice whether you want to buy such. There are accessories which are especially for kid swing sets (most of them actually) and others who are appropriate only for adult and canopy swings (like pillows for example).

Fun Accessory Ideas

Enough talk, let me give you few examples about fun or useful swing set accessories that you can buy. You can click on the pictures to see them large along with more details about the accessories.

	We spoke about pillows few paragraphs above, so let’s see these pillows for example. The pillows are most appropriate for a hammock swing. They make it not only more comfortable but also a lot more stable and increase the sitting area. With such pillows a large enough hammock can let two adults swinging together at the same time.
	If you have a canopy swing you definitely need a cover. It will protect you and the canopy fabric from sunlight and will let you swing outside even when it’s slowly raining. Most canopy swings come assembled with a cover from the beginning, but it needs to be changed about once per year. The canopy swing covers usually cost between $50 and $150 depending on the quality of the fabric and the guarantee you are getting.
	What if your swing set is primary for kids? No problem, there are some very cool, simple and cheap toys you can add to offer them even more enjoyment. See for example this simple Swing-N-Slide Steering Wheel. Such toys cost $10 – $20 and can give so many new ideas for outdoor play for your children. When buying such a toy, better pick one made of plastic (durable polyethylene) instead of metal, because metal ones may bring you some troubles in case of rust.
	One slightly more expensive but a lot more useful toy is the Swing-N-Slide Climbing Rock. These climbing rocks fits best to wooden swings but there is no real reason (except the look) not to put attach them to a metal or plastic swing set. This accessory will stimulate more physical activity and may help you grow a mountaineer! Well, if nothing else, it’s a lot of fun.
	If you and your children like the idea of more active swinging and combining it with other sports, then Ring/Trapeze Combos are yet another great and very affordable accessory – usually costs just $20 – $30 and can be of such a great help for the kids physical growth. Such rings can be attached to any kind of swing set as long as it is high enough. Of course special attention to safety is required.
	If you have a baby but don’t want to buy a special toddler swing, don’t worry, you can still let it play on the set. There are excellent baby swing accessories that can be attached to the seat or directly to the main beam. The toddler accessories which allow additional protection with a belt or plastic border are much preferred because of the extra safety they provide.
	If you have more kids, gondolas are within the greatest accessories you can buy for their swing set. They are usually made of plastic with carbon steel frame and are appropriate for kids of age 3 and above. The gondolas can be attached to different kind of swing sets, but often only a specific gondola is for only some specific type of swing, so you need to check for compatibility when buying. Usually the gondolas cost $200 – $400 which makes them an expensive accessory.

Outdoor swing set maintenance is not a hard thing. It’s not going to occupy much of your time, neither is going to cost you a lot. Just do it regularly and you’ll have a long lasting swing set.

Tips For All Kinds Of Swing Sets

First and most important: take care for safety – your own, your children’s and the swing’s one. Here are few important actions about keeping the outdoor swing safe and in good condition:

• Regularly check chains, swings and slides for damages. Do replace every suspicious part immediately to avoid accidents.
• Don’t get out of the swing set while still in motion. Teach your children the same.
• Reduce exposure to rain and snow when possible. You can cover the swing with polythene or canvas when you don’t use it for a long time.
• Avoid staying close or walking around the swing when someone else uses it. This advice is very important for kids as they can get seriously injured by a swinging adult or even other kid.
• Dress appropriately. Long dresses, shoe-laces or belts can get caught into the chains and cause accidents. As usual, pay special attention to how kids are dressed when swinging.

Of course don’t get obsessed by the security – the swing sets are quite safe tools in general. I would say they are safer than bicycles or rollers.

Maintenance of different kinds of swing sets

Now, let’s really talk about maintenance. There are some specific actions to take in order to keep different kinds of outdoor swings in good shape:

• Wooden swing sets. They are not very pretentious. Take care to clean them each few months. Paint them each 1-2 years or when you see a need. Frequent painting will not only keep the overall look of the swing set great, but will also protect the wood from decay. (Learn more about wooden swing sets)
• Metal swing sets. They need regular threating against rust. Painting also helps just like with the wooden swings. Regularly check the puttings for holes – besides causing potential danger, these holes often are inhabited by inserts and wasps. (Learn more about metal swing sets)
• Plastic outdoor swings. They are very easy to maintain because they don’t need painting. Cleaning is easy and quick, just be careful what cleaning preparation you use. (Learn more about plastic swing sets)
• Canopy swing sets The canopy swings require special attention. The canopy fabric and the cushion can easy rot after rain or lose their color due to long hours under sun light. If you have a canopy swing build of special materials for outdoor usage (in most cases this will be true), you are partly protected. But still it’s good to take care covering the canopy and the cushion to protect them from rain, snow and too much sun. Frequently check the canopy for insects especially if you have animals in the garden. (Learn more about outdoor canopy swings)
• Outdoor baby swings. Your toddler swing needs careful and frequent cleaning as the babies don’t have strong immunity. Double check all the chains and ropes as well. (Learn more about outdoor baby swings)

As you can see there is not much to do but still the swing sets need to be taken care about once in a while.

The canopy swings have elegant cushion top which is made to create shade and improve the overall look of the swing set. They are comfortable for all ages but are usually preferred by adults because of the calm and peaceful swinging they allow.

There are various types of outdoor canopies but most popular are shade canopies, pop-up canopies and outdoor canopy tents.

When Buying Outdoor Canopy Swing…

The canopy swings usually have simple construction which makes them quite affordable. When the construction is made of metal, the price can be under $200 – including the polyester canopy and cushion. You can expect to pay more for a canopy swing with wooden constructions because in general the wooden swing sets are more expensive. The good ones exceed $500 and can even reach $1,000. Except the price and the manufacturer, you need to check the quality of the swing set before buying. If the canopy is too thin it may become uncomfortable for seating just after few days of swinging.

Here’s an excellent canopy swing! See details

The top cushion of the swing must be robust enough to sustain rain, sun and wing. Since the canopy swing will be used outdoor the fabric of the cushion must not be made of cotton or other weak material.

Pay special attention to the construction just like when buying any kind of outdoor swing set. The couplings of the wood beams or metal bars must be reinforced because most outdoor canopy swings have two adult seats. You certainly don’t want your relax to be wrecked by a broken swing, not to mention that this could lead to dangerous injures.

If you are buying from well known manufacturer the risk to get low quality canopy swing is much lower of course.

Can You Build Outdoor Canopy Swing Yourself?

If you can build a typical outdoor swing why wouldn’t you be able to build an outdoor canopy swing too? There is no reason for that of course. The canopy swings have just some little specifics:

• In general you need stronger construction. This is because the canopy swings can be used by two or more adults at the same time. Add to that the canopy itself which is heavier than the typical seats.
• Special attention to the textile is required. You can’t use the same materials that you would use in an indoor canopy because your outdoor one must sustain harsher weather conditions. So if you plan to use your indoor canopy for the outdoor set, you will need at least to change the fabric.
• Some parts should allow replacement. The outdoor canopy swings should allow the canopy, or just its fabric and the cushion to be replaced. You can see that most swing sets that are offered allow doing this relatively easy. So if you are building yourself, you need to think about this too.

The canopy swings are excellent and affordable addition to your backyard. Don’t hesitate to buy or build one if you like the idea to spend hours in outside. Be warned – it’s addictive!

Why Do You Need Infant Swing Sets And How To Choose One?

One of the best ideas you can explore is you buy an outdoor swing that allows changing the infant seat with a larger one, appropriate for a bigger kid. This way you’ll be able to use the tool even after the kid becomes 5 or more years old. Such swings may be more expensive as often they are part of larger play sets which include other tools like climbs and slides.

Toddler Swings

When browsing the web for infant swing sets you will often meet the term toddler swing. Unlike the complete tools discussed above, the toddlers are simple baby swings that take very little space and usually have no construction – instead of that they can be freely attached to a beam, wash-line or even a tree in the backyard. These swings are very cheap – their price starts from $25 and can also be used indoor.

The more robust toddler swings can be used also for older children but I recommend you get special infant one because the materials used for the seat are baby-friendly. For maximum safety you may want to buy a toddler with a full-bucket seat, but half-bucket seats are also available.

As these swings are not appropriate for adults and big kids, you need to ensure your child fits into the weight range supported by the toddler swing as some of them can only handle 30 – 40lbs weight.

Don’t hesitate to buy infant outdoor swing for your little baby – that’s one of the greatest affordable gifts you can make for his/her first birthday.

Of course, buying used swing sets has its tips and tricks. Read on if you want to be prepared and to get the best quality for your money.

If you want to get straight to action, you can post a buy or sell classified.

What To Do Before You Buy

The wooden swings may rot or may get injured by insects. You will have to inspect all the wooden parts paying special attention to those which have been connected to the ground and may have been soaked in water for long time.

Usually the used swing sets are disassembled before transportation. If the set you are planning to buy is too complex you may see yourself wondering how to reassemble it. In such case you may need professional help which will cost you money. Maybe that could make you choose a simpler swing set?

Improve The Used Outdoor Swing Sets

Buying used swing sets is a great way to save money, but sometimes that is done at the cost of their quality and outlook. I am sure you don’t want your outdoor play set to look miserable, so why don’t you improve it yourself?

It doesn’t take much: all that the metal swing sets usually need is painting. If you are creative, you will easily make your used ones look better than brand new play sets. The wooden swing sets give you even more room for improvement – besides creative painting, you can also varnish them, you can add ornaments or fretwork and you can even change some shapes.

The most important improvement however is to properly treat any damages that the sets may have when you buy them. Rust, rot and insect holes are not huge problems if they are repaired on time.

Where To Find Used Swing Sets

Probably the first places to look are the local auctions in your area. But chances are there won’t be much of a choice there. A better variety may be available at retailers and dealer stores which sell brand new swing sets.

For me the best way to search used items is online – sites like eBay and Amazon have hundreds of auctions available. You can choose within many models and delivery methods. Of course, buying online requires special attention and has the downside that you won’t be able to inspect the outdoor swing sets before buying them.

The used swing sets (and all outdoor swings in general) can live much longer if you take care about them. Learn how to keep your outdoor swing in good shape!

The Minimum Quality Requirements

When selecting metal outdoor swing sets, you need to find the right balance between price and quality. The metal play sets are relatively cheap anyway, so don’t pick the cheapest within them. Make sure that the sets you buy meet at least the following requirements:

• The Material. Most modern swing sets are made of galvanized steel so it does not rust. Rust treatment is within the most important features of the swing sets, because they’ll stay outside and will be exposed on all kind of weather conditions. Some metal swing sets are made of aluminum which makes rust treatment less crucial. In any case make sure you what is the material and how sustainable it is. Don’t buy steel sets without corrosion protection.
• The Safety. Although swinging is not an extreme sport (at least they have not labeled it as such yet!), it holds some risks. You don’t want to see your kids falling from the set and injuring their legs, so pay good attention to installation and anchoring. The more weight is put at the bottom of the swing set, the more stable it is going to be.
• Quality seats. Avoid metal seats – they can get dangerously hot when exposed to sunlight for long hours. A good wooden seat is a lot more comfortable and can be used even in cold weather. Some swing sets come with very cheap plastic seats which quickly get broken or displaced. In short – don’t try to save money from the seats.

Of course the look of the metal swing set also needs to meet some basic aesthetic requirements – your kids will like a simple, but not ugly swing set.

Why Prefer Metal Sets To Wooden Swing Sets?

And finally, metal outdoor swing sets are the classic – you have played on such when you were a kid, why don’t you let your kids enjoy such simple things too? You can always add features with the time – but buying a basic metal swing set is a great way to start, especially if you are on budget.

If you want to purchase metal swing sets you can visit our web store.

Advantages of Big Swing Sets

The big swing sets often include specific addition like climbing units. Having such an extra feature will combine the fun and sport and help your kids become keen on climbing or other great sports.

How To Save Money And Space

If you are on budget but still want to have a big swing set, there are still some options. Many people want to change their play sets for smaller or newer ones. So you can buy an used swing set for about half the price of the new ones. Just don’t forget that buying used hides some risks and you need to carefully examine the set’s condition. After installing the used play set you may also need to paint it so it doesn’t look old.

Don’t worry much about the space used – the big outdoor swing sets can be combined greatly with trees and bushes so you don’t need to sacrifice space that could be used for your home, shed or garage.

Finally the most straightforward way to save money is to prefer metal instead of wood. The wooden sets are fancy and nice, but metal swing sets are more robust, classical and twice as cheap. So for the price of a middle sized play set made of wood, you can buy a really big metal set.

The Best Material For Big Swing Sets

If you are not on budget however, there are few reasons to prefer a wooden swing sets:

• Bigger choice. There are a lot more wooden models of big play sets than metal ones. By default, most producers consider metal sets to be for people on budget and make smaller ones. The bid wooden sets on the other hand often include many additional features and are offered in huge variety of models
• Better fit in the garden. Wood stays a lot more natural around the trees and plants than metal. That’s not a big deal if you are installing some small swing set, but the big ones take significant visual space.
• Weight and assembling. One big metal swing set weights a lot and assembling/disassembling can be quite painful. The wooden swing sets can be disassembled and transported with a pickup even if they are big

Big swing sets are lovely, don’t be afraid of them. If you can afford one, you will see yourself spending more time with your kids and your entire family being more united.

Big swing sets often look better with some swing set accessories.