Two years ago, I decided to purchase a Playstar Wooden play set for my two children. The play set was a kit which required me not to only purchase the kit accessories such as the play equipment and hardware, but also take a drive around the store to pick up the required lumber as well. I purchased the play star kit at Menards Home Improvement center. Once we brought the kit to the counter service person, he gave me a lumber list which itemized every 2 x 4, 2 x 6, etc that I needed. I was fortunate enough to have my dad and his carpentry knowledge along for the purchase and assembly. I was most grateful for his big truck that allowed us to get all the necessary materials home.
We went through about a two hour ordeal of checking every piece of lumber to make sure it wasn’t warped, cracked, or split. This wood had to be durable for quite a while and I didn’t want my kids playing on equipment that was inferior. The lumber yard attendant was very helpful at pointing us towards the right areas for our lumber needs. His ability to pick out lumber left a bit to be desired as he picked out boards that were crooked and cracked. We decided to go with our own judgment. Be careful with some kits sold at home improvement centers as they will try and sell you the option to have the lumber delivered to your home. That sounds nice and convenient right? Also consider the risk of getting subpar lumber delivered to your driveway.
Once we finally loaded up, we headed home to commence building the backyard fortress. The play set came with a very large instruction booklet that was well organized. The parts were well labeled and the instructions were very easy to follow. We began the process by making sure we had all the required pieces. While my dad was going through the inventory of parts, I made my way to the garage to get the required tools. There aren’t really any extreme cuttings or carpentry skills required to erect the play star play set. I will say it helps to have the assistance of someone that has built one before to point out any potential pitfalls one may encounter. I would say a big time saver is to have a cordless drill or two if possible. I own a cordless as does my father which saved us lots of time.
There are a couple of things you want to make sure you are aware of before you decide to purchase a Playstar play set. Be sure your designated play area is flat and consider placement of the equipment away from trees and fence lines as there will be swings moving to and away from the base play area. Also consider the surface area of the equipment will be much larger than the equipment itself. You may or may not decide to put some sort of soft mulch or ground cover as kids have a tendency to fall down and scrape knees when jumping off climbing walls and swings.
I would rate this product as a strong buy though I was able to get the play set built with the help of my dad. You definitely need two adults at a minimum to build a Playstar play set. Also do not be fooled into thinking you will get this done in one or possibly even two days. My dad and I took three weekends to complete this project though some of those days we only worked a few hours. I think we also took longer than anticipated because my dad is a perfectionist and made a few enhancements of his own that were not on the instructions. It is safe to say it will take probably three days for the novice to build. A Playstar play set is a money saver compared to purchasing a professionally assembled swing set. Just be prepared to have plenty of patience and a pitcher of lemonade available.
