Ashberry Wood Gymset

Comments about Solo 1011978 Ashberry Wood Gymset:

We wanted a backyard playset for my 3-1/2 year old daughter and her friends, but really didn't want to pay $2500 or $3000 that some other places wanted for a set.

I wasn't sure how sturdy this would be since we couldn't see one in any ToysRUs store, so we took the risk and bought it sight unseen. This model seemed to be at the higher end, with a few different play areas to keep the kids occupied.

I ordered on line and had it delivered. The delivery charge was only $30, and made it a lot easier than borrowing a friend's truck to pick it up in the store. Two of the boxes are around 150 lbs and around 7 feet long, so you are not getting it into anything other than a pickup or very large SUV.

Most of the negative comments here centered on how hard it was to put together, but I didn't think so. I am pretty handy but not a professional by any means. I actually did it all by myself with no outside help (other than my daughter, which hurt as much as it helped :-)). It took me 10 hours, and about 1/3 of that was just reading the directions, finding the parts for the next step and picking out the bolts/screws/nuts. It really wasn't that bad. It would help if the parts list was ordered in the same way as the assembly steps, so you didn't have to hunt around for a picture of the wood pieces, but they do list dimensions for each piece on the instruction page and the wood is all stamped with numbers. Spend the time to sort out all the different sizes before you start.

Other than a few 2x4's and 2x3's which are pine, the other boards are prety lightweight and not very dense. That means that if you use a drill to drive screws, you can put them clean through the 1x4's so be careful. A number of the boards were pretty warped, which I thought would be a problem, but bolting the structure together and using a little leverage did straighten it all out in the end. Just make sure you use a t-square or something to ensure it is all square.

It's not rated for it, but the playhouse is sturdy enough for me (a 200 lb guy) to get up on the 2nd floor and not feel like it was wobbly or anything. I don't think I will try the slide, but it would probably handle me.

I finished everything at 4PM this Saturday, just as my daughter's friends arrived, and the played on it until well after dark. The kids loved all the different areas to play in - looking out the windows, going up the rock wall, playing store in the bottom section, etc. AS you can see by the pictures, they also thought it would be fun to "paint the house" with sidewalk chalk before I could get a picture, but it washes right off! I would say it's going to be great for her the next 5 years or so.

For the price, it really is a nice set.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Ashberry Wood Gymset:

The swing set arrived earlier than anticipated. It was in less boxes than we thought it would be.
We decided to hire someone to put it together and was well worth doing, as the man was at the house the whole day. Everything looks great except for one floor board that is damaged. We intend to call the service number for a replacement board. Other than that, the set is beautiful and we would highly recommend it. Our granddaughter is trilled.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Ashberry Wood Gymset:

The instructions are very confusing. The diagrams were all solid color (Black) so it's difficult to decipher the different pieces shown.

The rock wall / ladder holes do not match up and the siding height is not correct (or not clearly explained)

I was hoping for a higher quality piece for the price we paid.

I see others have had similar experiences.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Ashberry Wood Gymset:

It took me about 4 days to put this together working on it on and off. I did it by myself so it can be done with one person but would go faster with two. I had some problems with the directions they were not as clear as i would have liked them to be, some pieces of wood were questionable on where eactly the screw holes should be. some pieces just didnt seem to fit together just right like my ladder/rockwall is not attached to the bottom wood piece because i couldnt get it to match up.why if the holes are predrilled do you have to measure everything should be perfect and how do you fix it drill new holes? i allso have a gap in the top siding wall where the clock is no matter what i did ther was still a gap so it doesnt look as nice as it could have. All in all its a nice swingset my 2 year old son loves it and the slide is super fast! :)

Comments about Solo 1011978 Ashberry Wood Gymset:

Great play set, everything a 2 year could want...A house, a slide and swings. Long hours to put together but worth it!

Comments about Solo 1011978 Ashberry Wood Gymset:

The play set is great! It is a little chore and will take a couple to a few days to put together but it is worth once completed. The directions are very straight forward and easy to follow. You will need at least 2 people to complete the job. Be sure and find a level spot to place it.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Ashberry Wood Gymset:

We wanted a fun playset for our grandchildren in our yard,my husband and I started sat afternoon and worked a few hours then sunday we started at 10am and quit at 5pm,we had 4 family members helping we got pretty far and then finished up on Monday 3 more hours,the parts were all marked and was easy to follow the directions,however we ended having to go to Home Depot to get a piece of wood that was missing,not a big deal.We aso moved the slide to the side and added some wood pieces for safety,there is a large opening at the slide.We are going to paint or put a wood protection to help keep the wood nice.