Windale Wood Gym Set

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

I bought this playset at a local TrU recently and just finished putting it together. My toddler son and his friends had a field day on it this weekend. So far, I am more than happy with it. A couple of points, in response to earlier reviews:

* Set up takes a significant amount of time; however, it isn't difficult. If you can manage ikea furniture, you can manage this. Just a matter of reading the manual and following its steps very carefully. Other than the three steps that absolutely required a second pair of hand, I built the whole thing myself (yes, moms, we can do this!). It took me approx. 12-13 hours in total (incl. time with a toddler 'helping').

* With regard to quality, I was very pleasantly surprised. The only flimsy parts are the roof 'shingles' and the sides underneath the windows (underneath the slide and above the door) and under the café bar. Not a big deal. The other wood is not always very thick, but suit for purpose. With everything in place, it becomes quite a solid whole. The swings, slide and the play house's upper floor hold me easily (140lb).

* The swings are indeed a little close together, but not problematically so (see picture). There is no space for horsing around on the swing (e.g. twisting the ropes and spinning around is bound to result in accidents), but straight back and forth swinging with all three swings concurrently is not a problem – tried and tested.

* I agree that the ideal age for this play set is approx. 2-8 yrs, though older kids could still have fun with it.

A few pointers on constructing the set:
- If you are hesitant about buying this locally vs shipping, save yourself the shipping costs: it fits into any hatchback car. We only have a Honda Fit, which is pretty small, and I easily got all boxes home in one go.
- It really pays to spend some time up front identifying and organizing the inventory. I put all the different pieces of hardware in clearly marked tupperware containers, which made it much easier to find them when they were needed. Same for the wooden pieces; place them upright against a fence or wall with the ID number showing, so you can easily find the right piece.
- You definitely need a drill (for screwing, mostly; only a few times for drilling), a ratchet/socket wrench, and a robertson head screw driver (the set comes with a robertson head drill bit, but having a screwdriver allows easy access in small places and also you need a few different sizes. Available at any hardware store).
- Note that the S0/S22 screws are marked as S22 on the screw package, but as S0 in the manual. I thought I had lost them as I couldn't find the S0 screws and used other screw I still had instead; only to notice at the very end that they were there all along.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

I was scared after reading some of he reviews on here about construction but I must say I was easier than I thought! I am not very handy but I was able to put the entire thing together by myself except placing the roof on top. It is a lengthy setup so don't think you will power thru it quickly in one day...I worked on it for 4 days for about 3-4 hours each day. I knew it would take a long time but if you read the directions methodically and don't rush you will have no problem...I would think two carpenters cold put it together in about 8 hours but any normal human dad will take closer to 12 - 16. You will need basic tools like a power drill and socket wrench and 2 or 3 different socket sizes but other than that nothing special. The wood is fairly high quality and the hardware was all the real deal. I am comfortable with the anchoring system and sturdiness of the materials. I am confident it will last 7-8 years no problem. Overall a great set I just completed it today and my 3 year old is obsessed with it she loves the door and cafe area especially and of course the slide...it is really slick being brand new. For the money it is a great buy I looked at others that were comparable in size and quality and some were twice as much! Just don't rush the setup. Good luck

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

we ordered the windale gym and swing set. it took a while to put it together, but the results were gratifying. we bought it for our grandchildren. they have yet to see it, but I think they will love it. it does not take up a huge amount of space and yet it has many activities ie: swings slides clubhouse, climbing wall sitting area.etc. the price was the best part. quite fair for the product, even after comparison shopping for all sets. we hope to get years of use out of it.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

We searched for a swingset for a long time. We have two boys 4 and 5. We wanted something sturdy but simple with a wood roof "club house" feature. This set is perfect, although a bit smaller than I thought it would be. They are having a great time playing on it. We have had 5 children climbing and swinging at once. The swings are a bit closer than I would like. As far as putting it together my husband did most of it by himself it took about 12 hours. The directions were not great but I have heard this about every set we looked at.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

I did lots of research before purchasing this swing set for our 3 year old daughter. It is perfect for her and has the features we wanted (glider swing, wood roof, playhouse, etc.). I would rate it 5 stars, but the directions were terrible and vague at times, but that seems to be a recurring theme I saw while reading reviews of other sets. It took longer than we thought to assemble because some steps had to be redone. Now that it is together and in our yard, it is very sturdy and providing lots of fun for our little one.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

I bought the swing set for my grandchildren ages l year to 5 years (4 children). The children are excited but I feel it's too small. I expected it to be bigger. The swings are too close to each other. I feel the wood is not going to last too long and break. The 10 year old is too big to use it cause it's so small. I did have to buy some screws because it was missing some.

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

Super adorable set for our 3 & 5 year old girls..! Love the top of the fort is an actual roof and not a tarp. My husband and I put this together with no major issues. The instructions were ok however some of the boards did not have the numbers displayed correctly which made sorting the pieces a tad difficult..we also received a defective door side but Big Backyards customer service was great and we should be receiving a replacement piece soon..seems sturdy and looks like it should last. The color of the wood is lighter than other sets I've seen but its still an attractive addition to our backyard. The manufacturer did recommend sealing it yearly which we will do so the wood maintains its look... As a previous review stated, the swings are close to each other and they may bump should they not swing straight, hasnt happened yet but maybe when they get bigger.All in all Our kids are happy and so are we!

Comments about Solo 1011978 Windale Wood Gym Set:

We really like this set. It said 8-10 hours for set up and we got it up in 8 with two guys working on it. The little playhouse is very fun for the kids. Two things I wish were different: swings could have been spaced a bit farther apart. They seem SO close to each other, my kids will bump in to each other if they don't swing straight :( and also, the little cafe "counter" could have been a bit deeper to fit a plate of food (only will fit a cup or small bowl). Kids are having a blast with it and no major set up issues. Would recommend!