# Playset Build & Landscaping



## tb151 (Jul 5, 2012)

Our son turned 3 this past weekend and it was time to build a playset. I left the brand decision to my wife and she chose Cedarworks, so it was time to order, build it and landscape!

It arrived the Friday before last in the form of 20 large boxes taking up one of our garage stalls.

That weekend, the plan was to put the set together, and then fine tune the placement and work on the landscaping around it. This set is very well made, which means there were probably a hundred large bolts to drive. I started with hand tools until a good friend showed up with a few cordless impact drivers :thumbup:

After uncrating and moving to the spot.










Wrenching









And its up. I put some landscape fabric down initially to mark the spot and make sure we liked it. 










Next up was figuring out how I wanted the surrounding area to look. I started on this partway through the following week and used a hose to make the form that I wanted, and changed it around a few times. Once that was done and I was happy, I threw on some Mechanix gloves, put my headphones on and grabbed a shovel to began edging all around it. This consisted of digging down about 3-4 inches, and removing a foot in from the edge. I also applied RoundUp to the grass prior to putting the additional fabric on. 

In Process


The fabric is fully installed here. It was a PAIN because the fabric pins were thin metal and every time they hit a rock our root in the ground they would bend or just hurt my hand. Suffice it to say there were alot of rocks and roots. My palm has been black and blue ever since.



I decided to have these special woodchips put down called Kid Kushion that are soft and made for this. I had a company bring it in and do our mulch at the same time. They estimated incorrectly and had to go back and get more chips for the play area, totaling about 6 yards. That came on Saturday morning and then we received a cool birthday present for our son from his grandparents, which was a Pirate Ship sand box. We spent a few hours Saturday night putting that together in the garage and then I dragged it down there. I also went and picked up a few Adirondack Chairs I ordered from a small woodshop near here to give us a place to sit.

It was labor intensive but I am extremely happy with the results. I'm going to do a raised edging around the area as well, using a newer product called Ecoborder. We had our son's b-day party here and everything was perfect, and held up well to the toddler abuse!



I'm very happy with the outcome. It's a little oasis for the kids and they are loving it.


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## Amateuralex (Mar 17, 2012)

Wow looks great.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

nice job.....

May I suggest a rake and scooper? Cats are going to love that sand....


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## tb151 (Jul 5, 2012)

ddawg16 said:


> nice job.....
> 
> 
> May I suggest a rake and scooper? Cats are going to love that sand....


Thanks! And no cats for us or our neighbors thankfully!! The sand is only in the pirate ship and the rest is wood chips.



Amateuralex said:


> Wow looks great.


Thanks!!!:thumbup:


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## tb151 (Jul 5, 2012)

Here's a better pic from my 40d



also, this is the Ecorborder I'm ordering today to go around it. It's low enough to not trip over and high enough to keep most of the wood chips in. Plus it has a low outside lip which I supposedly can mow right over. I'm going with Black as the color since all of our other mulch beds are black mulch and I like the look.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

fantastic, you did a great job ... Lucky little boy.


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## CoconutPete (Jan 22, 2010)

Looks good! I may have to look into that ecoborder for when my daughter needs a playscape.


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## Amateuralex (Mar 17, 2012)

Just thinking out loud, probably a stupid question, but grass really isn't soft enough? The wood chips are necessary?


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## tb151 (Jul 5, 2012)

Amateuralex said:


> Just thinking out loud, probably a stupid question, but grass really isn't soft enough? The wood chips are necessary?


Great question. It was more for the look and maintenance of the area, but this does add alot more cushion that you'd think. Constant use would certainly stress and kill grass in areas around it. Plus I would have to weedwack around it since my mower wouldn't fit under and between the pieces. This way those issues are taken out of the equation. It's also nice to define the space and is visually more appealing, at least to me :chef:


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## no1hustler (Aug 11, 2010)

Amateuralex said:


> Just thinking out loud, probably a stupid question, but grass really isn't soft enough? The wood chips are necessary?



NM, was ninja'd.


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## walkman (Jan 4, 2009)

Very nice. Cedarworks is really top of the line stuff. Their catalogs are incredible.


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## csmonte (Apr 25, 2013)

looks nice and x2 on the 40D. I've been looking at some edging, I wonder how much it moves around with the freeze and thaw year after year, that's my biggest worry.


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## tb151 (Jul 5, 2012)

walkman said:


> Very nice. Cedarworks is really top of the line stuff. Their catalogs are incredible.


Isn't it ridiculous? Complete fantasyland...On the plus side, they give you this HUGE wooden hammer with their logo branded on each side. Think Thor's Hammer, seriously. I keep it on my desk for web conferences with unruly clients..:thumbup:



csmonte said:


> looks nice and x2 on the 40D. I've been looking at some edging, I wonder how much it moves around with the freeze and thaw year after year, that's my biggest worry.


I haven't had the chance to put it in yet but I'm guessing it will be fine. It's all rubber and the stakes are pretty long. If indeed it does shift for any reason, it's a very simple task to adjust.


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