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Looking at climbing frames / activity centre for our child.
The Steel TP toys set up looks good but the full set is about £350 for everything we want, or there's the Dunster House squirrel fort for similar money.
Having looked at both the TP seems better built but doesn't have the swings.
Is there anything inherently good / bad about the construction material used?
Any other thoughts welcome.
Wood = dirty & slimy
FWIW we have a steel TP climbing frame and it's been great. Don't really have any thoughts on wood - when we were looking wooden stuff seemed much more expensive - but hope that helps.
I think the wood stuff is better - simply because it ages better (ie, old wood looks seasoned, old metal looks rusty).
[url= http://www.climbingframesuk.com/climbing-frames/meadowside-climbing-frame/ ]We recently got one like this[/url] (but with three swings, not two) for our 5 year old twins - pretty pleased with it really.
You can repair a wooden climbing frame yourself - or even extend it!
(I know steel can be repaired but not as easily).
or even extend it
This too - I have plans for ours next spring 🙂
We had a steel TP frame in the garden for 10 years - with no treatments or anything it had a very mild case of rust around the bottom of one leg. We ended up selling it for what we paid for it.
[quote=johndoh ]old metal looks rusty
The TP one we have is galvanised and no sign of rust anywhere after 5 years (I know it's that long, as the speeding points I got on the way back from picking it up have just fallen off 😳 ) Have just checked out the window, and it looks just about as good as the day it went up (the metal bits - the fabric den has been replaced and the second one is looking old).
Fair enough - we have two Hedstrom bits (a swing that's 4 years old and looking very tired with paint dulled and flaking, beginning to rust, original swing seat long since broken and replaced), the other is a seesaw but that's only a few months old and not weathered yet (bought it because it was absurdly cheap on an offer).
Can't say for our frame (as we only got that this year) but my brother in law has the same one for his kids and it's still looking very good after four years.
Just relaying my experience, that's all.