This is a Kid's Creations Circus 3 Wood Swing Set and it is very well built.
The wood is very solid and the design is good. The assembly instructions did give us a problem which made us wary during the first several hours of installation.
You do need a ladder to assemble the product.
Kid's Creations doesn't list a ladder as a necessary tool, however the wood slat roof is not pre-assembled and needs to be nailed directly on the top. Only Chris Angel could put that on without a ladder.
The instructions also state that you need a 3/4" inch socket. The part that is omitted is that you need a "Deep Well" socket otherwise you won't be able to tighten it down all the way. We did have to go back to the store (re-work) and purchase these 2 items.
We were unimpressed as to how the set was delivered. However after doing inventory, everything was accounted for...or so we thought. There were supposed to be 2 packs of screws - 2" and 2 1/2". We were accidentally given 2 packs of 2 1/2" screws. We found this out when the sharp points started sticking out on the other side of the boards. We had to stop and make another trip back to the store (re-work again).
Because the parts were well numbered inventory went very quickly as did locating the parts during assembly.
Other issues that caused delays:
- On the third step, the instruction images had the bolts going in backwards. This was confirmed after a phone call to a company rep. and sending a few images to [email protected]
- The instructions for the walls referenced bolt holes "facing the ground". This meant after it was upright and not during the assembly while laying down. It took us 1.5 hrs to figure that one out. We were a little hot and tired by this point.
- We had to assemble parts of the roof three times because it was unclear where to install four of the braces. However, this became obvious only at a much later step when we had to connect something else to it.
- Nowhere do the directions tell you to use the washers with the lag bolts.
- The instructions stop after you construct the wood portions of the set. The rope ladder, plastic wheel and telescopes have no instructions for installation or placement suggestions. (We used the picture on the website as a guide)
- The images used to show each wood assembly show extra holes that are not on the boards so orientation of the boards may be confusing.
- We had a lot of extra bolts at the end that went unused which made us second guess some of the installation. As a result, we went through and rechecked everything again.
Overall all this is a solid product. It is a clear example of how a great product can quickly be considered mediocre because the overall experience had a few issues. We could have shaved off almost 4 hours out of the 12 hours it took us to put this up. The assembly confusion and several trips to the store really detracted from the experience and piled on the time.
This is still the easiest one I've ever assembled and the kids were playing on it minutes after we finished. This was of course after we rechecked everything again! *smile*
