I recall a thread on this a ways back but wasnt able to find it. Hoping I can pick the brain of fellow BBIers who have faced this question. I think we are at the point where we want to get one of these things for our backyard (I know there are a lot of mixed opinions on that) but our kids are 3 and 1 and love these things at other peoples houses (hoping its not a pure novelty thing).
For those who have gotten one, 1) did you do wood or the trex stuff, 2) if you did wood how big of a PIA is the maintence, and 3) till what age did your kids actually use it?
This is a great time of year to buy and have it installed, there's lots of promotions.
I think it was an extra $200 or so (i can't remember) to have it installed.
Link - ( New Window )
It was mostly wood and I did have to rebuild/reinforce part of it after a few years, but still worth it. It's a temporary thing, so it doesn't matter if it only lasts 8-10 years.
It's gone now, but I used the slide as part of the treehouse I built this year for my son who's now 11.
the only "maintenance" was preparing the area where wanted it.
I scraped off the grass, leveled it best I could, put down a landscaping barrier, and put wood chips down.
The biggest thing to consider is height for any "tiered" sections as well as the height of the swings. This Costco one is great for younger kids (<7-8), but with the lower swings (I think they're ~6 ft) it's not as fun for older kids and they won't fit in those little tiers either.
In my (limited) experience, Trex gets way hotter, even the lighter colors.