Swing set: Buying new or used?

Whenever you think about buying a swing set for your kids you, probably, encounter the same dilemma lots of people do: Buying a brand new, out of the box swing set or buying a used one from sites like Craigslist or your local newspaper ads.

Buying a brand new, good quality, swing set can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars when you consider the size, accessories, quality and add the costs of installation and backyard preparation. The advantage of buying a new swing set is that it comes with the manufacturer warranty, installers labor warranty, brand new hardware and all the good smell of a brand new product that is going to be assembled faster and trouble-free, assuming you have a flat area for it.

Buying a used set, though, is a bit tricky because that are lots of things to check before making a decision. It’s almost as buying a used car or an old house.
My advice is that you should never buy a used swing set on the internet without making a physical inspection for the integrity of the wooden components and all the hardware. If you make a trip to the seller’s house, bring some tools with you such as screwdrivers, a wrench with a few size nuts ( 3/8, 1/2, 9/16 and 3/4 inch are the most common sizes for swing sets) a set of Allen and torx wrenches and a pair of pliers.
✓ Check at the pieces that are buried in the ground for rot and decay by inserting a flat screwdriver in the wood to verify how rotten they are;
✓ Check for big cracks in the wood that could affect the strength and cause injuries to your children;
✓ Look for rusted bolts and nuts and make sure they can be taken apart and if they don’t move it’s going to be almost impossible to disassemble the swing set without damaging the wood;
✓ If the set has a wooden roof, check for damage or missing pieces. Canvas tarp can be replaced easily;
✓ Check underneath the swing beam for carpenter bees holes and for bigger holes in the front and back of it which are signs of woodpecker damage;
✓ Check the swings for chain rust or frayed ropes and in most cases can be fixed or replaced;
✓ Climb, carefully, on the deck and check it for strength. if it flexes too much, it needs to be replaced or, at least, reinforced;

Take detailed pictures of all the damaged areas and other parts that are not so great and show them to the seller as this might lower the price considerably.
You can, also, send the pictures to a handyman or a professional installer like me for an evaluation. Even the swing sets that were well taken care of with regular maintenance have rotten pieces unless they were installed in a very dry backyard.

The final cost to disassemble, move and reassemble a used swing set will be much higher of a new set because of all the labor and transportation involved.

Sometimes there are great used swing sets for sale on the internet and local ads and it should be up to you to decide if it is worth the effort and extra money to get it from the seller’s backyard to yours.

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