# What wood to use for swingset



## pete79

I'm building my kids a swingset this weekend and have the plans all figured out, as well as my materials list. I'm just not sure what kind of wood to go get from the lumber yard/mill.

I was thinking I'm between cedar and pressure treated, but I'm curious if there's something else that I should be looking at? I don't want to stain/finish the thing very often. I don't really care too much if it turns gray over time. Cedar seems like the clear choice, but i'm trying to see if there's something that might be a little less expensive. I'm apprehensive about PT because of the warping/cracking. Any suggestions?


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## HerbC

Cypress would be good if you can get it in your locality.

Good Luck!

Be Careful!

Herb


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## MrsN

Ours is pressure treated. Cedar was almost double the price when we built it, and was a huge consideration.


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## pete79

MrsN - did you have any problems structurally with warping/twisting/cracking over time?


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## MrsN

It has been fine, it has only been up for a couple of years. We also have a pressure treated deck that has been up for 10+ years with no problems.


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## Grandpa

I built one in 1999. April to be exact. I laminated some 2×6's for the cross beam. This twisted as little on mine but not too bad. I haven't needed to replace it and it is usable. I used the pressure treated lumber of the day. Cedar will be soft and screws probably won't hold. I had brackets that were made for screws in places. Thos things get a lot of movement and twisting action when the kids get going on it.


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## saw4fun

White oak, Black Locust, and Honeylocust are a few more domestic woods excellent for outdoor applications. No worries with these whether they will hold screws or not!!


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## a1Jim

Cedar is to soft I would use pressure treated or just plain doug fir if you keep if painted.


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## BillWhite

Pressure treated will expose the kiddies to all the chems, and the stuff will be really wet at first. You will have to use SS or dip galvanized screws/bolts/nails or the new pt stuff will corrode them.
If you can swing it (get the pun?), use white oak. It will last forever without all the associated problems.
Bill


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## a1Jim

Pete
Unlike the old pressure treated woods that had arsenic in them there's one chemical used in most pressure treated wood coppersulfate it has been proven safe to use in garden growing and I believe is the same spray they use to spray fruit trees to prevent white fly. If none of that feels good they sell a heat treated wood that has zero chemicals in it to replace standard pressure treated wood. White oak will work for sure but is pretty pricie for a swing set.

Update
it looks like I'm wrong about what's in pressure treated wood.
Here are the facts
http://www.strongtie.com/productuse/PTWoodFAQs.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_preservation#Heat_treatments


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## Jack_T

If money is not a concern - Ipe.

All the structural members should be bolted with washers on both ends.


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## Jeff28078

I don't know the age range of your kids. Mine were two years apart and only used the thing for about five years. I'd say the thing is almost disposable. I agree about the pressure treated toxicity. If your kids are going to rub up against it or chew on it (don't laugh they do) then I'd go for cypress or cedar.


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## bubinga

Maybe redwood


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## edvan22

Pete,

I built one 2 summers ago using pressure treated. The warping/cracking has been really disappointing. (Big box lumber seems to want to warp around a corner.) Nothing structural but it introduced rough edges/splinters, etc… I added onto the set last summer and built some benches for a community group and used a product called Rain Coat which can be applied to wet pressure treated lumber and it claims to "slow the drying process" which helps minimize warping and cracking (It's a fairly clear stain). I figured I had nothing to lose and am surprised to see that so far, everything seems to be crack free 8 months later. I'm waiting to see how it handles the direct summer sun before I give it any kind of recommendation.

I also used composite decking on the horizontal surfaces to minimize splinters while crawling etc… I'd carefully consider the PT route if I did it again.

Ed


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## CptWingnut

My vote is for pressure treated, thanks for the info about modern pressure treatment. Besides I grew up playing on a swingset I think was made out of old split telephone poles (don't ask me how they split em'), and besides how else are they going to get their daily serving of creosote.


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## airamb

Pete 
Because your in Michigan you should be able to find some white oak hemlock or black locust which I beleive some one above posted. Just have to be careful with the hemlock, get it smooth you don't wont a hemlock sliver there seems to be something in hemlock that makes slivers angry.


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## lighthearted

Cedar is the way to go


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## JasonWagner

With ACQ PT you will want to use hot dip galvalnized bolts/nails/screws or deck screws made for PT. The copper in it causes a dielectric with the metal and it will rust on you. I'm planning on building my own soon and am going to use PT. It works fine for decks. Getting it from a lumber yard can help avoid the super wet stuff from HD and Lowes. I will be looking into that Rain Coat sealer. I've though about cedar because that's what the expensive companies use (Superior Play Systems). Problem is that it's pretty expensive and soft.


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## SawDustnSplinters

I built one out of local peeled cedar posts that grows wild in Texas and will last 100 years I suspect..


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## TrmptPlyr

I built a huge playset for my son (6'x6' platform 5'6" off the ground with a 10'6" roof peak) with a slide, rockwall, and lookout tower on it and used pressure treated 4×4's for the posts and redwood 2×6 for the frame of the floor, doug fir 2×4 stretchers underneath it and redwood 2×4 decking for the floor… it's a tank, we've had four adults and two kids on it and it's plenty strong… As for toxicity… you can always wrap the easily accessible parts with something less toxic to keep curious mouths at bay… even some 1/2" redwood or cedar fence slats would be sufficient… I'd considered adding swing(s) at a later time to it which should be fairly easy by adding an additional 4×4 cantilevered cross member and hanging a swing from that….


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## pete79

Thanks for the tips everyone. The swingset got built this past weekend and it came out great. Went with PT pine. Here's a picture.


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