Wooden Swing Sets: DIY or Hire it Out?

So you’re ready to give your kids a swing set. It’s a great decision that will create endless hours of quality playtime that is healthy for the body and mind. Once the decision is made, the next question that every parent faces is whether to go the DIY route or to just hire the job out to a professional. There are benefits and drawbacks to both options, so let’s break down the argument to give you a better idea of your choices.

Which is cheaper?

Outdoor playground equipment is expensive. Unless you want to settle for something of inferior quality, you are looking to spend somewhere in the ballpark of $1500-$3500. Now even at the lower end of that figure, it’s a decent amount of money to be spending at one time, so most parents aren’t going to want to tack on an additional expense to hire out the job of putting it together.

Many professionals will charge upwards of $400 to assemble and install a swing set, so doing it yourself will certainly save you a chunk of money from your overall budget. There are companies that will charge less though, so it is certainly worthwhile to ask the manufacturer about their policies or recommendations.

Doing it yourself, obviously, is the cheaper option.

Which is easier?

It's always easier to pay someone else to do the dirty work. Opting to do it yourself means days of difficult, complicated, and nerve-wrecking labor. It means finding the right parts to put together with the right other parts. It means knowing which screws, bolts, and nails go where and which connect to which section. Worst of all, DIY assembly means your spouse will know exactly who to blame if something goes wrong.

This is not an automatic win for hiring the job out, though. Some companies make putting a wooden swing set together on your own a snap.

Companies like The Swing Set Co. lend a huge helping hand. They put the larger pieces together for you, so the bulk of your work is already done. The walls, bridges, and other major components all come pre-assembled, so you don’t have to spend hours putting them all together. Another tremendous time-saver? Pre-drilled holes. Can you imagine the time it takes to drill hundreds of holes for every spot that needs to be connected in your playset? Fortunately, the quality swing set companies do this laborious task for you, cutting down your work by hours if not days (not to mention saving you from splitting the wood during the drilling process).

Instead of it taking a week and a whole crew of people to build your playset, you can get the entire outdoor swing set up and running in an afternoon, and you can even do it on your own. Then, when your kids are having a blast swinging from the tire swing, running across the fort deck, and sailing down the playground slides, you can take credit for a job well done.

So…what should you do?

The argument boils down to time, skill, and money. If you are at all handy and you’ve bought a quality set that comes with the basic structural pieces already put together, then you can save yourself a nice bit of money by assembling the swing set on your own. On the other hand, if you really don’t have the DIY know-how to get the job done properly, don’t have the time to put the thing together, or aren’t concerned with the money, then go ahead and contact a contractor. They’ll get the job done efficiently and quickly, and you won’t have to worry about faulty assembly as your kids enjoy their amazing backyard playset.

Ready to get started? Then check outThe Ultimate Swing Set Guide for Parents, it’s everything you need to know about getting the right swing set for your family.

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