Customer reviews for Backyard Discovery Skyfort II Cedar Swing Set/PlaySet forCustomer photos









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Wonderful, well-made play set.
We bought two of these -- one for each set of grandchildren. I could not recommend it more highly. Quality product. For one we got professional installation, for the other a local handyman to help. Go with the professional installation! It was less expensive and took hours rather than days to complete. Your favorite kids will love this.
My kids are loving it!
We purchased this set back in September and had it professionally assembled. The quality is top notch and there are so many fun parts of this set that my kids (3 & 5yrs) are still enjoying it almost 6 months later. They are always asking to go outside and play on it and everyday is something new!
Everything we Wanted!
We decided we wanted a playset, but due to the pandemic shortage of playsets as well as the rising costs of wood, we were afraid we just wouldn't find what we wanted. We were willing to spend pretty good money for a good one, but realistically we were at the mercy of just finding one when it was in stock. Prior research, we had narrowed down which ones we liked and which price ranges applied to us, so when the Skyfort II came in stock we got it immediately. We bought it through Backyard Discovery, and glad we did because it went out of stock again within 3 hours. Free Shipping was a plus given that this product ships using freight. As soon as we bought it, the confirmation e-mail was immediate and very detailed regarding steps for shipping and delivery as well as what to expect with packaging. The e-mail contained tracking information and connected us to the 3rd party freighter. That freighter connected with us regarding delivery date. The freight man that delivered was amazing and the company was within the delivery window and met all my expectations for shipping. Now, one of the e-mails detailed that many freighters will not do much for you beyond dropping your 4 playset boxes on a pallet and drop it by the curb, unless you pay extra. These boxes are a total of 736 lbs. so don't underestimate this. Luckily, my freighter used his drop gate on the back of his semi to load the packages onto my trailer, which he did for me for no extra charge. He also said he delivers them all the time and gave me a few pointers. I then used my trailer to take the boxes to the backyard. This made things so much easier but would not have been possible without the freighter helping with this. My advice is expect the least but hope that you get a great driver and freighter like I did (the trucking company was YRC). The boxes were in perfect condition (No puncture holes or signs of damage. I still took pics for proof just in case but all was well). I also know that they were shipped in good condition because it arrived strapped to a pallet. This made me feel better that these individual boxes weren't tossed or slid around. Organization for Pre-Construction - 4 boxes, all between 150-250 lbs. each. I backed the trailer to the backyard. From here, I followed advice from reviews. I read how important it was to organize the nuts/bolts per step as well as organize the wood and supplies by alphabetical and numerical order. THIS HELPED SO MUCH. We spent very little time searching for anything during assembly. I took out the box of nuts and bolts (mine was in Box 2, the heaviest box). I went through the instructions and sorted every single step into individual Ziploc baggies. This was so helpful, ex. Step 1, use the step 1 bag, already filled with what we needed. Helped us know when we complete a step as well as knowing if we forgot to use anything or not. Secondly, I spread the boards all across the backyard in alphabetical order. Putting them in numerical order wasn't as important for the stacks that were small, but the H and M categories have a lot of boards, so for sure number these stacks in order. So far, this all took about 5 hours total and I did most of it alone. Day 1 - Next is assembly. Now I read through the instructions ahead of time and realized that there are about 8 sections that can be done by one person (Glider, Ladder, Slide, Rockwall, porch roof, etc.). The Fort section is a 2 person job, and then parts of the Observation Deck, Monkey Bars, and Swing Set could use more hands. There were 3 of us working for about 7 hours. One person worked on the parts that can be done by one person while the other 2 of us worked on the Fort assembly. At this point, I learned a few things: 1) Use the instruction book. It is more detailed than the Bilt App. The Bilt App really only helps if you want to see an angle that is not shown in the book. The book is very simple to follow. - within the book, notice that the orientation of the image can change from step to step. Failure to notice this will result in certain boards being backwards. 2) Make sure you may attention to the details. Know the difference in types of bolts, screws, and locks. They can look similar but are for different things. 3) If you mess something up, fix it ASAP! Don't move on thinking it won't bite you in the butt. It will. So many of these steps have predrilled holes so at some point, your mistake will become known, and at that point you will wish you had fixed it to begin with. 4) I would be sure to decide on where the final place for the set will be by the time you get to the step where you attach the flooring for the fort. After this, it can get heavy and difficult to maneuver. Obviously, flatter ground is best. Myself and one other person then worked another 3 hours later that day. At this point, the Fort was completed through step 54 (pic attached), and many other parts were done (Observation deck, ladder, glider, rock wall, porch roof). Day 2 - The Calvary arrived. With 7 people for 4 hours, we finished it. Most of this day was people working in two person groups, but I would definitely say attaching the swing set could be a 3 person job, and building the observation deck could be a 3 person job at some points. Do not under estimate building the observation deck. It is time consuming because of you being up and down a ladder constantly. Absolutely everything was perfect. No problems with shipping or delivery. All boards were in good condition, no bolts/nuts or pieces were missing (most bags had at least one extra of every piece for good measure). The rain held off and we will put on a stain once it dries up here (instructions advise it even though it comes pre treated). Last advices 1) Reviews I read were so helpful. Some of the stuff I read there I have already reiterated, but following detailed instructions with attention to the details is so critical. So many pieces and so much meticulous engineering went into this playset. The instructions were spot on the whole way through so as long as you do what it says, it will be right. I don't know about other instructions for other playsets, but I can verify this one. 2) These boards don't feel like true, solid cedar boards, and can at times feel somewhat flimsy. However, the more you build, the more sturdy the whole structure feels. Its very solid. We had 60 MPH winds the day after it was built and it didn't move a muscle. And it does smell like cedar so that is a plus. 3) The bolts and nuts come with T-40 and T-30 tools so that helped a lot (never stripped out or slipped.) 4) We have not put anything on the ground yet for cushion, but we plan to at some point. The set is supposed to be on the ground, per the instructions, so we will add that later. Total Suggested Assembly time per instructions - 20 hrs for two people = 40 Hours My total time 5 hrs x 1 person = 5 Pre-Construction 7 hrs x 3 people = 21 Day 1 3 hrs x 2 people = 6 Day 1 4 hrs x 7 people = 28 Day 2 Total Man Hours = 60 Hours
my kids are in love
I did a ton of research before buying this swing set and this was by fat the best deal I could find. It did take us two full days to put together which was way longer than I anticipated but the instructions were simple and straightforward. Only negative I have is the swings are kind of close together but it hadn't been a problem. The slide though is not one piece and doesn't seem to be add high of quality add the rest of the set. Great buy all around kids are very happy.
Perfect for our 1 and 4 year old to grow into
We are very pleased with this playset. We looked at Rainbow playsets and some of their competitors and just couldn't spend the money - 2-3 times the price for a similar design. Though the wood for the Skyfort II is not as heavy duty as the higher end playsets from Rainbow, etc., it is still good quality and certainly strong enough for little ones. I routinely get in the clubhouse with our 1 and 4 year old - its a little cramped and I have to be careful on the step ladder but it supports me with no problem (6'2" 180lbs). The crows nest is a great addition that not many playsets have - its a tight fit but I can even get up in there and stand without any concern for my weight. After considering a $600-800 set up cost if we hired it out, my wife and I put the entire playset together ourselves (plus we have a ~10 degree slope in our backyard and most companies wouldn't build it for us unless we had level ground... we just put 4x4s under the back corners and leveled it from there and it worked great). We build some of the separate parts (slide, monkey bars, ladder, and rock wall) in the garage and then spent an entire weekend building the playset. I would guess it took us 20-25 hours total... maybe a little longer. We certainly recommend going through all the wood and at least checking over the hardware - we weren't short any pieces and had tons of extra hardware but we did get a few replacements shipped as a couple of boards had small cracks. Customer service via the 800 number was great - they shipped out all needed parts via FedEx in 2-3 days at no charge and no questions asked. Since our kids are so young, we initially blocked off the monkey bars with a gate but then I decided to purchase a second slide for about $100 delivered and installed it in the place of the monkey bars (Leisure Time told me not to do this - presumably for safety/balance or design so I ordered it as a 'replacement') but its worked great and now we don't have to worry about the gate falling out. Plus we can reinstall the monkey bars when they are old enough. A few recommendations - lay out all the pieces before starting the build... this took a long while in our garage... maybe 3-4 hours but it did help during the build. We built the crows nest in our garage and not on top of the swingset as the directions say... it was heavy to lift up but I can't imagine building that whole thing on top of the swing bar. We thought the directions were surprisingly good but do pay attention to which direction the boards should go as a connector may be needed 2-3 steps later that you put on backwards... once you start building, you will see what I mean. Not a huge deal to backtrack but a little annoying. We also only have one cordless drill and there are a lot of connectors so we had the battery die a couple of time so we had to break to recharge... having a corded drill or second battery could have helped. The only real negative is that the wood is a little soft and the finish comes off too easily. I actually sent for replacement ladder steps as that seems to be the place where the finish has already come off from climbing. I tried to get the right stain to do touch-ups but the kind and color that the company tells you simply doesn't match. I figured its a minor issue considering the considerable cost savings but it is my one gripe - not sure why they can get you a small can or at least a tell you a color that actually matched. I sprayed it with two coats of water protector after the build was done (I know others say the sprayed every board before the build... I know after is much faster though likely not as thorough). As some reviews say, the swings are closer together than the pictures show but still fine to use all three at the same time at least when they are smaller. One more thing - we already had a sand box so didn't need the one included. In lieu of purchasing the extra wood to build a floor over the sandbox (an extra kit $100 you can get for the set), we got rubber mulch and used that... its great so the kids don't have to worry about falling/tripping over the empty box but we don't have to have more sand over everything. We also bought a ships wheel and music set (drums) on Amazon to add a couple of things and those have worked out well. Overall, we would highly recommend and would buy again. It was actually pretty fun to build with only a little arguing :) but I think it will be a good set for years to come.
awesome product
definitly organize and inventory the boxes. We were missing 23 boards from our playground, but the company was very pleasant to deal with and had our missing pieces to us in 3 days. we are almost done with assembly and it has been 13 hours, definitly a good weekend or long weekend project! Very nice looking product, well worth the money!
Thank you for your 5-star review.
Worth the cost
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Great, durable purchase! It took my husband about a week to completely finish it on his own, while working on other things at home too. The materials are of good quality, and the finished product is beautiful! We had one board on the climbing wall split while adding the hand holds. My husband was able to cut a board to fit. The color doesn’t match, but the kids don’t mind. I have kids ranging from teenagers to toddlers, and they have all been on the play set at some point or another. It’s definitely sturdy enough to hold older kids, although I don’t let them swing on it like they would on a structure at the park. My big kids can sit on the swings, climb in the fort, and use the monkey bars without it feeling rickety. I’m glad we went with this brand and spent the extra money. It was well worth it!
Sturdy & easy directions
We just finished assembling this playground. It took the better part of 3 days and 3 people (sometimes 4). All pieces are labeled well. It helps to organize before assembling. We had all the “H” pieces in one area in numerical order, “M” in another spot, “F” in another spot and so on. One person read directions, one found pieces and two assembled (when we had 4 people). It’s important to double check that pieces are facing the correct direction so all pre-drilled holes are in the right spots. Boards on their own seems soft and possibly flimsy, but once assembled, it is very sturdy and solid! Can’t wait for my kids to play on it!
Easy to assemble
We recently purchased this and assembled it last weekend. I was very impressed with the labeling of pieces and simplicity of the insructions. I have bought entertainment stands that were more confusing. Was able to have it put together within the weekend.
Awesome PlayGround
Purchased this to replace a very old swingset for our grandkids. The assembly was long and tedious but the instructions were spot on. The online app was very helpful at times to assist with some clarity. Had an issue with a part and it was shipped to me right away. It was helpful to lay out the parts by number so that they were easy to find. I bought the anchors and rubber pieces to hold playground in place and keep the wood off the ground - I highly recommend doing this.