I bought this set in August of 2015 at the end of the season to get a better price. Finding after the set was built that the original price would have been well worth the money. I actually did not build the set until April 2016 after some rainy and cold weather kept me from starting on it as soon as I received it. After sitting for 7 months the wood was still in perfect condition and very easy to work with. While deciding which set to purchase I read and researched a lot of reviews of the set. I actually found quite a few that were really detailed and helpful, although I had to be careful because some of them were for the earlier model and the instructions are different for each one. I think the most helpful was a review that suggested using sandwich bags to separate the hardware for each step. Take time to go thru the instruction book page by page to familiarize yourself with the steps. As you do put the hardware for each step in its own baggy and label it for that step. It will take you about 4 to 5 hours to do this but it is worth it as it makes the steps go faster while actually building, not having to take time to pull the hardware for each step as you go, plus it inventories the hardware so you know if you are short on anything before starting. Separating the boards is a must. You will need a lot of space to do so. I had a space in the very back of my yard that we spread a trucker tarp to lay them on and put another over them so if it rained during construction the boards would not be sitting in water until used. As you inventory the boards, putting them in alphabetically order, then putting each letter in numerical order is very helpful with time spent building. Each step is detailed as to which boards and hardware is needed, but please be careful to pay close attention as to the orientation of the boards. Most have predrilled holes that will need to be in the right places for following steps. In some steps it is difficult to see which way the predrilled holes are supposed to go, but if you look ahead a couple steps to check where other boards might intersect with that board it will help to make it clear which way to position it. If you are careful and make sure each board is positioned correctly there is no need to drill guide holes except in the few places where the instructions actually tell you to drill a hole. The building process was easy. Being a truck driver my husband is on the road a lot so I built the set by myself. The first weekend consisted of 5 hours on Sunday, after spending Saturday separating the boards and hardware. The week was only 1 hour after work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, got rained out on Thursday and Friday. The second weekend was 8 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday, 1hour after work on Monday, with the finishing touches (attaching the slide, rock wall, ladder and swings) being done in 1 1/2 hours after work on that Tuesday. A total of 23.5 hours. I feel like having a helper would have only been someone in the way. Having two "A" ladders was very helpful though, as I used them to hold the swing bar up while I attached it to the play-set. And it also eliminated the need to continuously move one ladder from side to side while working. I bought the optional floor that covers the sand box area. I had some issues with this part of the building process. While installing I had to cut the two end pieces, they were about 1/2 of an inch too long. I also discovered that the predrilled holes were measured incorrectly on the floor boards. When the factory drilled the holes they fell right at the edge of the board they were to be attached to instead of in the middle of it. Problem solved by screwing them in at an angle and the extra floor space allows for a bigger play area without the worry of sand and dirt. I also did not use the monkey bars, grandkids still a little young for those. Instead I called Backyard Discovery and ordered another M1 and 4 more M24s to make where the monkey bars would go enclosed like the opposite side (Step 37). Helpful suggestions: If you do get the optional floor….Do NOT install the L2 boards in step 6 (of the play set instructions). DO install the optional floor before you do step 18, in which you will have to cut O2 to fit above the floor board. I then bought a little L brace to attach O2 to the floor board. In step 55 before attaching the J2 boards it would benefit you to go to step 58 and attach the two M25 boards to the J2 boards before attaching the J2 boards to the crow’s nest bottom. If you attach the J2s first, when you go to attach the M25s the roof will be in the way of being able to screw the screws in. The only Con that I can honestly say I see with this play set is the sliding board. It was very difficult to put together and does not seem sturdy. I wish it had come with the one piece thick plastic slide I saw with some of the other sets. I do not think it will last very long. The rest of the play set is very sturdy. I weigh 190 lbs. and while constructing this set I climbed all over it. Once the second floor floorboards were installed I stood on them to continue to build the upper level of the set. I even had to climb into the crow’s nest to build part of it. None of the boards felt like they would break under my weight. After replacing one of the swings with a baby swing, all of the grandkids can and will enjoy this play set for years to come. I added some pictures of the building process.

I bought this in June and finally got it together. The BILT app was a big help. What I question is why they couldn't have holes pre drilled for all the places they have you do it manually. Splitting is an issue. Some screws aren't long enough for holding some pieces in place. Slide was a pain to put together. Also, not sure why you couldn't stamp top or bottom for some pieces where it matters. Now that it is together, my kids like it. I am just not sure it was worth the price.

Bought this in spring 2015, has held up really well. we have a 2& 4 year old they use the entire set except the monkey bars for now (too short to reach). we did buy separately a baby swing from Home Depot to sub for one of the swings for our smallest. This did take 2.5 days to assemble with 2-3 men working on it. We have a construction business so we are not building novices, and that why it's not getting 5 stars. Also our yard is not level ( and really whose is perfectly level?) we had to adapt the structure after market for that on our own, not hard but a few extra pieces of wood would have made the process easier.

We bought this from SAM’s. Delivery went smoothly & on time. We used the BILT app to assemble making it so much easier….don’t throw the book bcz it is very helpful as well. Make sure you take your time and follow instructions. My husband decided to work ahead without me and he doesn’t pay attention to detail and the deck of the crows nest got narrowed up by about 1/16”, I took the deck apart and redid it. After that I would not let him do anything with out both being there. We are not carpenters so check work twice to prevent screw ups. Other than that it is pretty easy as long as you follow instructions. Took us about 22 hrs spread out over 2 weekends. My kids love it! My youngest had her eye on this playset at Sam’s for about a yr and wouldn’t consider anything else and in her words. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Many hrs on this already and it’s only been up 2 weeks. You will not be disappointed. From crows nest, clubhouse fort down to the sandbox and picnic table and all the extras there is so so many features with this one at a very good price.

With 4 grandsons ages less than a year through 6, I was looking for something that would last for many years to come and that would allow bigger kids as well as younger kids to have fun on it. Due to Covid, all playgrounds in our area had been closed for months so that accelerated my buying - what normally would have been a Christmas present. We purchased the set-only, not with assembly included. My son-in-law and a team of his friends spent a Saturday putting it together and, although took a while, everything was there and they were able to assemble with no problem that I am aware of. It IS VERY HEAVY AND HAS A LOT OF PIECES, as others have mentioned so having more than one or two work together is best. We all think this set is even nicer, in person, than we expected - and the 3 of 4 grands that are old enough to play on it really love it! I highly recommend this set!

Synopsis I purchased this play fort for my 6, 4 and 2 year old (boy, boy, girl). They immediately interacted with all of the components and our 4 year old learned to do the monkey bars within minutes. Assembly I knew it was going to take time, and with excited youngsters watching it being built only seems to add to the time to assemble. Overall it took 2 days. The first day was a 6 hour shift with 5 guys. Day 2 was only 3 of us for 8 hours. If I were to build this again I would recommend a crew of 4: 1 person reading the instructions, 1 parts collector and 2 builders. Everyone can keep a steady pace and its easy to rotate a builder and collector out and keep moving. Value Of all the play forts that I looked for; online, walmart, menards, lowes, home depot, etc. This fort had the most options for the price. It also looked half way decent which wasn't a requirement but a nice perk. The entire think is built solid yet it flexes where it needs to flex. It is a quality product and well worth the investment. Additional notes The crows nest gets a lot of use because the kids like to be up high and look out at things. We have a wooded lot and they can see right into the woods which they think is the best thing in the world. Final Quote It took some time as I knew it would. It is well worth the time and money spent because I know it will last. If you are looking for THE play area, this is it. LBENED02

We purchased this playground for Christmas this year and my kids have loved it. It definitely took longer than I expected to put together but the instructions and companion app were amazing. Every step was easily explained and labeled. I probably had as much fun building it as my kids have had playing on it.

We’ve had ours for about a month. It took my handy husband a day and a half to put together. We have kids ages 6months , 2, and 11. The 2 year old and 11 year old have a blast on it. I love that they will be able to to use it for so many years. Looks great and has all the essentials!

My husband and son have been very happy while assembling this swing set/fort. They are getting ready to add the second level. My soon-to-be 4 year old granddaughter has decided that this is a "Girl's Only" since it is her birthday present from G. Grandma, Grandma and PaPa. There are lots of pieces and it is taking awhile for assembly but the guys are pleased how well everything has been marked and boxed. Will give this a 5-star for quick delivery and quality.

After doing a lot of research, this playset seemed to be the best value. The freight company called several days in advance to schedule delivery. We live in the country, well off the road, and they were able to unload the 4 large boxes right into my garage. My husband and I assembled the set in pieces in our large garage and then transported the assembled pieces to the location we picked out in our yard for final assembly. We were able to even assemble the fort in the garage - all except for the roof - as we have 10 foot doors. We then loaded the fort on a utility trailer hooked up to our pickup for roof assembly and transport to our yard. This worked very well as we were able to assemble inside over several evenings and a Saturday and were out of the spring rain. It was also helpful to assemble on the level garage floor. We followed other posters' advice in sorting and doing inventory of the pieces and this saved time later. When we were ready to do final assembly, we just loaded the other completed pieces (slide, rock wall, ladder, monkey bars, etc.) in the trailer as well. The instructions could have been better - many times they were not clear on the orientation of the holes in each individual piece, and this made it necessary to tear apart and reassemble several steps later. All the parts were present in the 4 large boxes and we had quite a few pieces of hardware left over. Our 2 grandsons, ages 2 and 4, LOVE it, so the aggravation of assembly was worth it. I would estimate the appropriate age level at 2 -10. The 2 year old can even get into the crows nest, but he has his older brother to show him how. I'm sure I won't like staining/sealing it every year, but it looks great in the yard. My husband is very handy - he built our house - but I can see where this could completely overwhelm someone without some skills. My job was basically to keep 1 step ahead of him and find the next pieces for assembly and the corresponding hardware. There are an unbelievable number of pieces, but it is definitely doable - just don't be in a hurry!