Playset question...

[Steve Wurster]

We have a commercial playset for my son that we bought and had installed last year. It's a typical style with a house-like structure on one side with a ladder and slide, a beam coming out that holds up the swings, and an A-frame on the far side to hold up the beam.

There are a few cracks in the A-frame beams, one of which is shown in the attached picture. Some of the cracks are getting fairly deep, and I'm wondering if these will pose any problems in the future and if there is anything I can do about these. They don't go all the way through, but I'm still worrying about them. Could I inject glue in there, or should I just leave them as-is and hope they don't fail? I think some of the cracks are caused by the various bolts being installed too close to the sides, but I think most of them are just from stress.

Also, when it was installed the foreman recommended that we seal this every other year or so. Stupid me didn't ask him what product they recommend. Anyone have any thoughts on a weather sealer? I'm assuming this stuff is just (stained) cedar; not sure though.

Thanks,
Steve

[Lee Schierer]

It looks like weather checking caused by the wood drying out, getting wet and drying out. Eventually the wood will fail, but the bottom of that leg will probably rot off first. Not much you can do about the checking.

[Steve Wurster]

How long do you think I have? :-) My son is 3 so he'll only use this for so many years, and no more kids are planned.

Any thoughts on sealing the entire playset for the winter?

[Lee Schierer]

Most likely it will last until your son is no longer interested in the play set. You can prolong the life by treating the ends of the the legs with a wood preservative and placing some gravel under the legs so the water drains away. Water in the wood is your enemy here. Keep the legs dry particularly on the ends in contact with the ground and the rot will slow down. End grain will soak up the water into the wood. Check over on the wood turning forum for recommendations for sealing the end grain. Wood turners do this all the time to prevent checking on prized pieces of wood they want to turn or maybe someone will chime in here.

[Dan T Jones]

I would paint it with a good house paint.

[Tom Walz]

Bought two of them for various grandkids. The kids set them on shredded rubber which cushions a fall and drains really well.

I would use a deck preservative.

[Steve Wurster]

It's going to be hard to get to the bottom of the legs... I don't think this set is all that light!

[Steve Wurster]

Too late for any base underneath. I should have thought of that last year. Oh well.

Any recommendations on a deck preservative? I was thinking something like Thompson's would be the right choice, but I don't have a deck so I don't know which brands are best.

[Jim Rimmer]

Keep an eye on the cracks and if it looks like imminent failure, you could bolt a 2x4 sandwich to it to make it last until your son is no longer interested.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

You asked what to put on it.... I always use Cabot's Australian Timber Oil, I bought it at Lowes.

http://www.cabotstain.com/products/product/Australian-Timber-Oil.html

[Gary Harmond]

The playset I built my oldest son 15 years ago has/had checking like that but was still going strong last year when I partially disasembled the play set. I took off the A-frame end but let the tower. Also the whole assemly survived a move between cities.

Gary

[David Cefai]

A car jack will be your friend here.

[Steve Wurster]

Wow, that stuff seems expensive, at least at my Lowe's.

[Steve Wurster]

Maybe for the A-frame end, but then trying to push that up will probably cause stress on the main beam. I was thinking I might be able to disconnect the A-frame legs from that cross beam one at a time and pivot them up enough to get to the end. Just have to support the main beam while I do that. Probably nothing I can do about the end with the tower.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Wow, that stuff seems expensive, at least at my Lowe's.

Yeah, but you can probably hit your playset a few times with one gallon. I have a pretty large one, and I purchased two gallons. I have done the play set twice, a couple of benches, and I have not finished one gallon.

[Brett Bobo]

Steve,
I recently installed our son's playset, probably quite similar to yours, and put the entire set on treated 2x's to prevent what you may be experiencing with the end grain wicking moisture. I did this after everything was assembled and in place so while it's not easy, it's doable with another pair of hands. White cedar is very soft and prone to checking and splitting so it's nothing out of the ordinary. As others have said, I wouldn't be overly concerned with any potential failure, just monitor it.

I'm not sure what your A-frame is connected to, e.g. if this is on the end of the swingset side, but you should be able to disconnect the "main beam" to treat the ends if you choose to go that route. Similarly, if you disconnect sections of the playset to treat the end grain, you could also add treated 2x "sleepers" similar to what I did.

Finally, if you're still concerned, don't forget that you could just order a replacement piece from the manufacturer. Depending on the age of the playset, they may provide replacement parts for free and you pay the shipping. Of course, being that we're woodworkers, you could mill up the replacement part yourself as well:)

[Carl Beckett]

You asked what to put on it.... I always use Cabot's Australian Timber Oil, I bought it at Lowes.

http://www.cabotstain.com/products/product/Australian-Timber-Oil.html


The original oil based formula is no longer available in most states. I dont have experience with the newer formula.

I have a swingset that I was given used that has some of these similar cracks. Although it was pressure treated, it was well over a decade old when i got it and I put some deck stain on it and am comfortable it will get another decade.

Get the feet off the soil if at all possible (in fact, this is perhaps more important than that crack). The set I have has some cracks similar to what yours is - there isnt a good way to know if it will continue getting worse or last a long time. If it were me, given that crack is in the direction of a load (bending moment of the leg), I might try filling it with waterproof wood glue and seeing if it would clamp shut a little with some clamping pressure and possibly some screws driven across it

[Carl Beckett]

Steve,

Of course, being that we're woodworkers, you could mill up the replacement part yourself as well



This is your most expensive option. You will need (to start), at least a 5hp table saw - and a large dust collection system. A jointer, planer, many many hand planes.......... the list goes on.

:D

[Brett Bobo]

This is your most expensive option. You will need (to start), at least a 5hp table saw - and a large dust collection system. A jointer, planer, many many hand planes.......... the list goes on.

:D

Carl, spot on--I completely agree. Don't forget to add a new truck (4x4, just in case) to get that monster material home from the lumber yard.

[Jeff Duncan]

If this is the worst part I wouldn't worry about it at all. Assuming your looking for about 5 years of use you should be fine and let's face it, with a 3 year old you have better things to do with your weekends! My set is white cedar specifically so I wouldn't have to do any maintenance. It has cracks far worse than your pic and it does not affect the strength to any degree that I have seen. We must have had a 1/2 dozen kids on it 2 weeks ago for a BBQ and not even a creak. Even with red cedar it's not going to completely rot away in the next few years. If you want it to look nicer then go ahead and throw a coat of whatever sealer your neighborhood paint shop sells. But again, unless your trying to keep this set going for another 25 years, I really wouldn't go to crazy.....just my opinion though;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Prashun Patel]

I have such a swingset. You got another 5 years until yr son outgrows it.

If you are really concerned, I would just sink a couple stainless steel decking screws thru the split.

I never sealed mine after purchase. The only harm of not sealing cedar will be that the existing color will fade or flake, and it'll go to grey in parts. As long as yr not feeling splinters and don't care about it looking weathered, I wouldn't bother. I would, however, feel for splinters and look for any chips in the paint that might catch knees or fingernails.

[Steve Wurster]

Thanks for your help, everyone. I think I'll skip doing anything this year and see how it goes.