How to choose a playground for your garden

This is the guide we wish every family had before spending €649 to €3199 on a swing set. It covers the facts that decide whether a set works in your garden.

1. Start with your garden, not the catalogue

Measure the space you can give up permanently. A set needs roughly 2 m of free space on each side for safe swinging and running, and the sizes below already include it. As a rough guide:

• Small, from 7.7 × 6.9 m: the Sunnydale, the smallest set we sell. Trying to squeeze a large fort into a small garden is the most common mistake we see.
• Medium, from 9.9 × 8.8 m: most of the range fits, including sets with full swing beams and larger decks.
• Large, 10.7 × 9.1 m or more: the whole Kids Play range fits, including the big forts with tube slides and two-storey clubhouses.

2. How cedar differs from spruce and pine

Many wooden playgrounds sold in Europe are made of impregnated spruce or pine. These are soft woods, treated with chemicals so they can survive outdoors. The wood in our sets is solid cedar. Cedar is protected by its own oils, with no chemical pressure treatment. It is also light, which makes the pre-cut parts easier to handle during assembly. Since 2007 we have not had a single set returned for rot or decay, and every set carries a 5-year warranty.

3. What assembly really takes

The manufacturer's manuals give 18 to 20 hours for two adults on the bigger sets, plus about 3 hours for a spiral tube slide, so plan for a full weekend. The smaller sets take 7 to 10 hours. The Sunnydale, the smallest set we sell, takes one working day. Every board arrives pre-cut, pre-drilled and numbered, and the BILT app shows each step in 3D on your phone. The preparation that saves the most hours: sort all the timber by step number before you start.

Prefer not to build at all? A partner crew can assemble your set in one day, from €550 to €1190 depending on the set, in the regions we cover. Add it to your cart with the set, or arrange it after you order.

4. How a 200 to 300 kg delivery works

Sets ship on a freight pallet from our own warehouse in Poland, where we hold the stock ourselves. Depending on your country, delivery takes roughly 2 to 4, 5 to 7 or 10 to 14 working days. Larger sets can arrive in more than one package, sometimes a day or two apart, and this is normal. If any part is missing or damaged, we send a replacement at once. That promise is in writing on every order.

5. What the 5-year warranty covers

The whole set: 5 years from delivery against rot, decay and structural defects, with no maintenance conditions. Normal wear of ropes and swing seats is not covered.

6. The range at a glance

7. What we recommend

Small garden: Sunnydale for one or two children; Tucson if you have three or more, or a long narrow space. Medium garden: Montpelier for one or two; Cedar Cove when several children will use it daily. Large garden: Skyfort II for one or two; Skyfort with Tube for three or more.

Our advice: if your garden cannot give a big set its full safe play zone, do not buy a big set. Take the Sunnydale, which needs 7.7 × 6.9 m of clear, level ground, or wait until you have the space. A cramped set gets used less.

Who you are buying from

Woodlit is a second-generation family business. Our parents began selling Backyard Discovery swing sets in 2007, and today we are the largest Backyard Discovery retailer in Poland and the Baltics. We keep the stock in our own warehouse in Poland and answer questions in five languages. Every set comes with a 5-year warranty. Questions about fit, delivery or assembly? Write to hello@woodlit.eu and a real person will answer.