tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post1707354371529788462..comments2024-03-18T23:15:47.524-05:00Comments on Why I Oughta...: Cedar Summit Panorama Playset from CostcoJake Parrillohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11195261008177966339noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-67728973779264655172013-06-09T21:33:30.089-05:002013-06-09T21:33:30.089-05:00The house and slide component need to be perfectly...The house and slide component need to be perfectly level. The A-frame swing can be adjusted.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09165365224051613292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-42925979964527839462012-01-23T12:36:00.883-06:002012-01-23T12:36:00.883-06:00DOES THIS REQUIRE A LEVEL SURFACE? WE HAVE SOME SL...DOES THIS REQUIRE A LEVEL SURFACE? WE HAVE SOME SLOPES IN THE HARD AND WONDER IF THE PLAY CENTER HAS LEVELING ADJUSTMENTS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-74127760387655194142011-12-27T22:01:28.878-06:002011-12-27T22:01:28.878-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-2852682541666960392011-08-22T13:52:23.073-05:002011-08-22T13:52:23.073-05:00Last year, I bought the Cedar Summit Retreat, the ...Last year, I bought the Cedar Summit Retreat, the only difference is that ours had the open-faced slide. I rented a Lowe's truck to transport it. Had one of my friends help me loading and unloading. When assembling, do not remove the parts from the box. The instructions manual will tell you which box to get the part from. I assembled it pretty much all by myself and needed help only with putting up the bar that holds the swing and putting up the roof. Do not tighten the nuts and bolts too much. <br /><br />If your backyard is flat, great. If not, you will have to do some digging. Assemble the base then use it as template. <br /><br />The manufacturer's customer service is great. I had a problem with soft grip chains and they replaced it for free. The problem was for some reason dirt and bugs gets stuck on the grip and had to clean it everytime. They said it's not supposed to happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-67149580714013935002011-08-18T23:36:15.706-05:002011-08-18T23:36:15.706-05:00I bought the display model a couple of weeks ago f...I bought the display model a couple of weeks ago for 799 less 10%. I had to borrow a trailer to pick it up as they do not dis-assemble. The positive is that I didn't have to build the whole thing. The negatives were that I still had to re-build parts of it as it was put together wrong. Wrong screws/bolts used in the wrong places. Still less time than doing the entire assembly. Also some pieces were missing, including the slide exit. I went back to let them know and they were aware of that piece missing when they built the display but had forgotten to order it. They called today to let me know that the piece is in now for me to pick up. When I got there, they had ordered the entire slide and gave me the whole box in case I wanted spare parts. Inside the box was a complete slide, extra rock wall handles, plastic window pieces, and a few other parts. It is a very good deal for the price as I planned on building my own play set but after pricing things out found that this one is much more cost effective. To buy the slide alone at home depot is $589, and that is just the slide!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-8075006734224464742011-08-17T12:16:24.266-05:002011-08-17T12:16:24.266-05:00Is this playset big enough for a 7 year old to enj...Is this playset big enough for a 7 year old to enjoy? Will she grow out of it in a couple of years?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-84633571276795675172011-07-18T13:59:03.277-05:002011-07-18T13:59:03.277-05:00We live in rental and were given this structure as...We live in rental and were given this structure as a gift. Sweet gift, I know. Anyway, we plan on moving from here within 3 years or so. Do any of you know how the structure would handle being disassembled only to be put up again at a future location? Will the integrity of the structure be compromised?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-71337666635154178952011-07-09T21:25:40.262-05:002011-07-09T21:25:40.262-05:00I'M WARPING, I'M WARPING??? HELP....my hu...I'M WARPING, I'M WARPING??? HELP....my husband is off to Home Depot to get some clamps but we just noticed after getting the second level on that one of the long beams is totally warped by 1 1/2 inches (and the hubby swears that he has all the long beams in their correct position) so has anyone had this problem? There is no way that the kids will last another week or two before the company can send another beam....any suggestions?<br />Warply (I mean warmly), SharonHealthy or Nothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14141148939253352246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-89826368629119605002011-07-04T21:32:58.644-05:002011-07-04T21:32:58.644-05:00We just put our set together and it had a lot of &...We just put our set together and it had a lot of "checking". Does anyone else have a lot of cracks in their wood? Makes me a little concerned!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-21977583065142600842011-06-22T00:46:44.898-05:002011-06-22T00:46:44.898-05:00Just purchase this today from Costco with the new ...Just purchase this today from Costco with the new lower price $799. Can someone refer me to a installer in LA area?<br /><br />Thank youAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-44328971192706032572011-06-21T21:49:17.420-05:002011-06-21T21:49:17.420-05:00Just finished this today after a long day yesterda...Just finished this today after a long day yesterday (7 a.m.-7 p.m.) building with my Grandfather helping...and a 6 hour day (6 a.m.-12 p.m.) today. Hands are sore...but this was well worth it and is really a great set.<br /><br />The real key, as others have stated,is labelling and organization. I labelled all the bags of hardware the night before we started with the labels the book uses (the labelling on the bags does NOT correspond with the manual). Then the morning of the build I layed out all the wood pieces in the order of the boxes, and referred back to the parts pages as we went. The saving grace is that the manual tells you what box each part is in...so keep them clustered together...unless you want to write on each of your wood parts. I didn't want to do this, and am glad in a way I didn't have to worry about markings on the pieces.<br /><br />The slide is the the worst part...but you see the finish line by that point and work through it.<br /><br />We built it on grass...I think it should be fine, but I will probably build a floor inside the two little "indoor" areas on the ground level.<br /><br />One big help for us was having hex and bolt tips for our cordless drills. These saved TONS of time. One thing I wished I had was a rubber mallet, but only for one or two little things...not a big deal at all if you don't have one handy.<br /><br />great set, great price, and very satisfying when you are done building it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-8004146214155902882011-06-20T18:13:16.858-05:002011-06-20T18:13:16.858-05:00slide took me an hour and a half. as someone state...slide took me an hour and a half. as someone stated earlier, use the supplied 90 degree screwdriver as an alignment tool.davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-66866627110026303032011-06-20T16:55:42.140-05:002011-06-20T16:55:42.140-05:00(continued from above)
We purchased 8 tons of san...(continued from above)<br /><br />We purchased 8 tons of sand @ $15 a ton and paid $50 for delivery: much cheaper than mulch or any other solution we investigated.<br />It took ~7 tons to fill the area and I have the last ton in a corner of the yard to use to replenish as necessary.<br /><br />All in the all I didn’t have any major problems with the parts or instructions. I did find that the board measurements were a little off (e.g. a board would measure 5.5” wide instead of 6” as listed) but they were off consistently so no biggie. The video was a great complement to explain difficult steps.<br /><br />Even with all these issues, the playset is an resounding success!<br /><br />The Panorama looks magnificent, is solid as a rock, and my kids (six ranging from 2 to 15) all love it! They’ve already camped out overnight in the fort twice this week. I’m confident it will last 10 years (at least) with proper staining and maintenance.<br /><br />Here are some pictures:<br /><br />https://picasaweb.google.com/110458562879816540838/CedarSummitPanoramaPlayset#<br /><br />The bottom line: a totally worthwhile endeavor. Just take your time, lay out all the necessary parts before each step, and be patient.<br /><br />I know this was lengthy, but I hope it helps others!<br /><br />Best of luck!<br /><br />-Joe SeeleyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-81343730382855293052011-06-20T16:53:25.772-05:002011-06-20T16:53:25.772-05:00I am the least handy guy in the world and with muc...I am the least handy guy in the world and with much time and patience, succeeded in assembling the Panorama. If I can, you can too! It was well worth it, nothing comparable at even twice the price. I am going to make observations of the process while the details are still fresh in my mind so as to help others attempting this.<br /><br />I started this project at the beginning of May and just finished last Wednesday working evenings, weekends, and taking a couple Fridays off. 90% my own labor/10% family. I knew it was going to take much longer at the outset so I wasn’t troubled. I didn’t use power tools, being a bit of a masochist and also wanting a good workout. However, if you use a power drill it will cut the time down drastically.<br /><br />Nine years ago we got another playset from Costco (same price and inferior quality to the Panorama) and I was too lazy to do it right. I paid someone to build it and while he did a decent job, I didn’t prep the yard properly. I didn’t construct any safe zone, just put it right on the lawn and due to its unevenness the set always wobbled when the kids used the swings.<br /><br />So this time I cleared out the entire garage and took the first week sorting out the parts and staining the wood. I used Olympia cedar stain (rated 3-5 years) for the first gallon of stain and it looks beautiful. In the interest of saving a few bucks I bought a gallon of Behr cedar stain for the second gallon and regret it. Doesn’t look as nice and clearly will come off a lot faster.<br /><br />I assembled steps 1-15 in the garage except the longer bottom board of the SW Wall Assembly (step 12), making sure everything was level and square the entire way. I broke one of the ladder rails by hammering in a t-nut too hard, but we called Cedar Summit and they mailed us a replacement for free with no hassle.<br /><br />I then spent the next 2-3 weeks leveling down a 12’x24’ play area. I rented a Bluebird sod cutter to cut the first couple inches away, then starting digging down with a shovel and removing the earth until it was level. After a lot of blood, sweat, and blisters the job was finally complete. Then we laid down black plastic tarp (found in the paint section at Home Depot)on top, using landscaping staples to secure it.<br /><br />After we moved the fort outside, the assembly went a lot faster. I did have problems with the roof support assemblies (steps 27-29): for some reason they didn’t come together like they should. This was even after taking great pains to ensure I had everything properly spaced, level and square up to this point. I had to cut about 1” off of the short roof support assembly to get it to come together correctly. Not ideal, but hey it worked!<br /><br />We also had a bit of trouble getting the door installed properly into the door wall panel (steps 36 & 37) but finally managed to get the hinges spaced just so.<br /><br />The slide assembly is a bit of a bear, but no more so than the rest of the playset. I had to use a 1” pan bolt to join one set of clamp rings instead of the ¾” one (steps 50-52) because it just wasn’t coming together close enough.<br /><br />The pan bolt and nut removed in the video (step 54) is NOT the correct one to remove, you’ll figure out the correct one when you get to step 55. Minor annoyance, but still, the video should match up with reality; it would have saved me some time.<br /><br />Finally, even with the flange assembly flush to the crowsnest the slide buckles slightly on the inside sides no matter what I tried. Going to look at the display model at Costco I was pleased to see the same issue. Not a big deal, but if you’re trying to be a perfectionist and get it right, you will waste a lot of time thinking you’ve done something wrong with the slide assembly.<br /><br />I bought six 4”x6”x12’ Mendocino redwood boards at Home Depot to outline the 12’x24’ safety area and used three 12” rebars per board to secure them.<br />(continued below)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-70155685539081986922011-06-14T18:46:28.586-05:002011-06-14T18:46:28.586-05:00Some of the playsets from Toysrus and walmart are ...Some of the playsets from Toysrus and walmart are made from the same company. What makes this playset better is they use 4x4's for corner posts rathers than using the smaller 2x4 posts used on there other sets. Over all I would say this set is ok but if I had to do it all over again I would have bought something different. I have had mine up for 6 weeks and the finish has already faded and the coating has started to peel off from the swing chains. I am thinking I might somewhat take it apart and return it to Costco and spend the extra money and get something that will last longer. And yes the instructions are horribleRyannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-61708680668373595532011-06-14T12:11:01.404-05:002011-06-14T12:11:01.404-05:00Once you get it installed ... it is fantastic. Ex...Once you get it installed ... it is fantastic. Extremely solid, well made, looks great, and my son loves it. You won't find a better set for the $999 price. <br /><br />That being said ... the assembly took alot longer than advertised. I spent approx 3 hours labeling all parts (I can't believe they weren't labeled already) and approx 22 hours with 2 additional helpers over the weekend. I can't imagine how long it would have been if I didn't label the parts first!!!<br /><br />I thought the directions were fine, but you have to be very careful to pay attention to the locations of the pre-drilled holes. There are a number of pieces that fit multiple ways, but if not done correctly ... you will be taking it apart and fixing it at a later step. <br /><br />I recommend picking up a right angle screwdriver attachment for your rachet. It will keep you from using the horrible little tool that comes with the set. There are a number of little bolts that you can't use your power drill. The angle is too tight. <br /><br />Overall ... I think its a great set. Just get a few buddies to help, label the parts ahead of time, and plan on it taking all weekend to finish.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-78008142513513421352011-06-14T10:42:43.928-05:002011-06-14T10:42:43.928-05:00For those who are putting in a safety zone, did yo...For those who are putting in a safety zone, did you build it first and then put the mulch/gravel around it, or did you build it and then dig out dirt around it? We made our safety area (dug down about 6 inches and also put a wood border that stands up about 5 inches) and are building it now inside it, but just realized that when we put in 9 inches of pea gravel, the door won't open! We clearly didn't think this through. Just curious how others built with the safety zone? Playset first and then fill, or what?Bradinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-89764123177829077522011-06-12T21:17:15.482-05:002011-06-12T21:17:15.482-05:00I would say the quality is pretty great, we did no...I would say the quality is pretty great, we did not get from ToysRUs or Walmart because we didn't like how rikkity they seem where a this is VERY stable.... my brother in-law who is probably at least 150lbs tested the swing & slide.....<br /><br />However there is no way I would ever give this a five star rating.... simply because the assembly is HORRIBLE..... it took roughly 80 man hours total.... it took my husband & I over three hours just to unpack & label all the parts.... NONE of the parts were labeled with the ABC 123 labeling indicated in the directions.....the bags of screws weren't labeled with the letter/number indicators in the instructions either.....and the directions are really hard to follow.....I put EVERYTHING together in our house & I even had some trouble when I went out there to see what was taking so long.... some things had to be re-done but it still would have taken waaaaaaayyyyyy over the 15 hours for two people that is the top estimate to put this playset together.....<br /><br />Anthony did you screw the two pieces of roof together?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-86023657507729810312011-06-10T14:00:11.808-05:002011-06-10T14:00:11.808-05:00Actually these are made in China. The company is ...Actually these are made in China. The company is in Canada but the products are made in china. The reason I know is I called Costco's customer service and they told me the infoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-32031324040516755782011-06-10T10:13:36.165-05:002011-06-10T10:13:36.165-05:00Can anyone comment as to the quality of the wood??...Can anyone comment as to the quality of the wood?? We were thinking of getting a kit where you buy your own wood, but this set is amazing and the price isn't too bad either comparing to similar ones. We were also looking at a few models from Toys R Us, but, again, are worried about quality. Any information would be great~Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-24129832904554026442011-06-09T18:48:04.377-05:002011-06-09T18:48:04.377-05:00I have bought this set and am starting work on it ...I have bought this set and am starting work on it tomorrow. I figure 12 guys can do it in 2 hours just joking. Actually to those who are asking where it is made it is Canadian made ( I live 30min from where they are made)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-13377921751684864842011-06-06T12:22:51.841-05:002011-06-06T12:22:51.841-05:00one question, as i am almost done. i put the larg...one question, as i am almost done. i put the large roof on but it does not line up very well. when facing from the crows nest or other platform, the right side always overhangs more than the left. is this normal? it seems strange as all else is square, the posts and all.anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02646364978763192942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-19979137388957070842011-06-04T22:39:39.651-05:002011-06-04T22:39:39.651-05:00To poster above. Make sure everything is level an...To poster above. Make sure everything is level and stakes are driven in the correct positions. We prepared the ground at the fort area with bricks on the corners (level with ground) and under the sway boards then made sure everything was level before placing the fort there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-75505783036046813202011-05-31T20:18:53.792-05:002011-05-31T20:18:53.792-05:00We bought this back in March and it took my husban...We bought this back in March and it took my husband 3 weekends to put it together. The kids love it and have been playing on it for a month now. Tonight we noticed the whole structure seems to jerk a bit when two kids are on the swings. Also the whole structure jerks when someone goes down the slide. Anyone else experience this? We took the swings off tonight until we can take a closer look at it. It just seemed like the whole thing was swaying a bit. It did not look safe to me while the kids were swinging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355484224500623394.post-41049866531529608752011-05-31T15:02:33.008-05:002011-05-31T15:02:33.008-05:00Looking forward to seeing the pics as you build it...Looking forward to seeing the pics as you build it. We are working on our safety zone right now before we build...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com