Playset Services- Handyman Nightmares Big Backyard

Making Backyards Fun Since 1997

This was not the work of an untalented handyman, but the work of a Dad who thought he could do it himself. He called us and thought we charged too much. He tried very hard to complete this and according to him, he put in 2 days before he gave up and left it sitting.

It sat for several weeks before he called us. He explained that he was almost finished with the installation and just didn't have time to finish. He was convinced we could complete it in a few hours and asked for a break in our rate. We know better. It's more likely we would have to start over.

Sure enough, as hard as he worked and as closely as he followed the instructions, (an engineer) he made a lot of mistakes. In this picture he got 1 out of 4 right. He used the wrong bolts in the beginning and was coming up short in others areas. He had to start using any bolt to continue working. He was pretty confident the plans were wrong.

It continued.. Lock washers were missing, boards were split, and even if he completed the build it would have been unsafe. The lack of lock washers in the build will cause the bolts to loosen and the structure will begin to lean.

We broke it back down to a pile of wood and started over. You can see in the circle how the bolts are supposed to be flush with the surface of the wood. The truth is, the instructions are not always easy to follow and there are so many bolt sizes, it's easy to make a mistake. Sometimes things just don't line up right and you have to see beyond the plans to make the next move. A trained eye is usually best.

Complete

Who you gonna Call? Obviously we want you to call us. We pride ourselves in the types of techs we accept to begin in our apprentice program. It's not enough to come and build swing sets to get a check. We look for people who love this type of work and have the skills to be the best. We've done this long enough to know when someone doesn't have what it takes. Contact us and you'll see we why we think we're the best.

Some things to think about.. It's easy enough to find someone looking to make some money from craigslist or from a local free paper. We have phone numbers, references, a recognized logo, a vast website to showcase our work, we perform background checks, and we sponsor a training program designed to make our installers knowledgeable and confident about this line of work. We are preferred installers for playground companies such as Cedarworks and Kid's Creations.

More things to think about before you hire a playset installer:

	Do they have a website? In the 21st century what real business doesn't?
	Beware of swingset installers who don't list a phone number or an e-mail address in their ad. Where will they be next month?
	Do they have pictures of real work and references to prove the quality of their work?
	Is that guy you hired to build your family swingset a criminal?
	Believe it or not finding the cheapest deal isn't always the best thing. Beware of installers who don't charge enough. They could be hard up for cash and don't care what happens after they're paid.
	Beware of installers without yellow page recognition. Cell phone based businesses come and go and then they're gone.