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What TP say about their wood

Wooden Climbing Frames and Wooden Swings: Know about Wood
In recent years timber has become a popular choice for play equipment. For reasons of affordability and the environment, softwood rather than hardwood is used by all wood playset manufacturers. You can choose between wooden climbing frames and wooden swings constructed with round timbers or square cut timbers. When making your choice, you should be aware of the differences between them.

Wood: an organic material
Each piece of timber is unique, bearing its own knots, cracks and variations in colour. This is part of its beauty. However, as a natural organic material, it will change over time, as it reacts to variations in atmospheric conditions. Softwood will expand and contract with fluctuations in temperature and humidity. In warm, sunny weather timber will shrink. In wet weather it will expand. As these physical changes do not take place uniformly throughout the wood, stresses are set up which result in cracks and splits opening up. These cracks can be both wide and deep and are more likely in round wood than square wood, although they will occur in both.

Round wood: characteristics and maintenance advice
Round timbers from smaller trees contain heartwood surrounded by sapwood . They are subject to significant cracking. Whilst this can sometimes seem alarming, the tp wood playsets (wooden climbing frame and wooden swing sets) are dimensioned and designed to ensure that this has no effect on their structural integrity. However as a result of this characteristic, you should be prepared to check your wooden climbing frame or wooden swing regularly so as to identify any splintering or lifting of the surface layers of the wood. Any affected areas can be rubbed down using coarse sandpaper to restore a smooth, safe surface.

Square wood: characteristics and maintenance advice
Wooden climbing frames and wooden swings made from square cut timbers will contain less heartwood than the round timbers. This will reduce instances of cracking and splitting when compared with round wood but cracks and splits will still occur. Again, you can be reassured that tp wood playsets are dimensioned and designed to ensure that this has no effect on their structural integrity. Just as with round wood, your wooden climbing frame or wooden swing must be regularly checked. Any areas affected by spilintering or lifting should be rubbed down with coarse sandpaper to restore a smooth surface suitable for wood playsets.

TP Toys has an extensive wooden climbing frame range and wooden swing range. The Sherwood range is made from rustic round wood and is compatible with all tp swing accessories. The top of our square wood range is the Kingswood, unique in that it can be constructed to be suitable for children as young as 18 months and then, with additional purchases, ‘grown’ to create a wood playset suitable children up to 12 years. The Forest range is the all in one solution. When garden space is limited choose a Forest outdoor playset, complete with accessories