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Please Don’t Neglect Your Climbing Frame

19 September 2013

It’s amazing what you can discover in a large back garden. As we stripped back the shoulder high grass and weeds we made this amazing discovery. With a whispered hush, reminiscent of David Attenborough peering through the trees at unsuspecting silverback gorillas, we uncovered a metal pole, and then a metal post. Then, as we strimmed back the layers of vegetation, we uncovered a steel climbing frame.

Was the steel climbing frame usable?

Sadly not, years of decay had taken their toll and rust was rife. It was dismantled and taken to be recycled. As you have probably gathered from this site, we don’t install steel frames for these reasons:

  • They are environmentally unsound: before we even go into their ‘recyclability’ the carbon used to make them in the first place is much higher than a wood frame.
  • They don’t last as long: you may think that a steel frame should last longer, but rust is a ‘killer’ and, also, unlike wood, if one of the important struts fails, then it’s almost impossible to replace.
  • They are more dangerous: steel is a strong, rigid material. If a child falls against it there is no ‘give’ from the material. Also, when they fail it can be (particularly if they rust from the inside) unexpected and catastrophic – whereas with wood it often creaks, bows or cracks first.

Take climbing frame maintenance seriously – show your frame some love!

So, we urge you, if you have a climbing frame in your garden, don’t neglect it, look after it, make sure that you get the full value out of it. Keep the grass around it low, regularly check it for any signs of serious wear or damage, and, most importantly, feed it with regular visits and use from children – be they yours, the neighbours or your grandkids.

A service we offer all clients, and one that can add years to the lifespan, is a regular (yearly) maintenance visit. In this visit we:

  • Tighten bolts and screws
  • Test the main supporting beams and posts
  • Treat the wood with weather protection

We also give every Gardenatics client maintenance notes so if they want to do this yearly service themselves, then they can without needing to call us in, but it is something we recommend to all our clients as it makes a massive difference.

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Please note: all the pins on Gardenatics are within 10 miles of the build locations, but for privacy reasons, we have not identified the exact coordinates.

SHARE YOUR DREAMS WITH OUR TEAM

Any questions? Let us know what you’re looking for, or give us the opportunity to inspire.
Call during working hours, or fill out the form and let’s talk.