There are many benefits of pressure treating your climbing frame. This includes high levels of protection, quality, durability over time and low maintenance.
A climbing frame is an outdoor product so it will be constantly exposed to the elements. This means it needs to stand the test of time and remain safe for your children to enjoy throughout the years. The building material it is made from needs to be considered carefully to ensure it is up to the job.
A wooden climbing frame is a popular choice because the natural materials blend well into the garden environment without detracting from its beauty. When choosing wood, be sure to opt for something that has been fully treated and protected.
When you see claims about a product being “pre-treated”, be sure to delve into the finer details to know exactly what you are getting. You need to be aware that there are different levels of treatment. This could be just staining, simple dip treating or the more advanced pressure treatment.
The way the timber has been treated will have an effect on how long it will last, and how much maintenance you will have to undertake. This is why all the timber used to make a Dunster House wooden climbing frame is put through an intensive pressure treating process to ensure its high standards of quality.
So What Exactly is Pressure Treating?
Pressure treatment is when the wood preservative is forced deep into the timber, rather than just covering the exterior.
All of our climbing frame timbers are cut to the required length before treatment to ensure the ends all stay fully protected. A lot of other companies will buy in treated lengths of timber which they then cut to the size they want. Cutting the timber after treatment leaves the ends without full protection, making them vulnerable.
After cutting, the timber is put through a sealed chamber at a purpose built pressure treating plant. The first step of the process is to suck all of the air and moisture out of the timber. The treatment is then pumped into the chamber where it quickly soaks into the wood, replacing the air and moisture that has just been removed. Removing the moisture from inside the wood helps to prevent it suffering from damage caused by rot or insect infestation.
A non toxic wood treatment is used so you can be reassured it is not harmful in any way to children. A colourant is also added to give the timber a more attractive brown appearance rather than the green colour you usually see on pressure treated wood.
Longevity and Low Maintenance
The pressure treating process results in a long lasting and low maintenance climbing frame, that comes with a genuine 10 year guarantee. It will be rot resistant and protected from insects. Applying a coat of good quality water repellent may also help to increase longevity of the climbing frame timbers.
In contrast, a climbing frame that has been dip treated or stained will only have an outside coating of preservative on the timber. This means it won’t last as long as pressure treated timber because it’s not fully protected all the way through, and only on the wood surface. These timbers will be more susceptible to suffer from water rot and insects, which will cause them to weaken over time and deteriorate at a much quicker rate if not maintained correctly. To keep the climbing frame in good usable condition it will frequently need repainting/treating. Who wants to have to disassemble and reassemble their climbing frame every year so they can paint it to ensure all parts of the wood are covered and stay protected?
Pressure treating may be a more expensive and lengthy process, but well worth it for the high quality results it produces, and the maintenance time it saves you in the long run. We don’t cut corners to keep our costs down.
We have a variety of pressure treated wooden Climbing Frames, made to our own unique designs. They are packed full of fun and enjoyable features, such as Monkey Bars, Climbing Walls, Swings and Slides. View the full range on our website.
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