Installer Guide

4 to 6 hours for a tension-mounted gym with two people; a Mega Max V3 takes 5 to 7. A wall gym takes about an afternoon.

No. Two adults are needed each time a ladder goes up: one at the top by the ceiling, holding it straight and setting the board, and one at the bottom, turning the screw feet. The cross bars go on easier with two as well, and two people working at once finish faster. A wall gym takes two as well: one holds the frame against the wall while the other levels and marks it. One person can do the floor pre-assembly alone. If the homeowner isn't the second adult, bring a helper.

Not on a tension-mounted gym: no holes in the floor, walls or ceiling. The wall gyms are screwed to the wall (see wall-mounted gyms).

Every nut and bolt, marked with its part number, plus the wrenches and keys the gym needs. Each ladder box also packs a few spares, including spare #12 stopper bolts, so leftover bolts are normal.

A flat, solid ceiling above every pole. It can't press against a slope: a board doesn't fix the angle. Set each ladder's top under a joist: on drywall, find the joists with a stud finder. Popcorn texture is fine, and plaster is fine over a joist.

Yes, if the solid ceiling above the tiles is within your kit's range (see How do I check the ceiling kit fits?). Lift out the tiles where the poles go, so each top and its board press on the solid ceiling, not on the tiles or the grid. Measure to that ceiling. Once the gym is up, cut the tiles neatly around the poles and put them back.

Put one 24 × 24 in61 × 61 cm board, ½ in12 mm thick, between each ladder's top supports and the ceiling. It spreads the load and protects the ceiling, and the tension holds it: no screws, no glue. Under open beams or rafters, lay it across them. In a Fort layout, cut one board in half for each fort (two boards in a Mega Max V3 Two forts layout) and use a 12 × 24 in30 × 61 cm half for each single pole. Lay each half across the joists if you can. Then turn that pole's top support so it runs the same way the swings on its cross bars move: it keeps the pole steadier while kids swing. Never stack boards to close a gap: pull the telescopic pole out to the next hole instead.

Measure floor to ceiling where each pole will stand (under open joists, to the bottom of the joists; under a drop ceiling, to the solid ceiling above the tiles). Short fits 6′9″ to 9′1″206 to 277 cm, Standard 7′8″ to 9′11″234 to 302 cm, Tall 9′4″ to 10′5″284 to 318 cm. At the very bottom of a range there's no room for the board. Doesn't fit? Leave the ladder boxes closed and call us.

A solid floor, or carpet that isn't thick or fluffy. On wood or tile, keep the gym's rubber pads under the metal feet. Carpet compresses overnight, so ask the homeowner to tighten the screw feet a little the next day. Never stand the feet on gym mats, foam tiles or rubber flooring: high-density gym mats are bouncy, and the whole gym can shift when kids swing.

Every pole adjusts on its own, so the height can differ from pole to pole. But the ceiling and the floor need to be flat where each pole stands. Uneven or sloped there by more than about 0.3 in8 mm? Call us before you start. If the ceiling height differs above the two poles of one ladder, give each pole its own board.

About 12 in30 cm between each ladder and the wall, never less than 9 in23 cm. Keep the whole gym out from under a ceiling fan's blades, and every pole off light fixtures and exposed ducts.

That's normal. The rungs are spread across the boxes (some ship in the pull-up bar and monkey bar boxes, and on a Tall kit in each extension box), and not every step gets a rung. Take the extra rungs from those boxes as each ladder needs them, and follow the video for which steps get one. A Spider V3 has 16 rungs in total, a Spider Max V3 21 and a Mega Max V3 28 (Light versions have fewer); a Tall kit has 2 more in each extension box. Use every rung in the boxes.

Usually it's in another box, in the packing foam or inside a bar. Check them all before you stop. Still missing? Call us, or email photos of each box label and what was inside.

Turn the screw feet until the top supports press on the board, then a couple more turns, until the ladder stands solid. Don't overtighten. Lightly tighten every bolt first, then go around at the end and secure each one. Don't crank the rung bolts: too much force can crack the rung cups.

Hold a bubble level on each pole, at the top and at the bottom, and move it around the pole a quarter turn at a time to check every side.

Don't add a second board. Turn the screw foot back in a few turns, pull the telescopic pole (the one with the row of holes) out to the next hole and pin it, then tighten the screw foot again.

Add the stopper: a spare #12 bolt, with its cover, in the hole just under each clamp. Move the clamp up slightly to line it up with the hole. The spares are in the spare-parts bag. Short? The homeowner can email us for more.

Yes. Fit the protective clamps as well as the holding clamps. Each protective clamp must touch the L-shaped bar (#45), with no gap. The paper manual marks them mandatory.

No. The pin is smooth on purpose: a bolt's threads make it weaker, and it can bend. Use the pin that came with the gym.

No. Never attach an L-shaped bar (#45) to a single pole. Build the layout the way the video shows it.

Don't force it. Send us a photo of the clamp and we'll send a new clamp set.

Please don't. The gym is safe only when every part goes where it belongs. Call us before you change anything.

Watch our short net and hang-on videos. Clip the hang-ons to the ring hooks or ring bolts with a carabiner. Don't hook a bare metal carabiner straight over the monkey bars: it chips the paint and slides.

Tie a knot at the bottom, just above the plastic piece, so the end doesn't fray. Too long for the room? Tie the knot higher up. Please don't cut it.

They adjust with the stoppers on their ropes. Set them to suit each child, and ask the homeowner.

Build the ladder and the monkey bar frame on the floor. Find the studs and check how far apart they are, then fix the wood to the studs first. Studs 16 in40 cm (16 in) apart: a ½ in12 mm (½ in) plywood board, 5 to 6 ft1.5 to 1.8 m long, for a W3, or a ½ × 4 in plank, 85 in long12 mm × 10 cm plank, 216 cm long, for a W3 Max. Studs 24 in60 cm (24 in) apart: three 2×4 planks, 6 ft long2×4 planks, 6 ft long (38 × 89 mm, 1.8 m). Pre-drill the studs and the wood, and use your own screws for this (the screws in the box are for the brackets). Studs spaced some other way, or not sure where the wood goes? Call us before you drill. Then one of you holds the frame against the wood while the other levels it and marks the holes. Drill ¼ in6 mm (¼ in) pilot holes, screw the brackets on with the coach screws from the box, then add the net clips, the net and the accessories. Keep the monkey bars' middle bracket at the same height as the ladder's middle brackets.

The brackets go on the board or planks, and those are screwed into the wall studs, never into drywall or plaster alone. Not sure where the studs are, or how far apart? Call us before you drill.

The ladder stands 9 in23 cm off the wall, but plan on about 3 ft90 cm of clear floor in front of it for swinging and jumping off.

An adult up to 220 lb220 lb (100 kg) should be able to hang from each pull-up bar and each set of monkey bars without the gym moving: each is rated for 220 lb220 lb (100 kg). The swings, rings, trapeze and ropes each have their own weight limit, generally 110 lb110 lb (50 kg), so don't test those with an adult's weight. Then run through the sign-off check with the homeowner.

Check that each telescopic pole is out to the right hole with no gap at the ceiling, that the small plastic piece at the bottom of each telescopic pole is in place, that every bolt is tight, and that the floor under the feet is solid. Still moving? Call us before anyone climbs.