"I bought this swing because I was looking for a really nice swing and was willing to pay extra for it. I paid the extra $85 to have them professionally stain it. I chose the "natural" stain which doesn't change the color of the wood much. When I got the swing I was surprised how little the staining had changed the look or feel of the wood. After about a month out in the weather I noticed that the wood was starting to turn black in areas and was getting mold spots. I figured rather than shipping it back (this was a 6 foot swing after all) I would just stain it myself. The spring (just one winter after purchasing the swing) I noticed that the wood is already starting to split. There are splits that go all the way through some of the pieces.

I contacted the company about it and explained the situation. They said there was nothing they could do and would not even refund the fee for the staining! So fair warning to the customer.

Also, one note on the swing design itself... the way the chains go through the arm rests make them pretty much unusable. I have had a previous swing that the back chain attaches to the swing's back instead of the arm and this seemed to work better (in that I actually had arm rests)."