What do you have under your backyard playground/swingset? (Besides grass).

KelliLynee

I am reading that one of the biggest causes of childhood injury is falling from a backyard playground onto grass. Other surfaces are highly recommended to reduce the risk of injury in case of a fall. I just started researching different products; we don't really want to do sand or wood chips. I came across recycled rubber mulch and I thought "perfect!" until I saw the price. We would need about a ton to meet the recommended depth requirements, and that can cost 800 or so. I dont think so!!!

First off, does anyone know of a better deal than that? (I'm willing to pay 200, maybe 300, since you never need to replace it unlike wood chips and sand, etc.) but 800 just is not in the budget. 

Secondly, what would you recommend using? What do you have? How is the price, absorbancy (sp?), maintenance, etc.  

bethelon

We bit the bullet and got the rubber mulch.  It's not the recommended thickness everywhere (we have a 850 cubic feet area), so we focused on coverage first and then added a little extra padding to the areas that might be a fall risk.  Then we can always add more bags later.  We thought in the long run, it was a good long term investment.  Plus it doesn't attach bugs like wood mulch does.

KelliLynee

bethelon:

We bit the bullet and got the rubber mulch.  It's not the recommended thickness everywhere (we have a 850 cubic feet area), so we focused on coverage first and then added a little extra padding to the areas that might be a fall risk.  Then we can always add more bags later.  We thought in the long run, it was a good long term investment.  Plus it doesn't attach bugs like wood mulch does.

Thanks for the quick response. Can I ask where you bought it and the price? There seems to be a ton of manufacturers out there. We would need (theoretically) about a ton if we went with a 6 inch thickness. 

Brewtowngrl

We did "play" wood chips. They are not chemically treated.   It still cost a  few hundred. 

KelliLynee

Brewtowngrl:

We did "play" wood chips. They are not chemically treated.   It still cost a  few hundred. 

Hmm. what are play wood chips? Just wood chips designed for a play area? 

KelliLynee

fredalina:

i actually know a lot about this.  One of my senior projects in college (i'm an engineer) was playground design and researching materials.

There is a fall height (platform height) that each surface and each depth of the surface are good for.  This would be the highest point a child can reasonably fall, such as the standing platform, and the distance from the ground to the horizontal part of a swing. 

The BEST surface is actually pea gravel (though it CAN be a choking hazard for wee ones).  Next is wood chips.  But you have to put it at the required depth, the same distance from all of the equipment as the fall height (i.e. if the platform is 5' high, you need to go out 5' in all directions from the equipment).  The exception is swings, and you should go out twice the distance in front and back.

We don't have a real playset yet.  We only have a toddler climber which is 3' max height, and 3' doesn't require any surfacing.  4' and up do though.

Thanks, Fred. This is great info. Where does rubber mulch fall in the recommendations? I have researched the "critical height" idea (I think thats what its called) but I wasn't sure how far out you have to spread the surface.

I have heard some reviews that pea gravel easily scrapes the skin... what are your thoughts on that? (Is it true?). Obviously scrapes are far preferred to a broken arm (or worse), but I dont want her to be afraid to fall and to be getting boo boos all the time.

We don't have our playset yet, 1/2 of the shipment has arrived & DH is picking it up tomorrow. The other box will arrive next week sometime.

Please share any other thoughts you may have on all of this... I am sort of lost! 

KelliLynee

fredalina:

Yes, it's called critical height.  Keep in mind that critical height is the height a child can fall from and not get a MAJOR HEAD INJURY.  Not that they won't break their arm or leg, just they won't have brain damage.

Anyway, i would suggest you look for the highest height of your platform or swing beam and then find surfaces that have critical heights higher at a depth you can sustain.  i also suggest you put down at least 2" deeper material than you calculate based on (calculate the critical height at 6" depth but put down 8" actually) because there's usually a lot of shifting and it's hard to maintain the true full depth, especially under swings.

Looks like rubber mulch has a really good critical height (better than pea gravel or wood chips) so if it's affordable, it's a great choice.

Well, its quite expensive. It looks like it may cost us the same amount as the playground, but so far I can't find any prices on pea gravel so I don't know how it compares. The good thing is that rubber mulch doesn't need replacing, so that is definitely a factor in the cost. Glad to hear it is considered highly recommended though. 

Thanks for sharing your knowledge : )   

KatieLG04

I've seen rubber mulch at BJs.  I think a bag was $8 but not sure how many lbs were in each bag.

lewis514

We had our landscaper install our swingset - he is certified by the state to install public playgrounds so he knew alot about the height requirements, etc. He recommended using playground mulch (the non treated wood). It is more expensive than regular mulch but not as much as the rubber mulch. He leveled the ground, placed the rubber matting down and then the mulch. It's about 8" deep and he also built out the sizing for the swings.

It was an expensive project (cost about as much as the swingset) but worth the investment since we will use it for years and just need to add mulch as needed.

Brewtowngrl

We called a few local mulch places and they all had two types of play mulch.  It isn't chemically treated.  We chose to get the chips instead of the shredded because it is less messy.  I want to say we spent about $250 on it. It is not the correct depth.  We would have had to double it since we have a really tall playset.  It is only 5 inches thick.  That has been on our to do list. 

ebb7

We have pea gravel under ours. It was cheap and approved for that purpose.

KelliLynee

ebb7:

We have pea gravel under ours. It was cheap and approved for that purpose.

Thats what I'm leaning towards now. Do you have any complaints about it? I've heard lots of kids seem to think its food.

carlab44

We have the "play chips" under ours. We looked into it quite a bit when installing our swing set and the thing that deterred me from the rubber mulch was that if it catches fire it is extremely difficult to put out. Very unlikely to catch fire, but that concerned me. I was also worried about it off gassing and have heard that it can smell like tires when it gets hot. A downside to the pea gravel (that I have read) is that it can get caught in the treads of shoes and gets carried all over.

ebb7

DD is almost 3.5, so we haven't had any issues at all with her trying to put it in her mouth or anything (that stage is long over). We haven't found that it tracks into the house or anything. I've walked barefoot in it and kneeled in it and it doesn't hurt at all either. We're happy with our decision to go with the gravel.

alisonann15

Great discussion! Thanks! We are in the process of redoing the backyard of our new house and looking into play sets. We are thinking of Pea Gravel.