Tips for Choosing Playground Flooring Safety

With Summer fastly approaching, the time to enjoy the outdoors will soon be here. As people prepare for outdoor play, it is important to consider safety, especially for younger children. With preparation and the right equipment, you can offer your children fun and safe playing areas.

One vital part of a playground to consider, is the playground flooring. This area should be as safe as it can be. At Creative Play, we have one of the best flooring solutions for outdoor playgrounds. Our wetpour safety surfacing is expertly designed to considerably reduce injury risks. Usually, when children are playing they fall, so it is important to have a surface that will cushion the fall, minimizing chances of injury. Expert handy tips and advice will help you pick the ideal playground flooring material.

Here are tips for choosing playground flooring safety:

Avoid inappropriate surfaces

If a child was to fall off equipment and land on gravel, asphalt, concrete or dirt, chances of injury are very high. Grass doesn’t offer much cushioning either, although it could be used. 

If you are looking to install playground flooring that offers the best safety, think rubber. Rubber is a great shock absorber and can be applied to many surfaces.

The wetpour safety surfacing we supply at Creative Play, is made of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber and Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber (SBR) as the base layer. We guarantee this flooring offers the best material for playground flooring safety. Our high-quality product cushions falls and prevents slipping. Wetpour is resistant to abrasion which means a longer life span and no injuries from irregular surfaces. You can apply our wetpour on most surfaces such as tarmac, MOT sub-base to a preferred depth to achieve a safe playground.

Learn fall height ratings

Another important tip for playground flooring safety is familiarising yourself or considering the recommended critical fall heights, when installing playground equipment. Fall height is the highest point a child can stand on equipment and be safe should they fall.

Playground flooring materials come with height ratings, but in most cases 4 feet is the preferred safety height for many flooring materials. Please note that you can always achieve a safer playground flooring, by using products rated higher than 4 feet. With a safer playground flooring, you could install higher playground equipment.

You could use a thicker playground flooring to achieve the desired results. Our wetpour safety surfacing is available in 2mm to 6mm thickness for the base layer, made of SBR rubber and EPDM rubber on top, to a thickness of around 15-22mm. You can apply the wetpour on many surfaces accommodating many types of playground equipment.

Talk to a specialist

Talk to our technical team for assistance and discuss ideal playground flooring safety. We can advise you on the correct material to use, as well as height ratings for almost every piece of playground equipment.

Other playground flooring surfaces

Certain playground equipment requires different surfaces such as;

Rubber Tiles

These are great since they are simple playground material, that offers durability and most importantly, safety in case of falls. Rubber playground tiles can maintain their thickness and offer excellent smooth surfaces to play or run on.

When you install playground tiles, consider the following safety tips;

• Choose the recommended fall height
• Learn and understand about rubber tile maintenance
• Pick the right quality to offer slip resistance, especially during winter and rainy days 
• Ensure they are free from dangerous chemicals like lead

Playground mulch

If you are looking for playground flooring safety for the short term, consider playground mulch. Playground mulches are available in a variety of materials such as rubber and wood. Rubber mulches are the superior material, since they don’t attract insects or other animals like cats, nor do they absorb moisture like wood.

Safety tips for playground mulches

• Ensure the mulch thickness meets safety regulations by measuring regularly
• Use rubber timbers to contain mulch in its area
• Check for foreign debris such as sharp particles regularly to avoid injury

Playground turf

While grass isn’t one of the best playground flooring surfaces, you could use artificial grass in Kent also known as playground turf. Turf is great since it allows manipulation of thickness, to meet the recommended safety guidelines.

To ensure safety with turf, you should clean it regularly and remove sharp or dangerous objects. You can also brush it to prevent the smashing of blades that can cause unevenness.

You should never experience challenges if you intend to achieve playground flooring safety. At Creative Play we can help and supply the best flooring materials, to ensure the required safety is achieved.

Please contact us for guidelines and supply of excellent flooring surfaces. We have wetpour safety surfacing, grass mats, rubber mulch and many other quality safety surfacing materials available. Our specialists are also available to install the material and advice on maintenance.