It’s officially spooky season, and the scariest day of the year is this Sunday. Therefore, we here at PlaySmart thought the right way to celebrate was to share some of the spookiest surfacing we’ve seen… Grass Mats Gone Wrong! But fear not, if you’re a scaredy-cat, we’ll also tell you what went wrong, how we fixed it and how you can avoid a fright!
In the safety surfacing industry, it’s important to remember that skimping on costs or relaxing your standards for labour has a high likelihood of costing you more in the long run. Cheap materials are often poor quality. Therefore, there is more room for them to break, wear down, become faulty, or defective. Likewise, a lower labour cost may seem good at the time, but it is usually indicative of a lack of experience or skills, and this could become very costly in the future if and when mistakes need to be rectified.
Grass mats are a wonderful addition to any playground, park, or recreational space, and our EcoSmart Grass Mats are no exception. We make our mats from recycled rubber and provide a 10-year product and a 5-year installation guarantee. Therefore, choosing our low-maintenance and minimal fuss rubber grass mats is a no-brainer.
However, there is unfortunately a lot of room for error in the industry, and grass mats are no exception. In the spirit of spooky season, PlaySmart will be sharing our picks of freaky flooring, and helping you know to avoid this!
Grass Mats Separating and Sinking
Presenting our first example of Grass Mats Gone Wrong, we were suitably shocked when we came across this surface.
Firstly, grass mats should have a uniform structure, with the mats aligning and interconnected. At this site, you can unfortunately see that the mats have come away from each other. This has subsequently left an uneven gap up the middle of the mats. This is not only a huge trip and slip hazard due to the dips in the surface, but it also means the grass will grow faster in this patch. Despite being a risk, this is salvageable when pinpointing the issue at hand.
In this case, not enough ties or pegs were used during installation. Ties and pegs connect the grass mats to one another, creating a level and safely connected surface. Here, the lack of ties and pegs used when initially laying down the mats has caused them to separate. This is aesthetically unappealing, but also makes the mats easier to get kicked up, move around, and present trip hazards.
Unfortunately, the mats have also sunk into the ground. In stable, well-drained ground conditions, grass mats generally tend to retain their positioning. However, poorer ground conditions – wet or boggy earth for example – can lead to the mats sinking into the ground. Nevertheless, if your ground isn’t in ideal condition, PlaySmart have the perfect patented solution for you.
We always recommend the use of our SmartPlay system for grass mat sites where conditions are not perfect. This foam layer, installed under the mats, encourages them to retain their position while still allowing grass to grow through the surface.
With over 20 years of experience in the industry, and a patented solution to less than ideal ground conditions, it’s easy to see why so many choose PlaySmart for their safety surfacing needs. And if you needed any further proof, take a look at this installation for one of our clients, to see how a good rubber grass mat should be installed.
As carbon neutrality and a greener future is on the horizon, innovation is key. Playsmart is effectively contributing to this change of direction with our playground mats. Introducing EcoSmart as the best surface for children play area products.
Boggy, Muddy Surfaces
Our second Halloween horror is just as ghoulish as the first, sending shivers down the PlaySmart team’s spines. As stressed above, an uneven, boggy, or muddy surface can still be suitable for grass mats. However, it does require our patented SmartPlay system in order for the mats to not sink into the ground. Take a look below at these grass mats gone wrong…
Here is an excellent example of a surface crying out for SmartPlay. Looking at the grass edges surrounding the mats, you can see the grass mats have sunk substantially.
This has also made the surface more prone to muddy puddles, as you can see from the boggy buildup around the edges and towards the centre. Drainage is a very important aspect of grass matting, and it will help you avoid swamp-like surfaces like the above, or even more extreme instances such as flooding.
Had this client gone with PlaySmart in the first instance, this could have been avoided. This is because our team would have identified the uneven surface and recommended SmartPlay alongside the grass mats. As mentioned before, SmartPlay provides an extra surface layer, putting more distance between the grass mat and the ground. This therefore encourages more grass growth and facilitates better drainage. The puddles you can see on this surface wouldn’t have appeared, and there would also be no sinking; SmartPlay’s additional shock-absorbent layer prevents mats from sinking further into the grass.
Metal Contaminants
On to our third example of a freakishly sub-par installation, here we have another ghastly grass mat gone wrong. This mat, as you can see, is made of metal – enough to give us chills! Some surfacing companies use metal instead of their rubber for grass mats, which PlaySmart do not recommend.
Grass mats are used in fall areas, covering playground surfaces or parks where children play. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that kids will be kids and accidents happen. Naturally, when this happens, the surface should use a material like rubber that should soften the blow. As you can imagine, a child falling onto a metal mat is going to hurt considerably more! Additionally, when using metal there is no real guarantee that a sharp piece of metal wouldn’t become exposed. This would create a nasty cut and risk of infection if a child fell on it. PlaySmart keep safety as a top priority and use rubber for our grass mats to reduce risk of injury.
Looking at this image, you may also have noticed one of the metal pegs has come loose. Unfortunately, this seems to be the product of poor installation. This additionally creates a choking risk for toddlers and animals, who know no better than popping small foreign objects into their mouths! Not only is it a choking hazard, but metal pegs are bound to hurt if fallen on. You shouldn’t see pegs on a grass mat installation as a general rule of thumb. In-keeping with aesthetics, PlaySmart hide the pegs and ties used in our installations to create that natural, tidy look.
And once again, that most horrifying thing of all – the grass mat has sunk exponentially! Now, if you’ve been paying attention to the rest of this article, you’ll know what could have fixed it… yes, SmartPlay. It appears that over years of use, being in a high foot-traffic area, the whole installation has sunk. This isn’t what we want for our clients, and that is why we recommend installing SmartPlay to prevent sinking.
You can now breathe a sigh of relief as we draw our grass mats gone wrong to an end.
We hope that all of these grass mats gone wrong haven’t been too scary for you to see! However, hopefully, you can sleep well this spooky Sunday knowing that PlaySmart has the perfect patented solution to solve your nasty surface nightmares. Happy spooky season…