Are you creating a playground from scratch, or looking for an upgrade to your existing playground? We know surfacing will be on your mind. Therefore, PlaySmart has created a comprehensive guide of our top reasons why you should invest in modern playground surfacing options.
It’s easy to be put off by the upfront cost of new surfacing. However, this article will shine some light on why this is a necessary cost to save money in the longterm.
1: Aesthetic Appeal
Research proves that children prefer playing in environments that stimulate their creativity, with lots of bright colours and imaginative designs. Over the years, your playground surfaces and equipment will naturally fade with weather, repetitive use and so on.
If your playground is due an update, taking this into consideration is important. PlaySmart have a wide range of playground surfacing options. Some of these are customisable, with different colours and designs. Therefore, we can create playground surfaces to spark the imagination of young minds.
2: Maintenance
Older playground surfacing options often come with more maintenance needs than modern solutions. For example, traditional playground bark can be very expensive and time-consuming to look after. Additionally, users may find dangerous foreign objects that can cause harm to children.
Likewise, cheap rubber tile matting can cause a safety concern, as it almost always sinks over time with repeated use. Not only does it look unappealing, but it can cause a safety issue by impacting the critical fall height measurements.
Newer options can save you a lot of time and effort when it comes to maintenance. Our PlaySmart JungleMulch and wet pour rubber options are resin-bound. Therefore, they never have any loose parts to replace or clean up – usually not found in older options.
With modern surfaces comes modern technology as well. Therefore, PlaySmart have developed a patented safety surface feature, SmartPlay. This is a shock pad installed under grass mats to add an extra layer of protection and prevention against sinking.
3: Safety
The older or more frequently used your playground is, the higher the likelihood of damage and safety risks.
As mentioned previously, rubber tile matting is not an ideal surface, and this is shown in how it ages too. As rubber tile matting ages, it will become hard and brittle. This means it may also chip or break, and will lose most of its shock absorbency. It also has a tendency to separate and curl up at the edges. This can therefore create a trip hazard and poses a risk concern for children playing on it.
There is also the risk of low-quality or badly installed grass mats declining with age and heavy usage. If you don’t invest in quality materials, the life span of the product decreases drastically. Therefore, your return on investment will be a shortfall. PlaySmart’s resident team of experts with years of experience ensures a professional and thorough installation job. Therefore, you can rest assured your PlaySmart surface will stand the test of time.
Likewise, wet pour rubber can become a safety issue over time if not installed to a high enough standard. High-usage areas – for example, underneath swing sets – can wear away with time. Also, poor setup can mean wet pour gradually pulls away at the edges. Therefore creating gaps that debris and water can get into, and could result in flooding.
4: Muddy Mess
You may find that older surfacing options don’t always have the drainage facilities that newer surfacing has. In a climate as wet and rainy as the UK, this is obviously less than ideal! PlaySmart have encountered surfaces that clearly require some intervention when it comes to drainage. Therefore, we have devised our own EcoSmart safety surface mats to avoid water pooling or flooding.
A more traditional surface for a playground often comes in the form of loose bark chippings. However, this surface is not ideally equipped for wet British weather. This is because it can collect a lot of dirt and water when it rains, potentially causing flooding. PlaySmart’s solution is JungleMulch. With resin bonding and excellent drainage, we ensure there will be no breakaway materials or surface pooling.
5: An Opportunity to Upgrade your Playground Surfacing Options
After a few years, you might be looking to revamp your playground with something new and exciting. If you’re looking to upgrade the equipment on your playground, it is important to consider the safety of your surfacing. For example, some surfaces might be better suited for certain pieces of equipment than others. Or, you might want to have a design overhaul, creating a themed playground.
Exploring your safety surface options is the first step towards creative and imaginative play. This is because surfacing can be very diverse, with many colours and designs.
