How to Find the Best Flooring for Uneven Surfaces
Are you looking to develop an outdoor area with difficult terrain? Worried that hills, mounds, and bumps in your surfaces will mean increased costs and more lengthy installation and groundwork disruptions? As playground experts, we can assure you that this is not the case! PlaySmart can help you find the best flooring for uneven surfaces.
So, whether you are looking for a flatter surface for sports grounds, accessible pathways through muddy low areas where water collects, or want to build a varied and unique play area full of mounds for slides and climbing activities, PlaySmart has you covered.
Interlocking Surface Solutions for a Quick Installation
The least disruptive and most adaptable surfaces are our artificial or hybrid grass rolls, and rubber grass mats. This is because these surfaces are installed as discrete, smaller parts of a larger area and skilfully and securely connected together by our team.
For the best results, grass mats need proper installation- that’s where our trademarked installation method comes in. Rubber mats are naturally flexible to shape around undulations in the ground when required, with groundworks recommended in some areas to provide a stable base for the mats to sit. The thicker structure of EcoSmart mats provide extra protection for falls and added stability, preventing movement, sliding, and separating. PlaySmart’s installation team lays grass mats evenly and secures them to the ground with durable pegs and cable ties, and then recesses them into the surrounding turf.
Natural grass can have difficulty growing evenly on inclines and hills due to uneven wear and exposure to the elements, leading to bare patches. Hybrid grass reinforces grass, creating a greener, fuller-looking grassy hill for play and more. The easy application of the grass rolls allows for a speedy makeover for your surface that, with a little grass growth over a few weeks, looks completely natural. Additionally, hybrid grass requires less intensive care than natural grass, with less frequent mowing and re-seeding- a great benefit for especially difficult, hilly terrain!
Wet Pour Solutions to Create Flat Surfaces
Wet pour rubber solutions like PlaySmart’s RubbaSmart product are installed in layers to improve the safety rating of your playground. This means that, with proper groundwork to install appropriate sub-bases, the rubber sits at the right depth for the best, safest results, regardless of the quality and type of the previous surface.
Despite the name ‘wet pour’ coming from the process of laying a wet rubber solution directly onto the surface to set, RubbaSmart can be used on all sorts of gradients without dripping or running like a liquid. Even on steep hills, wet pour will not pool at the bottom, especially when installed by our experts. In a recent Gloucester project, when installed on a concrete base, wet pour provided a smooth, unique and safe surface for climbing.
Improving Accessibility through Tough Terrain
If your outdoor area faces a lot of topographical challenges, accessibility may be compromised. As this is an important aspect of any open space, be it a public or private development, developers need to find the best flooring for uneven surfaces to avoid excluding people from parks and playgrounds.
Optimising drainage solutions across a landscape is even more vital than usual in areas with uneven surfaces as water can be channelled to areas lacking suitable soil infiltration systems. Low land at the base of mounds and hills can be at risk of flooding and mud as rainwater collects on impermeable surfaces. This causes difficulties for wheelchair and mobility aid users as the only dry areas are up the hilly areas that they may not be able to reach.
To limit the impact of environmental hazards like rainwater puddling, permeable surfacing on key pathways is a great choice. SmartPave or Corkeen pathways in high-risk areas absorb excess rainwater to provide a dry, accessible path across usually boggy areas of your surfaces. This helps encourage more visitors of all abilities to come and enjoy your park or playground without limits.
Choose the Best Flooring for Uneven Surfaces with PlaySmart
It can be difficult to find the right solution for your play area. This is especially true when you are faced with a unique topography with uneven surface water drainage, or if you need extra groundwork due to unstable soil.
With 21 years in the surfacing trade, PlaySmart can help advise you and find solutions for any outdoor space. We provide a range of drainage solutions, expert installation techniques, and versatile surfaces for any project. Get in touch to discover your solution with the handy form on our contact page.
