Mulch or other surface options for outdoor playset

[Viper98912]

Hello friends,

I assembled a new outdoor playground set (tower, swings, slides, etc) but haven't decided on what surface to put down around it. It's currently just raked up grass and raw dirt.

What options have you used that have worked well? We are considering:

1) Regular wood-based mulch. Our only concerns are that we should probably go with a non-colored variety due to less potential for chemicals onto hands and feet, as well as staining on clothes. But, we are also cognizant of sticks, twigs, and tree sap.

2) Rubber mulch. A big concern here is most of these are normally recycled tires, which can contain not only a host of chemicals but I've also looked into some of the bags at HD and can clearly see steel belting in some of the pieces. "99% steel free" written on a bag isn't exactly good enough with the potential for bare feet.

3) River rock/pebbles. Only concern here is that this isn't exactly a "soft" surface when landing on it.

What are your thoughts? What have you used that you liked?

 

[larry_g]

Personally the set we had was on grass for many years. What goes through my mind is what is easiest to maintain, and won't track back into the house, does it make a to hot of a surface, and easy to look at. If I had to choose it would be round stone in the 3/8" range. It makes a softer surface if deep enough. It's easy enough to rake out. is easy to throw or use in a slingshot. You also have to think what the cats will like if they choose to use the area as a catbox.

Wood based mulch is also a source of slivers to stick in hands and feet.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Viper98912]

Thanks lg. You reminded me that one thing to mention is that the area is on a slight slope (so I'll need to install some edging to keep things from floating/moving too far) but more importantly that it's in a semi-shaded area surrounded by very large pine trees. So getting grass to grow there (even with sod) has been unsuccessful in 4+ years, and whatever we end up putting down has to be able to shed or evaporate water somewhat easily after it rains.

 

[loganb]

I've got playground grade wood mulch in ours, needs 3 or 4 more loads this spring. My understanding is playground grade has some different standards in terms of what can go in and the size of the chips coming out. 3 years in and no injuries from it yet.

The playground grade stuff is around 15 or 20% more then standard landscape stuff. I looked at rubber, just didn't want to spend that much

 

[Snapped-off]

Nothing but grass on mine.

I thought about mulching it, but when my daughter broke her elbow inside an inflatable bounce house, I didn't really see the point.

 

[mrbill55]

Hello friends,

I assembled a new outdoor playground set (tower, swings, slides, etc) but haven't decided on what surface to put down around it. It's currently just raked up grass and raw dirt.

What options have you used that have worked well? We are considering:

1) Regular wood-based mulch. Our only concerns are that we should probably go with a non-colored variety due to less potential for chemicals onto hands and feet, as well as staining on clothes. But, we are also cognizant of sticks, twigs, and tree sap.

2) Rubber mulch. A big concern here is most of these are normally recycled tires, which can contain not only a host of chemicals but I've also looked into some of the bags at HD and can clearly see steel belting in some of the pieces. "99% steel free" written on a bag isn't exactly good enough with the potential for bare feet.

3) River rock/pebbles. Only concern here is that this isn't exactly a "soft" surface when landing on it.

What are your thoughts? What have you used that you liked?

Rubber-Cal Eco- Safety Interlocking Playground Tiles​

 

[pbon]

We have 3 schools, preschool to 4th grade and have tried a few things. Pebbles end up scattering and are harder to retrieve later. They can also end up in kids clothes and shoes and the laundry. Grass gets worn away. Regular mulch disintegrates and makes a dirty mess. Playground mulch is cleaner and longer lasting and is what we have used for years now. We do have to add some periodically and we do change it every few years.

Never tried rubber mulch, seems like a good idea but it is premium priced.

Interlocking tiles are slippery when wet and will come apart in an uneven outdoor setting. Great for indoor use.

A swing mat under each swing provides cushioning and reduces the amount of playground mulch or whatever that gets kicked away.

 

[cvairwerks]

Growing up, it was simply beach sand confined by a wooden box. It got raked and sifted every few months.

 

[tarmy]

Grass and gorilla hair under ours.

 

[rlitman]

Growing up, it was simply beach sand confined by a wooden box. It got raked and sifted every few months.

The neighborhood cats rake it for you.

 

[PCustoms]

3) River rock/pebbles. Only concern here is that this isn't exactly a "soft" surface when landing on it.

Growing up, it was simply beach sand confined by a wooden box. It got raked and sifted every few months.

Growing up we had gravel ( the school was built on a glacial esker) with plenty of round river rock mixed in. Equipment was a max of old tires and cca treated wood..the slides were steel polished by years of use and would burn you on a hot day.

 

[DGersic]

Growing up, we had steel equipment, polished by decades of use, over blacktop. My daughter had wood over wood chips, most of which got kicked in to the surrounding grass.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

Many years ago we added a 16' x 32' play area in the yard with a swingset/house. We filled the 6" deep "box" with specific play yard mulch. We would get 2 years out a shipment. We would scrape off the top 3" and cover with fresh.

After a while the kid's stopped using it and we ripped it out.

Cheers

Jim

 

[DTE]

We used sand , kids love a sand box.

 

[Beerhippie]

Asphalt or hard-packed dirt were good enough when I was in school. Casts were fashion statements at school.

The one thing to absolutely avoid is bark mulch, especially if it's Douglas fir bark. It's about as much fun as rolling in fiberglass insulation. Wood chips are excellent, as long as they're clean--no sticks, etc.

Sand will pack as hard as dirt, unless it's the special pure-quartz sand used for volleyball courts--which is also specially priced. The owners here at the pub have twice built "sand volleyball" courts filled with local river sand. It's like playing on 36 grit sandpaper.

 

[ozyborn]

GenX reply. Concrete or solid asphalt. If the kids are going to bounce might as well bounce hard. Not soft like a sand pit or cypress mulch.

 

[Youngandfree]

Get playground rated mulch.

 

[mike93lx]

The swingset at my house is over grass. We periodically move it to allow the spots where the kids drag their feet to regrow.

I built an 8x8 sandbox at the last house, which my kids absolutely loved. Took about a ton of playsand

 

[jpaw]

I use pea gravel. 4-6 inches deep works very well. The stone doesn't lock together and is smooth so it is safe. It is what all playgrounds had when I was a kid.

 

[mcj115]

I use a mulch like product that the local company calls wood carpet. It is essentially small wood chips rather than tree bark, leaves, and other organics in most mulch products. It is soft to land in and since it doesn't have as much organics it isn't as "dirty" and doesn't track into the house.

WoodCarpet® System 1 | Engineered Wood Fiber for Playgrounds

Our WoodCarpet® system is available for a wide range of protective surface needs. Learn about our Engineered Wood Fibar System today!

zeager.com

 

[niget2002]

Your pine needles are going to fill up anything you put down. I'd just leave it as is.

 

[Dodgeboy2020]

The 'correct' answer today is to get the playground rated wood chips. They are definitely different than mulch used in landscapeing as they are actual chips vs being more of a ground up product. Now when I was growing up it was more along the lines of what others said about the polished steel slide that would definitely burn you on a warm and sunny day landing on the dirt or asphalt under it.

 

[hmbemis]

Regular wood-based mulch. Our only concerns are that we should probably go with a non-colored variety due to less potential for chemicals onto hands and feet, as well as staining on clothes. But, we are also cognizant of sticks, twigs, and tree sap.

They sell stuff called 'playground mulch' around my area, it's soft wood, no dyes or chemicals, usually heat treated to kill insects.

I used 40cu-yd or so to mulch our play area to get ~4" of depth... the first couple of years it's great, then it starts to get pretty stiff (and like all wood mulch it 'evaporates' over time as the mulch breaks down).

Each year or so I 'fluff' the old mulch and buy another 1" or so to put down.

 

[carlaisle]

Sand seems like the best compromise. Just need to find a way to deter any trespassing felines. A motion sensor activated sprinkler would probably work pretty well in that regard.

 

[mike93lx]

Sand seems like the best compromise. Just need to find a way to deter any trespassing felines. A motion sensor activated sprinkler would probably work pretty well in that regard.

I've heard the cat thing on every video and post regarding sandboxes.

We had some cats in the neighborhood at my last house and I never saw a turd in the uncovered 8x8 sandbox in my backyard. Maybe my experience is the outlier?

 

[PCustoms]

I've heard the cat thing on every video and post regarding sandboxes.

We had some cats in the neighborhood at my last house and I never saw a turd in the uncovered 8x8 sandbox in my backyard. Maybe my experience is the outlier?

Never had them either.

I think the neighborhood coyote kept them away

 

[carlaisle]

May just depend on the upbringing of your local feline population or prevalence of predators in the vicinity of the sandbox. I've never seen a problem with that myself, either, but have heard others relate first hand experience. It would be plenty easy to set up a deterrent after the fact if it proved necessary.

 

[Beerhippie]

The best way to keep cats out of the sandbox is to put a sprinkler on it set up with a timer. As long as it keeps the sand wet, the cats will avoid it.

Works for those damned kids that are always messin' the sand up, too.

 

[bassJAM]

I debated this back and forth and talked it over with my wife, we both decided that dirt was the best option.

My school playground as a kid added wood chips when I was in 3rd or 4th grade (vs just grass/soil), and it sucked and were always getting in my shoes. All the kids and parents complained but it was added after someone fell off the monkey bars and broke her leg and the parents sued (we lost all the fun playground equipment as well after that). When I was in high school I worked at that same school as a janitor through the summer and holidays, and they switched to pea gravel and it ends up all over the classrooms because it also gets in their shoes. My kids go to that same school now and the pea gravel makes it's way into our home and I pull it out of the washer all the time and it gets sucked up into the vacuum. Rubber might be the best option but I'm cheap and don't want to build anything to contain it, otherwise it would get spread and lost in a year between the kids and dogs. Dirt is fine with me, it's just a little muddy in the spring but the kids like playing in mud. And I'm not one of those particular guys always worried what his grass looks like.

 

[Beerhippie]

^Did you fix the lighting? Better get on that!

I didn't know your cell phone camera could tell you about household problems....

 

[NUTTSGT]

Somebody here had a huge pile of sawdust. They would probably be more than happy to help you out with a few truckloads.

 

[J-Man22]

I want to keep grass around my kid’s playset, including under the swings, but it’s a pain cutting the grass under the slide and the fort and ladder. I haven’t looked into it yet, but am considering putting down some artificial turf which might be an option for you. It won’t be any softer than grass/dirt but looks better than dirt and doesn’t have to be cut

 

[RoninB4]

-This may not fit your needs or budget but there are rubber, interlocking mats used for horse stalls. Many makers, many sources. They're fairly soft and double as great mats for the lying under the car/truck while working on it. Hose off clean and can be cut to shapes.

 

[Viper98912]

lol at all the old guy replies. "Listen sonny, back in the ol' days we had straight ol' asphalt and when you fell off the monkey bars and broke your arm, you just walked it off and went back to class". I agree, when I was growing up we had the traditional style metal sets that were pretty polished from years of little sliding hands; they'd be hot as heck in the Florida summertime and if your hand touched the right edge/joint you could cut your hand open on a piece of slag. And everything was sitting on a mixture of dirt with a light coating of sand.

Nonetheless, while I don't plan on putting my kid in bubble wrap every time he steps outside, I do want to use some level of modern parental responsibility.

Leaving the area as raw dirt and mud (since grass won't grow there) is not an option; we already have enough of that tracked all over the house from the dog.

When I was growing up, I also had a sandbox (with no cover) and the local cats and other animals loved to use it as a litter box. So I'm not willing to make that mistake

I'm also trying to remember where it was that I used to play in pea gravel, and I remember ALWAYS bringing home tons of it in my shoes. While I didn't think much of it at the time, I definitely don't want it in my washing machine now.

I do like the idea of the playground mulch. After thinking about it, I saw some of this stuff at the local city playground. It looks like large uncolored wood chips, and the more I think about it, it was pretty clean. I didn't think much of it at the time, as I thought "look at these cheap wood chips they used" but the more I think about it, no, they're not cheap wood chips, these are actually a well-thought-through solution. So I do think I may go with this option, thanks for the idea guys

 

[Viper98912]

PS - I just searched the interlocking tiles on HD. They look great, but our area has a slight slope to it, and it's about 2/3rd's of a 45x25' square (hence the lots of mud problem). At $17.29/sqft per tile, that's about $14k in rubber tile

 

[RoninB4]

At $17.29/sqft per tile, that's about $14k in rubber tile

-Well silly me. Anything for horses is usually priced like it was gold plated. Why did I think this would be different?

 

[NYBODYMAN]

When we installed our swing set 10 years ago I did a ton of research. Rubber mulch was not only over the top expensive, but is full of chemicals, get very hot in the sun, and smells awful (think Harbor Freight on it's worst day).We debated playground rated mulch vs. regular wood mulch and opted for regular landscape mulch. In over ten years, never a cut, scrape, splinter or anything of the sort and it is MUCH cheaper. Only annoying thing is when they drag the mulch inside the house. While I am of the old school mindset of "back in my day," I also get the modern parenting aspect of trying to make things better. To be honest though, I don't see the point in spending a lot more money for this project for a negligible difference.

 

[bad_idea]

I paid a guy to dump 3 yards of hardwood chips in the yard. I think I paid him $75 or so for the load. He got them from a local sawmill that makes pulp for paper or something. The hardwood chips are rated for use on playgrounds. That was about 3 years ago. They are getting thin / broken down, I'll have to get him to dump another load this spring.

I looked into the other options and was not impressed by the prices.

 

[Jazz1]

Ive seen small rubber cubes product that is made from recycled under playground sets. Not sure of name or price but it’s out there . Not abrasIve if they fall on it…cats wont use the stuff as their personal toilet and dogs wont dig it..

 

[ATC]

When I was growing up, I also had a sandbox (with no cover) and the local cats and other animals loved to use it as a litter box. So I'm not willing to make that mistake


I do like the idea of the playground mulch. After thinking about it, I saw some of this stuff at the local city playground. It looks like large uncolored wood chips, and the more I think about it, it was pretty clean. I didn't think much of it at the time, as I thought "look at these cheap wood chips they used" but the more I think about it, no, they're not cheap wood chips, these are actually a well-thought-through solution. So I do think I may go with this option, thanks for the idea guys

As the owner of many cats over the years, they love mulch just as much as sand.