Outdoor playgrounds are an exciting place for children to play and use their imagination. They create environments that benefit children’s development as well as the community in many different ways. While playgrounds are meant to be fun, they also need to be safe. The best way to keep children safe on the playground is to create safety surfacing underneath playground equipment to meet fall height requirements.
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The fall zone of a playground is the area around swings, slides, and high playground equipment. The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) regulates that the fall zone surface should extend at least six feet beyond the equipment.
To accommodate fall-height regulations, there are plenty of safety surface options to choose from, including loose-fill products, poured rubber products, and rubber tile. The world of playground flooring can take on many different designs while maintaining fall height requirements. The ultimate goal of a playground surface is to protect children in the event of a fall – it should be poured at a depth that is safe for children at typical fall heights.
For example, pour-in-place surfacing should have a depth of approximately 5 inches to protect a child from a fall from a height of 12 feet. A fall onto pour-in-place surfacing from a height of 4 feet would require a depth of only 1.5 inches to protect a child. These are all things to keep in mind when considering different options for a playground surface.
This is particularly relevant for falls from slides and swings. The surface in front of the slide exit should extend a minimum of six feet and a maximum of fourteen feet. The fall zone rule for swings is twice the length of the pivot point. If the pivot point of the swing is 6 feet, the fall zone around the swing should be 12 feet in front of and behind the swing, or 24 feet in diameter.
A popular choice for a playground surface is rubber playground tiles. There are a lot of benefits to choosing rubber playground tiles as a Safety Surfacing, and in this article, we’ll walk you through some of the main ones.
Easy to Install
Rubber tiles are known to be relatively easy to install, especially when they use a secure interlocking system. Some interlocking rubber tiles will use a built-in alignment foot that makes installation easier. This built-in alignment foot has a locking mechanism on the tile, which provides stability along the entire perimeter and prevents movement of tiled surfaces. Rubber tiles are very durable and easy to replace when damaged. Finishing options include ramps, bevels and corners. Our rubber floor tiles are easy to clean and perfect for high-traffic areas.
This locking mechanism helps prevent failures between tiles where gaps have traditionally allowed debris to accumulate, causing tiles to warp.
Rubber playground tiles can be found in several different thicknesses based on different fall heights to ensure the safety of children. The bottom of the rubber tiles provides structural protection related to gradual loss of intensity for fall height situations. This unique design provides a strong and stable footprint while also providing excellent shock absorption and load dispersion.
Cost-Effective
Rubber playground tiles are a cost-effective safety surfacing solution for several reasons. Unlike loose-fill safety surfacing products such as engineered wood fiber or rubber mulch, rubber tiles do not require much maintenance time. Because they are easy to clean and very durable, rubber tiles do not need to be replaced or refinished as often as some playground surfaces.
The cost of rubber tiles can vary depending on the type of rubber tile you choose. Highly durable and compliant rubber tiles can cost similar to poured surfaces.
Low Maintenance
One thing you often hear about rubber tiles is that they are low maintenance. What does that mean? Well, when you compare rubber tiles to other surfaces, you will notice that many of them require some kind of regular maintenance. For example, loose-fill surfaces require preventative maintenance such as top-off services to ensure the surface is maintained at the proper depth. Rubber tiles, on the other hand, do not require regular top-offs. Wood chips and rubber mulch can be displaced in high-traffic areas, while rubber tiles maintain their integrity over time.
High Expected Longevity
With proper care and care rubber tiles that are used as outdoor playground flooring or indoor flooring can last a long time. Because this type of playground surface is known to be very durable and easily maintainable, it can last anywhere from 8 to 10 years.
Rubber tiles that are interlocking are the ideal playground flooring for outdoor or indoor use. This type of playground surface is easy to install and requires very limited adhesive application. Rubber tiles often exceed requirements for impact attenuation and are offered in various thicknesses to suit your playground’s fall height requirements.
Of course, over time, any safety surfacing product that remains outdoors for long periods of time will begin to show its effects – especially in areas that have harsh weather environments. While rubber tiles are known for being reliable, sturdy playground surface pieces, they still require proper maintenance and care to achieve their highest expected lifespan. Overall use and weather can take a toll on rubber tiles over time, and it is important to inspect the tiles and hardware to make sure nothing needs to be replaced. Cleaning the surface as well as the hardware can help rubber tiles last longer.
Customizable
When creating a playground, you may want to design an environment that feels colorful and fun for children. Not all playground surfaces may offer the option to customize the color as well as provide a special design. With rubber playground tiles, you can often find a large variety of different colors and use it to create a checkerboard design. Rubber Design, We offer rubber tiles that are colored using organic powder color coating methods that will not break apart over time. We seal it with a specially formulated polymer agent that binds the pigments to the rubber.
Where to Find Rubber Playground Tiles
At Sports Yodha, we offer rubber playground tiles in multiple colors that are ideal for indoor or outdoor playground flooring. Our rubber tiles lock together to create a floating floor type effect to resist deforming in changing weather conditions. Request a quote today.
