SAFER SURFACES
A safer surface should always be considered when initially planning your project. We strongly advise any customer considering any play equipment installation to have a safer surface installed. However, according to current BSEN regulations they are not required, when the equipment has a maximum FHOF of under 1000 mm when installed on a well maintained turf area. We tend to limit the height to 900mm to be on the safe side.
Look for this symbol for low level equipment; 
(FHOF = Free Height Of Fall).
A safer surface is mandatory where the equipment has a FHOF of over 1000 mm and / or installed onto any other surface other than well maintained turf at any height. It is not permissible even to put low level equipment on tarmac or concrete.
Wet Pour Rubber in primary colours or black, Tiger Play safer surfacing, Saferfall rubber honeycomb mats, Play Bark, NoMow artificial grass are the most commonly offered and used safety surfaces. We are famous for our Tiger Play bound rubber safer surfacing, which being the original of its type is time proven with reference sites all around the UK and abroad.
As part of our service to you, we are able to advise where a safer surface really should be included, the most suitable type for your individual application and the exact amount of falling space required around the equipment.
Types of Surface
There are four main types of safer surface supplied by us. These are Wet Pour Rubber, Woodland or Tiger Play, Loose Fill and Rubber Grass Mats.
WOODLAND or TIGER PLAY - a bound together ( NOT LOOSE) safer surface - is a new concept in safer surfacing that is designed to look like natural bark, but is made of rubber shred that is bound together with a flexible binder in a specialist machine and then laid and rolled out on a variety of existing surfaces. It can be laid on tarmac, stone, hard packed soil, compacted stone bases or even into existing turf areas with just a membrane. Woodland or Tiger Play benefits include:
Will
not decay- Curbs weed growth
- Tested to BSEN1177 for fall of up to 2.2m
- Does not stain
- Realistic natural looking appearance
- Slip resistance (wet); 44 (dry) 56
- Quick Draining
- Reduces moisture loss from soil
- Permeable
- Anti fungal medium
- Strong fade resistance
- Can accommodate irrigation systems
WET POUR RUBBER is the surface that one often sees in parks and is sometimes mistakenly referred to as 'springy tarmac'. It is manufactured from rubber granules, mixed with a resin and is laid onto either an existing hard surface, or an area specifically excavated to the exact dimensions required. It is seamless, except on larger areas, and has the advantage of being virtually maintenance free.
Graphics can be inlaid using different colour rubber particles, normally at the time of installation. Wet pour is available in different colours other than black but does generally cost more.
SAFERFALL or 'HOLLOW MAT' safer surfacing is now by far the most popular for areas where in the past a loose fill would have been used. This surface just gets laid over the grass or earth and follows the contours of the ground. If needed the ground can be levelled first, but this would be an extra job that would need to be priced beforehand. Please bear in mind that when these matts are laid onto grass they will disappear into the root system and out of sight after only a few months. This is a normal occurrence and as such are designed to do this.
It
is tested to take a fall height of up to 2.5m on a natural grass sub base,
which covers practically all of the equipment shown here.
We normally lay this on a geotextile membrane to prevent most of the grass growth through it, this prevents sinking in boggy or wet areas and helps to keep users cleaner for a longer period of the year. We can however lay it without membrane if you still wish the grass to grow through it. With membrane beneath you may have to weed kill on occasions as some grass or weeds may still manage to get through or will grow from the hollows in the mats.
Please bear in mind that soil does constantly move to varying degrees, so from time to time you may experience small humps and bumps appearing, if you do these can be easily resolved by lifting the offending area and leveling or filling and then relaying the mats. This is not a defect and is not covered under guarantee. With this surface we can lay the mats just between low level items to make the area useable for more of the year and also can infill your expensive and time consuming bark areas with soil and lay these over instead to provide a much easier to manage and cheaper to maintain safer surface. Tiger Play, Wet Pour and Saferfall are guaranteed under the same terms as our timber equipment, for a five year period.
LOOSE
FILL surface can take many forms, pea shingle, sand, bark or wood
peel. It is relatively cheap to install, but requires continual maintenance
by way of raking over daily to maintain its impact attenuating properties.
Its main drawbacks are the maintenance aspect, fouling by cats and other animals and in urban areas particularly, the hazards of syringes and broken glass. Normally situated on top of the existing surface for drainage properties rather than being dug in. They should always be kept to a depth of 30cm if fall heights are above 1000mm. Please note that on occasions the loose fill surfaces may discriminate against less able users.
