Here you will find out what to put under a children’s climbing frame to ensure it is safe. When purchasing an outdoor climbing frame, you need to be sure that you have a suitable ground for it to be built on. With children around the age of 3 – 14 years old, you want to ensure that the ground is safe for them, therefore tarmac and concrete wouldn’t be suitable.
All our wooden climbing frames come with ground anchors. Which needs to be dug into the ground to keep the whole structure stable, especially when the swing is in use. Therefore, when considering what type of surface to use for the play area you need to take into account the ground anchors.
Depending on the size of your climbing frame, it is also required to have additional surface space around the perimeter, to ensure there is enough room for children to play and use the swings.
Grass
The most common type of ground to build your wooden climbing frame on is grass. It is important to ensure that the area of grass is flat and as level as can be. If the grass has a few bumps it is still fine to use that area. However, if it is a hill, or slope this ground won’t be appropriate.
It has become a trend in garden maintenance to now have artificial grass. Which is also suitable for a wooden climbing frame to sit on.
Play Bark
Using play bark underneath your children’s climbing frame is one alternative if you do not wish to use the grass. This is a very inexpensive surface solution. Which can cover quite a large area. Choosing this as your surface for the climbing frame will mean that you need to top it up every so often.
Rubber Chippings
Rubber will provide a softer landing surface for children. Made from recycled car tyres. Rubber chippings are a low-maintenance, cost-effective type of surface area. With rubber chipping, you will find that they cause less mess as they are a lot more heavyweight, stopping the chips from blowing away.
Rubber Mulch
Rubber mulch is similar to the chippings. However, it has been bonded together to make a completely flat surface. As it is a flat sheet type it means you will be required to use less, and there is hardly any maintenance or topping up. However, you will find that puddles will appear after rainfall, which will need to be wiped away before play.
Rubber Matting
Using gripped rubber mats is a quick solution that will provide you with a safe surface that your children can play on. It is easy to install, as there is no digging or ground preparation required.
Now you know how to provide a safe playing surface to put under your children’s climbing frame. Why not take a look at our range of play equipment that will provide years of fun.