Outdoor Play Equipment Surfaces...

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Safe surfacing standards for commercial play installations are laid down in the standard EN1177. Safety surfacing is compulsory for climbing frames for children and commercial play systems which offer a risk of falling from over 1m. This is not the case for residential installations where the majority of our customers decide to build their Rainbow directly on to the lawn in their back garden. Very often the intention here is to add a safe play surface at a later date. Rainbow recommends a safe play area of 6' around the entire outdoor play equipment or structure.

For those who do choose a safety surface or for systems where EN1177 is applicable we offer 3 alternative play surfaces:

1. Shredded Rubber Bark

Shredded rubber bark is a popular option for those wanting a long lasting, loose fill surface which does not need topping up over time. It also comes with a 10 year manufacturers colour loss guarantee. Rubber Mulch provides a number of significant benefits:

No settlement compaction or rotting to allow for	Retains no moisture and does not stay wet for long
Does not attract pets and wildlife mess	Does not blow around or easily scatter
Effectively maintenance free so cheaper to own	Drop tested to BSEN1177 standards for playground use
Will not float or wash away	No heavy raking, topping up or replacement needed.
Helps to curb weeds, mould and fungus.

Easy Installation
Shredded rubber is easy to install and is delivered in 10 kilo bags direct to you property. Ecoscape ordered in conjunction with a Rainbow Play System will be installed free of charge on the day of the play frame installation. Shredded rubber can be laid over most existing surfaces and it is important to spread the rubber on top of a weed suppressing membrane. The rubber in your play area needs to be retained by either excavating and back filling the hole to the level of the surrounding ground or bordering the area with to create a pit above the ground.

Coverage & Pricing
The shredded rubber has been tested to meet the critical fall height of 3m with a depth of 5cm when laid on a loose sub base. This includes laying it on grass or earth. As a rough guide the cost will be £21.50 per m² to achieve this depth. Each pallet of 100 x 10kg bags has a volume of 3.2 m³.

How to Order
For more information or to go ahead and place your order please call 0845 1300335 and a member of the Rainbow sales team will be happy to help.

2. Playground Bark

Playground bark is an extremely popular material in both residential and commercial applications. Initially it is very cost effective, but it does need topping up over time as it degrades and rots. Rainbow's Playground bark is delivered directly to your property on pallets, consisting of 40 bags of bark. Each pallet has a volume of 3.2 m³. Playground bark needs to be laid more thickly than shredded rubber and in commercial applications depths should be 30cm to achieve critical fall height standards. In residential applications depths of 10cm to 20cm tend to be the norm. Rainbow Playground Bark costs £320 per pallet including delivery.

Rainbow playground bark purchased in conjunction with a Rainbow Play System will be installed free of charge on the day of the play frame installation

3. Rubber Grass Matting

Grass mats are an increasingly popular way of meeting the requirements of EN1177. Laid on to grass Rainbow grass mats achieve a safe fall height of 3m. They are an extremely cost effective and quick way of meeting the standard without expensive and messy ground works. Rainbow's grass mats are 22mm thick and 1 m x 1.5 m in size. They are laid on to a plastic mesh and pegged to the ground around the perimeter of the play area. Grass mats purchased in conjunction with a Rainbow Play System will installed free of charge on the day of the Play frame installation.