How to Install a Playground Area

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Getting children to play outside and enjoy the fresh air is easy if you set up a nice playground area. To avoid serious injuries and ensure a safe place to play for your children, follow these general guidelines to install.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Choose the right equipment. Items such as trampolines, glider swings for more than one child, exercise rings or trapeze bars are not considered safe and should be avoided. Check the age ranges for the equipment also. Children from 5 to 12 years old have different equipment than what is appropriate for those from 2 to 5 years old.

Step2

Pick an appropriate space. It should be free of tree stumps, roots and rocks and in a shady spot. Also, you should be able to see the playground area from inside the house if you'd like to keep an eye on the children while playing.

Step3

Measure your equipment you want to install and add 6 to 8 feet from the edges of all points as the play zone. In case of a fall, this extended zone will ensure a soft landing.

Step4

Purchase a foot thick of soft material like regular or rubber mulch, pea gravel or sand to be the cushion around the play zone. Borders such as railroad ties or rock borders can be used to keep the material from washing away.

Tips & Warnings

After you install the equipment, inspect it and the surrounding area often to make sure it's in good shape.
Hard surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, and even grass are unsafe. Grass can become worn with excessive play and will not cushion a fall.
Teach your child about safety rules on the playground such as slide feet first, don't roughhouse while climbing, or don't use equipment after it has rained.

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Comments

sylviassilva said

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on 6/18/2008 Here is a checklist as indicted above:

Documents to secure:

• A copy of their state or local licensing.
• A copy of their NPSI certification.
• A copy of their NPCAI membership.
• A copy of the NPCAI Qualified Contractor Certificate.
• A copy of liability insurance, property, automotive and workman’s compensation.
• A list of current references.

Ask the Playground Contractor:

• Will they secure your area during construction?
• Do they have a final inspection program?
• Request that you be listed as an additional insured.

Doing these will save you time and money.

• Review the contract before the installation begins.
• Go over your expectations and check to make sure you and your playground Contractor both agree.
• Become familiar with he project manager and keep in contact with him during the project.

Upon completion of your playground installation,

sylviassilva said

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on 6/18/2008 In today's market it is important to select a Qualified Playground contractor for your next playground project.

The following information and checklist was compiled from several resources within the playground industry to provide you the owner, a simple, step-by-step process for selecting a qualified playground contractor.

It is the responsibility of the designer, manufacturer, owner and playground contractor to provide a playground that a child can play on without risk. Choosing your playground contractor is as important as

Check out the web site for qualified playground contractors at: www.playground-contractors.org

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