How to Design a Playground Surface

When designing a playground surface, it is vital to keep safety in mind. Using existing grass, asphalt or concrete as a surface for your playground may not be the safest solution, especially if there is potential for a child to fall from a high point such as a swing or slide. Before you sketch out your plans, decide which material you will be using to create your surface.

Things You'll Need

• Surface material
• Sketchbook
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Choose which material you will be using for your playground surface. The safest materials are usually loose fills such as pea gravel, fine sand, rubber chips or wood chips. These provide better shock absorption than grass, dirt or asphalt.

2. Choose the depth of the playground surface. This will depend on the height of the equipment as well as the material you are using. Refer to Reference 1 to see a list of critical height and depth recommendations for each of the materials listed above.

3. 

   Draw a rough bird's-eye view blueprint of your playground equipment placement. Drawing out the positioning of the equipment will make creating the playground surface easier.

4. 

   Draw the surface of the playground around the equipment. Feel free to combine different surface materials in different areas of the playground. Keep in mind that the surface should extend at least 6 feet around climbing equipment and should be at least as wide as two times the height of the swing set pivots around the swings.

Tips & Warnings

• Companies such as Sun Country Systems and Flex Ground specialize in custom design playground surfaces using synthetic grass.

• The shock absorbency of some loose-fill materials will be reduced with regular usage.

References

• Repair Home: Playground Safety

Resources

• Sun Country Systems
• Flex Ground