Anyone ever used any of the rubber mulch type stuff for home playground use?

[purbeast0]

The outdoor toys my son is acquiring are starting to take up more real estate in the backyard than they used to. He's got a play house, a sandbox, and a slide. It's in a grassy area right now, but obviously the grass beneath all of it is getting killed.

So I've been thinking about looking into the rubbery mulch type of stuff you see at public playgrounds. The ones near our house have this stuff that looks like mulch, but it's rubbery and it's all bonded and stuck together so it's not loose at all.

I'm just wondering if anyone has used this stuff before and what they thought about it. If so, how much did it cost and where did you get it from? The area I'm even contemplating doing this is fairly small. I haven't measured it but I'd ballpark like 200sqft maybe.

If anyone has alternative suggestions I'm open to hearing it too. I see no point in keeping grass in this area since it's dying and trying to cut around his toys is a pain in the ass when mowing the lawn.

 

[dphantom]

I used the rubber mulch ion a playground set I had. About 200 sq ft as well and maybe 6" deep. So 100 cu ft. depending upon color, brand, you are looking at around $1000-$1500.

 

[pmark]

This reminds me of this infamous Reddit thread: https://np.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/4tfe7w/resurfaced_my_entire_back_yard_with_rubber/

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Carson Dyle]

I'd be inclined to think that pea gravel would be nicer and easier to maintain than rubber pellets.

 

[dphantom]

I'd be inclined to think that pea gravel would be nicer and easier to maintain than rubber pellets.

I wouldn't use pea gravel under any playground toys that children would use. Too hard for a fall. A fine mulch would work well and be much cheaper. The rubber is great, but it is expensive and a pain to keep clean, especially if you have a sandbox built into the play area.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I wouldn't use pea gravel under any playground toys that children would use. Too hard for a fall. A fine mulch would work well and be much cheaper. The rubber is great, but it is expensive and a pain to keep clean, especially if you have a sandbox built into the play area.

Wuss! Gravel adds to the adventure. Playgrounds were paved when I was a kid and scrapes were badges of honor.

 

[dphantom]

Wuss! Gravel adds to the adventure. Playgrounds were paved when I was a kid and scrapes were badges of honor.

lol. well, me too. climbed thru hay mows, trees, whatever. lots of scraps and bruises some of which we dared not tell our parents how we got them. 😀

 

[Carson Dyle]

Pea gravel has been used in childrens' playgrounds for many, many years. Is it as "soft" as rubber? Or goose down? Probably not.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I think too many people either don't know or understand all the purposes of a playground. They aren't just entertainment or for wasting time, they teach physics, social skills and, most importantly, situational awareness. When you wrap everything in foam and bunble wrap, you're eliminating half the lessons and experience playgrounds teach.

 

[purbeast0]

Bumping an old thread of mine...

How much would pea gravel cost to fill that sized area? Also, how far down would I have to dig in order to do that?

We were at my Aunt's house this past weekend and once section in here backyard had white rocks and I was thinking about putting something like that down possibly. My son was playing in that area a lot, even in bare feet, and it was fine for him. They were pretty small sized and rounded, but not quite as small as pictures of pea gravel look to be. The rocks were similar to this:

Anyone know how much something like that would cost too?

Also, what kind of maintenance is needed with this stuff? The area would be in a spot where some pine needles would be falling down onto it during part of the year. It seems like it would be a pain in the ass to try and get them out of there.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I would do 4". L x W x H do the math! A blower will help take care of the pine needles. Use landscape fabric under the gravel.

 

[Zorba]

If you are worried about it providing fall protection, there are government standards that give you an idea of how deep you need for different materials.

One thing about sand or gravel is it will tear up shoes pretty quick. Make sure you use a border too, we have larger river rock by our downspouts and it'll move all over the place in heavy rains.

You can get "playground mulch" that is finer and softer than normal mulch from bulk stores, pretty cheap as well.

 

[vi edit]

I'd go peagravel as well. It drains well. Is resistant to mold. Won't need to be redone every year and cheap. I had like 4 tons of it delivered for $200 at my last house. Covered a huge area....14'x20' x 4-6" deep. Mulch sucks for playground purposes IMHO. Especially if you can't get the area to drain well.