Playground and Play Area Planning Guide

How to Plan for a Successful Playground Project

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Planning the Perfect Play Area

Most of our clients have little or no experience when it comes to designing and installing a new commercial playground system. It is so important to have a solid understanding of what is required to successfully plan out your new playground. This comprehensive commercial playground planning guide is an excellent place to start. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a playground does not need intensive planning to be a success, this mindset will lead to substandard playgrounds and blown budgets and schedules. This playground planning guide, although brief will make sure that you are headed in the right direction with your playground project.

Playground Design Introduction

Planning a playground can be a daunting task, even for a seasoned builder or contractor. Many of my customers have no idea where to start; full of ideas without the proper knowledge of the process to implement them. Planning a playground should be fun; but now more than ever it is important to remember that fun is serious business. Proper planning will ensure that your playground meets all of your needs and at the same time minimizes liabilities. Your playground is an investment and like any other investment it should be intelligently planned and executed to insure maximum return with minimal risk. This is why we created our Playground Planning Guide. This guide will serve as a great starting point to planning your playground. We also encourage you to view some of the references included at the end of this guide as well as visit local playgrounds.

Considering Fun, Risk and Liability when Planning a Play Area

Adding a playground to any business will inevitably increase your annual cost for liability insurance. What most people don’t know is that certain items may increase your premium significantly. You must find a balance between fun, cost and risk. Keep in mind when making this determination that regardless of how many precautions are taken, all playground equipment is inherently dangerous, and with proper supervision the risk of injury on even the most dangerous equipment can be minimized. Now that you have done your homework, you are ready to begin the planning process.

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Our childcare center needed several pieces of age appropriate playground equipment since we have different areas for the various age groups. The team at Pro Playgrounds designed all of the preschool play areas for free and made sure we had the right equipment. – Dan E.

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The Playground Planning and Design Process

The process for planning a playground is similar to the process for planning a home or building. It starts from the ground up. Even the best built home or building will inevitably fail if it rests upon a weak foundation. The following is a model for the hierarchy of playground planning and budgeting.

Understanding Playground Safety Flooring

Playground surfacing is perhaps the biggest variable in the playground planning process. Keep in mind that the presence of an adequate impact absorbing surface in not an option but a requirement and is perhaps the most important decision you will make in regards to the playground. There are a number of options available for playground surfaces. Anything from sand, wood chips and even gravel can and are frequently used. We only recommend and install the following playground surfaces: Playground Mulch, Artificial Turf, Poured Rubber Playground Flooring.

Playground Mulch Flooring

Wood mulch is probably the most commonly used playground surface in the United States and for good reasons. Wood mulch is a very economical option for playground surfacing; it is visually appealing and provides sufficient impact absorption. Costs for traditional wood mulch are 50-90% less than its rubber counter parts (Rubber Mulch and Poured in Place Rubber). We use this product more frequently than any other and have yet to receive a complaint about it. There are a few downsides to wood mulch; it requires occasional raking and replacement and is also not environmentally friendly. The product is readily available, easy to replace and maintain at a minimum annual cost.

Rubber Mulch Playground Flooring

Rubber Mulch is actually made of 100% recycled tires. The tires are shredded; contaminants such as steel, oil and dirt are removed. The end product is 99.99% pure rubber, available in many colors. Rubber mulch has the highest impact absorbing qualities of all playground surfacing materials currently available on the market. Where one would typically need 6” of traditional wood mulch to meet critical fall height requirements, only 3” of rubber mulch would be required. This product lasts twenty years and, in many cases, even longer. It is not susceptible to the elements, pests or UV. It is available in a variety of vibrant colors that can bring life and excitement to any playground or landscape. Rubber mulch is much more expensive then wood mulch however it does not carry the maintenance or replacement cost that wood mulch does as it degrades over time. This is always our recommendation for playground surfacing.

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Selecting the Perfect Commercial Playground System

There are literally hundreds of pre-designed playgrounds available on the market from various manufacturers ranging from $7,000 to over $100,000. They all essentially contain or can contain the same components including straight slides, tube slides, wave slides, various panels, store fronts, climbers, fire poles etc. In addition to pre-designed playground models, and endless number of custom designed playgrounds can be manufactured and custom tailored to meet all of your needs. The possibilities are far too vast to include in this guide. One very important piece of information to retain about playground structures: MAKE SURE THEY ARE ASTM, CPSC OR BOTH certified. Never install a “custom built” piece of equipment, or equipment that does not have ASTM or CPSC certification. Once you have an idea of what you would like, we will provide you with options to meet your needs. An interesting point to note is that most playgrounds are modular. This means that you can continuously add on components to them if you so choose and have the room to do so.

Adding Freestanding Playground Equipment to your Play Area

There are all types of accessories available for commercial playgrounds. From your more traditional accessories like swings, sea saws and spring riders to intricate climbing structures, fitness courses and even zip lines. Once we have a grasp on your space, budget and needs we can provide you with many options and combinations that will compliment your playground. Accessories on a playground are a great way to encourage group play and also control traffic and movement on the playground.

Shade Structures, Site Amenities and Other Considerations

Depending on how often you plan for the playground to be used, you may want to also include some site amenities into the design. Site amenities are items that are not playground equipment but improve convenience and usability of the playground. Site amenities include: trash cans, benches, picnic tables, bike racks, shade structures, ADA ramps, and more. If you would like to include some of these items in your playground design let us know and we can consult you. Regardless of who builds your playground, we want to make sure that the experience is pleasant and that your finished product is everything you wanted and more. Before choosing any contractor to build your playground, be sure to do your homework.