Friday, September 28, 2012

All You Wanted to Know About Engineered Wood Fiber Playground Surface

Covering the backyard playground with high quality mulch is a great way to provide safe play area to your kids. There are different types of playground surfacing options like rubber mulch, pea gravel, sand, rubber mats, etc. One such mulch is Engineered Wood Fiber, which is rated as the most common and economical playground surface.

It is created from non-toxic, engineered, crushed wood fiber, like hardwoods or softwoods. The Wood Fiber mulch consists of randomly sized wood fibers with the average size of 1.5"-3" in length and contains 10%-20% of fine pieces to help in compaction. Once the mulch is properly settled, it creates a knitted & compacted layer on the surface of the playground.

This initial cost of this playground mulch is comparatively lower than any other surfacing option. Moreover, it does not utilize any wood containing paint, chemicals or additives. This mulch has less or no bark and is tested to be free of leaf debris, twigs and other organic materials. It not only prevents injury due to falls but also provides a natural look to the playground.

Ensure that the Engineered Wood Fiber mulch you are opting for is compliant to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F1951 and F1292-99 (impact attenuation). It should also meet American with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) playground surfacing standards and has to be International Playground Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) Certified.
Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments:

Guide for Creating Playground

If you are finding it hard to design the playground of your community, here is something for you. The right plan is all that is required to create a fun-filled playground. Before you put your thoughts into action, here are certain things that you should think upon.

It has become mandatory to make a playground in adherence with American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards. Therefore, you must form the layout of your playground in a way that people with special abilities can enter in the premises without facing any problem.

The next thing you should think about is the play sets you are going to install in your playground. Decide how much you want to spend on them and start searching for the sets and play houses that are a hit in the playground. You can buy these either from the playground equipment store or order online. Whatever option you choose, make sure you deal with an IPEMA certified manufacturer who constructs play sets using commercial grade raw materials. Whether you are buying a playground swing, slide or play house, ensure that he manufactures the play sets in adherence with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Play sets are designed as per the age brackets of kids. It would be wise if you label the equipment in your park to avoid the risk of injury to kids. For labeling the equipment you can use fences and signage so that guardians can understand which play set is appropriate for their kids.
Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments:

Tips for Making Safe Playground for Kids

Kids love playing in the playground. It becomes really a challenge to control them when they are just a few steps away from interesting and fun-filled playground equipment. Here are some things that owners must follow to ensure kids' safety on the playground.

Make sure the play sets that you are installing in the playground are made of superior quality material be it wood, aluminum and metal. Ensure that manufacture has constructed the equipment as per the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) guidelines and took all the safety measures into consideration while designing it.

As play sets are made for both toddlers and school goers, therefore, it would be great if you categorize them in the playground with labels and signage. This would help the parents to easily understand which play equipment is appropriate for their children. To avoid the risk of injury due to falls, you should cover the ground under the play sets with superior quality surfacing option like synthetic surface, pea gravel or recycled rubber mulch.

Another step that you can take to make your playground safe for the kids is the thorough inspection of the play sets installed in it. Check if there is any open edge in the play set that can harm the kids. If you find any defect, immediately get it repaired or replace it with the new children playground equipment.
Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments:

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Benefits of Recycled Rubber Mulch

It's great that you are going to turn your backyard into private playground equipment for kids. In this manner, you are also assured about your kids' safety when seeing them playing before your eyes. But before you select any exciting great and fun filled play set for the backyard, you must cover the surface with high quality mulch.

Recycled rubber mulch is the great option, when it comes to cover the backyard playground. It provides cushion surface and reduces the risk of any injury due to falling. Recycled rubber mulch is created after recycling consumed rubber products like van tires, cycle tubes, rubber pipes etc. During recycling process, all the impurities present in consumed rubber products are completely eliminated. The rubber obtained after the process, is shredded and de-vulcanized to acquire recycled rubber mulch.

Environment friendly recycled rubber mulch is extremely durable. Unlike other playground mulch, it sticks to the ground for years on end. As this mulch has high absorbing tendency, it soaks the water quickly and provides non-slippery & dry surface to kids.

This playground safety surfacing prevents the growth of weed underneath the surface. Besides, you can easily clean the mulch with mild soap and water. Knowing the fact that it has longer life than any other mulch, many parents prefer to install recycled mulch in their backyard. Before you choose the one for your backyard, ensure that it is ADA compliant and IPEMA certified.
Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments:

Creative Ideas for Playing in the Sandbox

Sandbox is undoubtedly one of the most popular playing areas for kids in the backyard, church, school or daycare playgrounds. Parents, teachers or care givers always set up certain rules regarding play time in the sandbox, which usually include: not throwing the sand around, keeping the toys back in there and most importantly, washing off immediately after coming out of the sandbox. These rules are all fine, but have you ever considered making some rules which will make sandbox more fun?

Yes, you can make the time spent in sandbox even more fun and allow for creative learning as well. Here are some ideas that are easy to implement and make for creative play:
  • Water: Simply add some water to the sand. In fact you can have the kids do it and you will see how much fun they will have creating sand castles and other figures from the wet sand.
  • Treasure Hunts: You can take small toys or animal figurines and hide them in the sand. Give the kids an idea of what all they can find buried in the sand and announce a prize for the kid to unearth the maximum number of toys. See them go wild at digging for each prized animal!
  • Create scenery: Tell them to make a river using tin foil shaped like a tube and take them through the entire process of digging a trench and placing the tube shaped foils in it and then filling the tube with water to make the river flow!
You can help them dig faster by getting them a sand digger and allowing them to be creative while at play.
Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments:

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

New Product Alert: Elite Series Single Post Swing

We are featuring a NEW product today! This was just added to the website last night, so you could be the first to have our newest swings.

The Elite Series 5-inch Single Post Swing (8ft) is available in blue or green. Seats, hardware, chains, and hangers come standard with the unit. This is an affordable swing unit that kids will love. Be sure to head over to our site to check out the Elite Series Single Post Swing!

Contact any of our knowledgeable representatives for more information on this great product! 

Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments:

Monday, September 17, 2012

ChildCenter 6

Good morning playground enthusiasts! After being gone for a wedding and honeymoon I am back in full blogging force! To get us back in the blogging groove, I am going to feature a product that is great for early childhood centers.

The ChildCenter 6 is part of our ChildCenter series. There are six different designs in the series, and what makes the ChildCenter 6 unique is that is combines features of the other designs to create one large unit.

The ChildCenter 6 is an affordable unit that will keep children busy! The unit features three slides, a connecting tube, and several interactive panels! Vibrant colors make this unit perfect for your childcare center.

Check out the photo below of a recent install in Harrisburg, IL that featured a ChildCenter 6!

Recent install in Harrisburg, IL- Features ChildCenter 6

Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments:

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Guide for Creating a Playground

Creating a playground is certainly not a child's play. But if you take the right path and implement right actions, you would definitely be able to create a wonderful park for kids. Here are certain things you should think upon before designing the playground.

The prime motive of building a playground is to provide unlimited fun to kids. For this, you need to install different types of play sets in the playground. Decide how much you want to spend on it and start searching for playground equipment, especially built for commercial use. While surfing the internet, you will find various stores selling a wide variety of play sets such as dome climbers, slides, see-saws, slides, swing set, play houses and the like. Before selecting any attractive play equipment, make sure these are designed using finest quality raw materials.

Toddlers and school goers cannot play on same playground equipment as certain provisions like height, complexity etc. are taken into consideration while designing play sets for them. It is your job to label the equipment you install in the playground, whether it is a playhouse or a slide, to remove the scope of any unforeseen accident. You can guide people through signage or fences.

As per the recently adopted revision to American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards, you are now required to build an ADA compliant playground. Therefore, you must design the ground, which can be easily accessed by kids or parents with special abilities. Make sure you install ADA compliant slides, swings sets and see saws for children.
Playgrounds
Swing Sets and Slides
Structures and Furniture
Commercial Play Equipment
at No comments: