What is the best surface for beneath a backyard play set, now that the grass has been destroyed? Artificial turf? Wood chips? ?

Answer 1

Sand. It is cheap, plentiful and kids can be like they are on the beach, so sand castles and sand cookies and sand sandwiches.  Ah, to be a kid again.

.  You could go for sharp quartz stones if you want to see them bleed and NEVER GO THERE.  Your choice.

Answer 2

Shredded rubber is the safest--wood chips can give kids splinters (and it stains and it's subject to mold and fungus), artificial turf can cause burns and it's ugly and expensive, and anything else is simply not suitable. If you absolutely need to put some surface other than grass under it, then use the shredded rubber mulch. 

Answer 3

why not ordinary turf for heavy usage .. you do know its availble in 1 by 2 yards rolls . speak to a garden supplier for advice ..

Answer 4

common sense has it

kiddies are terrors on lawns swingsets and rumpus rooms

demand that they help, might result in their taking care of it

Answer 5

We put down a 3" layer of play sand, followed by 4" of wood mulch. It provided drainage and prevented mud from forming when it rained...especially directly under the swings.

Answer 6

Concrete              .

Answer 7

Rubber mulch is what is trending now, sand used to be the go to, wood chips or regular mulch can lead to splinters, plus that crap is often treated and died with crap. I left it grass and sure, there were wear spots and mud in places and such. But really, in the long run, who cares. Wherever they pitch from, wherever the bases are, the goals are set up, whatever. They will all have wear and such, only way to prevent it is not let them play.

Answer 8

Rubber mulch is good EXCEPT that it will be tracked to other parts of your yard and won't break down when you don't want it anymore.  I would go with a natural substance like wood where it won't matter as much a few years from now when the kids are grown and the swing set needs to go.

Answer 9

Someone once recommended polished river rock. I can't testify to that as I didn't try it when my kids were little but it makes some sense from the standpoint of no sharp edges to puncture or snag other stuff-it just tends to slide out if the way. I've used it elsewhere and found the impact of a misstep is cushioned but that's in shoes/boots so I can't compare it to bare knees but it did protect from back & leg pain for me-which I am sensitive to from an old occupational injury.

I'm going to research it further as I am a first-time grandfather and hope my new granddaughter will come to visit when she is old enough to play outside. Anticipating that I'm working on our old country acreage removing hazards like the remaining barbed wire fence & grooming the grounds to minimize other hazards like tripping or falling because of stuff in the grass, holes, blahblahblah.

Answer 10

I think shredded tyres are safe if children fall over. There will be no skinned knees.