Material to Use Under the Playset ( Mulch, Pebbles,Grass)

You should look into rubber mulch. It does not blow away(like wood mulch so it does not need to be added to/replaced) and it is soft for children to land on. It also does not harbor bugs, since they do not like to live in it. You should check out rubberplaymulch.com

Hope this helps!

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It is kind of expensive, but shredded tire is a great material to put under a playset. The pieces are larger that pea gravel so kids are not tempted to put them in ears, nose etc. They dry quickly after a rain and make a great cushion for falls. Also MUCH cleaner than sand. They can be found in most landscape materials places. Good Luck.

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i was told by our landscaper that anything you put down such as pebbles, sand, mulch will look nice at first, but the weeds will creep in & you will not have that look for long. he was adament that we just allow our grass to fill in & we mow it and weed eat all around it. Seems he was right, as many playsets we've noticed in the area are pretty "messy".

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I grew up with the grass under the swingset and we plan on keeping the grass under our swingset. I worry about the substances people suggest...what chemicals leach off of the rubber, bugs with mulch...my neighbor has peebles/pea gravel and it ends up everywhere and thrown. So...it is the grass for us.

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It was a high initial investment, but has been so worth it in out house: rubber mulch. I LOVE it and am so glad we went with it. At first I really complained about the cost, but now I can't say enough good things about it.

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J. - I just finished doing a TON of research on this very issue, including seeking advice from parents on another website I belong to and getting estimates from various vendors/contractors for each of the different (and many!!) ground covering options ... uggh. I'm going with artificial turf (synthetic grass), which will be installed later this month before the new playset is put in.

Depending on what you're willing to pay as far as which kind of turf - e.g., nylon (longer-lasting) versus poly-something (not as durable), with or without a padded foam backing, with or without "infill" (short thatch-like blades between the larger blades that increases the density/thickness of the turf) - it can have the same safety/fall rating as all the other ground covering options, including rubber mulch, and after you buy all those bags of mulch, the cost is about the same. I chose the turf because it blends in with the rest of the yard and eliminates the difficulty of mowing underneath/around the playset.

There are many vendors of all types of turf - I'm ordering mine from a company in Georgia called Astrolawn and using their local installer/contractor. (Check out www.astrolawn.com for photos and prices.) There are probably many ways to install turf, including doing it yourself, but, in my case, the ground will be excavated about 6 inches and crushed limestone poured into the area and then the turf laid on top and seamed together (it comes in large carpetlike rolls). The whole area will be bordered with timbers/railroad ties, which also helps secure the turf to the ground.

If you're ever in Wheaton, check out the playground at St. Michael's church/school - it's all artificial turf. Good luck!

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I would suggest pea gravel. It doesnt hurt your feet that much and it looks nice. Mulch you would have to worry about splinters and it sticks to shoes and clothes

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Use rubber mulch not the kind you put around flowers otherwise you will have bugs around your kids. I would not put down bebbles otherwise when the fall they will dig into their knees and such. Grass is good too

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We had grass under our swingset until my daughter fell and broke her arm last summer. Now we (and when I say we, I mean my husband!) actually dug out the sod a few inches all the way around the playset and layered it back up with playground mulch. We looked into the rubber matting, nice but very expensive. Like I said, we have quite a few inches of mulch, so we have not had to replace any. It has not broken down like the landscaping mulch does. And we do not have a bug problem. We also have had no problem with it being tracked anywhere else besides the play area. You can actually find ratings for the ground coverings....like at a 6 foot fall, with so many inches off protection, no bones are supposed to get broken, etc.

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Rubberized mulch!! It's soft and doesn't blow away so you don't have to buy it every year. Also the kids don't really play in it like pea gravel or sand. It is a more expensive product but you save in the long-run.

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Hi J. one of my girlfriend's was in the same situation and she is looking into rubber mulch..... I belive the website is www.rubbermulch.com hope this helps- good luck!

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They have a new rubber mulch, I would get that. It is more expensive but you don't need to replace it every year and it's eco friendly. Ace carries it by us.

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We just finished our new play yard, after alot of research, we went with a double shredded mulch called "kid mat"(we bought it by the yard at Shroeder Material & had it delivered). It has a 7'-8' fall rating and was cheap compared to buying the rubber mulch or bags of mulch. I know all the playgrounds in my area have kid mat! Pebbles just seemed like they would hurt! Good Luck!

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Rubber mulch, it usually comes in red or brown. Its recycled so your helping the enviroment, no dirt inside the house and it wont fade. plus if they fall on it they wont hurt themselves as bad. not sure about cost it varies from store to store and town

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You can start with a pea gravel base but it is better to use sand or mulch on top of the pea gravel base. I think they recommend quite a few inches of mulch or sand.
It you have a lot of cats in your neighbor hood I would go with the mulch because cats may use your swing set sand as a litter box unless your yard is fenced in and they can not get to it.
Some city's give away sand each year to replenish your sand. In Crystal Lake I know they give away mulch to people who live there. Call you city hall and ask if there is any programs like that.
If you live in Woodstock I can tell you right now they offer nothing free. They do not even offer branch pick up for there community. And they charge for leaf pick up each fall.
Finally grass is a good and free but it is hard to mow around the legs of the swing set and the ground can be pretty hard when a child falls off a swing.

I say go with the sand because it also it something your children can play in but watch out for those cats... HEE HEE

Hope this helps.
S.

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There is something called rubber mulch. My friend has it under her playset and it is wonderful ! There is no dust or dirt. I am not sure of the cost vbut I am sure that it is worth whatever it costs. It looks just like mulch but it is made out of rubber, Good luck !

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Rubber mulch! We have it under our playset and it was more expensive ( we used 90 bags!) then we planned but it doesn't need to be replaced like regular mulch. It doesn't blow away or get bugs either. I know it can be found at Home Depot or Menards. We dug down about 6 inches and removed the sod/soil that is why we ended up using so much. But it is great protection if the kids fall and NO splinters!
Good luck!

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Rubber mulch is the best in my opinion. The regular mulch gives slivers, the pebbles can hurt when the kids fall and the grass is ok but it will wear out especially in the swing area. We have had rubber mulch for the past 5 years and we love it. It comes in a hand full of different colors and so far seems to be lasting forever.

Good Luck

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