Rubber flooring for playgrounds: tips for choosing and using

The games of children on playgrounds and sports grounds physically develop them. However, these games are often accompanied by falls, which lead to bruises, bruises, bumps, and more dangerous injuries. In order to protect the vigorous activity of children, there is a special rubber coating, which, in addition, will get rid of dirt and decorate the playground.

In modern sports and playgrounds for children, river sand is used as a surface at best, asphalt or fine gravel at worst. Naturally, they do not meet the safety rules.

Rubber coatings, widely used abroad, are still a new and not fully developed material in our country. These coatings, which meet all the requirements of the standards, are currently becoming the best and most environmentally friendly material for playgrounds. This rubberized coating has its advantages.

• Provides a high degree of safety when children play on the playground. Such surfaces of high resilience reduce the possibility of serious injury even in the event of a fall, since the cushioning properties of the rubber coating soften the impact. Small children feel secure on a rough surface that does not allow slipping.
• It has a long service life, which can reach 10 years.
• It has great durability, since the raw material for its manufacture is the rubber of out-of-service automobile tires. Therefore, it has good resistance to various mechanical damage and can withstand heavy loads.
• Does not react to weather influences. It can withstand temperature fluctuations ranging from -30 to + 50 degrees, which allows it to be used all year round, and in regions with different climates. However, at subzero temperatures, elastic and springy properties are somewhat reduced. After rain, moisture goes into the ground through the pores, which means that puddles do not stagnate, and after frost ice crusts do not form.

• It is an environmentally friendly material. The constituent elements of the coating are devoid of components harmful and hazardous to the health of children, and there are also no unpleasant odors.
• Does not cause allergies. It is resistant to the development of mold, fungal and other infections, does not attract rodents and harmful insects, and weeds do not grow on it.
• Has a wide variety of colors that do not fade under the influence of the sun and retain their saturation and their properties during use.
• Gives the site an aesthetic appearance. A wide range of colors and patterns makes it possible to create beautiful compositions and turn the playground into a fabulous and attractive city for children.
• It is easy and simple to care for such a coating. It can be vacuumed, dirt is removed with water, it is permissible to use ordinary detergents. But in order not to damage the surface, metal brushes cannot be used.
• You can lay it yourself, as it has a simple installation that does not require special tools.

Still, the coating has some disadvantages. First of all, it is its ability to smolder and melt, leading to fire, which makes the coating fire hazardous.That is why it is impossible to light a fire near the site. Another big drawback is the high price, although it is justified by the long service life.

The development of technological processes has made it possible to create a different and safe material for decorating children's play areas in the form of rubber coatings. These coatings can be of the following types:

• monolithic (solid) seamless rubber crumb fabric;
• modular rubber tiles;
• modular plastic cover;
• roll rubber covering.

A distinctive feature of this type of coating is that its composition includes several components, and it is prepared right during installation. This is a self-leveling type of coating: crumb rubber is combined with a binder made of polyurethane resins in compliance with certain proportions. Dyes are used to add color.

The laying technology makes it possible to realize various patterns and patterns. The product can be applied once (single layer), and twice using a reinforcing grid of glass fibers between the layers. An integral coating has a number of special qualities.

• Increased moisture permeability. Integral mats are covered with small pores through which water seeps.
• Great guarantee of safety against injury due to excellent shock absorption properties. It has several types in thickness, taking into account the different heights of children's play devices and equipment. On a smooth, seamless surface, there is no way for a child to touch the edge, trip or fall.
• Long service life while maintaining a good overall appearance.
• Easy to install that you can do yourself.
• A high degree of hygiene, since there are no joints where dirt and various infections usually collect, and the integrity of the flooring facilitates maintenance.
• Quite an acceptable price, which slightly exceeds the cost of tiles, but benefits from the simplicity and ease of installation.

Tiled rugs can be made in two ways: cold or hot pressing of crumb rubber. The resulting material, having a high degree of elasticity, remains soft. The porous structure provides good moisture permeability, which contributes to rapid drying after precipitation. This option represents polygons of various shapes and sizes. The size of the sides can reach 1 m, and the thickness is 1-6 cm. The tiles are fixed to each other according to the "thorn-groove" type, and the assembly takes place like in ordinary puzzles. Thin rugs are mostly single-layer and are evenly and fully dyed.

Thick tiles can contain multiple layers separated by fiberglass mesh. Small granules are the basis of the bottom layer, and it becomes not so porous, but more springy. The upper layer, consisting of large rubber crumb, is painted in different colors. Characteristics:

• has a good ability to pass water;
• provides a greater degree of security;
• it is resistant to wear, and therefore serves for a long time without losing its attractive appearance;
• characterized by simplicity and speed of laying on a flat surface, without requiring additional equipment and tools;
• the possibility of repairing the coating in case of damage by replacing the damaged element with a new one;
• has a lower price than a monolithic seamless coating.

This type is a collapsible structure consisting of elements of various dimensions. It is made of high quality plastic. Easily tolerates temperature fluctuations and prolonged interaction with water. Environmental friendly and easy to install. It is easy to disassemble, the product can be installed in a different place, and even transferred when assembled. Plastic sheeting is much cheaper than other types.

The roll cover has the form of strips of different widths and lengths. The material for the production is hardened rubber crumb, cut into strips, which are then rolled into a roll. The roll coating can have 2-3 layers, and the thickness is 2-5 mm. For playgrounds, its thickness can reach 10, 15, 17, 20 mm. You can install this kind of flooring yourself.

Playgrounds have to meet high requirements, so it is very important to choose the right floor. First of all, you need to understand what qualities they should have. Shock absorption is the ability to cushion the impact of a fall and is one of the most important safety requirements for rubber coatings. This indicator determines the height, when falling from which a child can get dangerous injury. The height of the baby equipment must meet these parameters.

When choosing, you need to be guided by GOST, which determines the standards for elasticity, strength and wear resistance. When choosing a coating, they also pay attention to the following factors:

• safety of the coating and its environmental friendliness: the coating must have a certificate of environmental quality, and may not contain any harmful impurities;
• service life: the coating must be resistant to sunlight, not fade and not lose color saturation, tolerate temperature fluctuations, while not deforming or cracking;
• shock-absorbing qualities to avoid injury;
• aesthetic appearance: bright and colorful coatings are suitable for the play area, and calmer tones for sports grounds;
• ease of maintenance of the coating and the possibility of its repair;
• price.

The choice of the type of rubber coating depends on the functional tasks that it will solve. So, for a children's play area, a seamless coating is more suitable, for edging the sides of the pool or for covering paths - a roll coating or rubber tiles. From a safety point of view, the best is a seamless self-leveling coating with a thickness of 5 to 20 cm. When choosing this type of coating and its components, its functional application is also guided.

Depending on what functional tasks the rubber coating will solve, determine its density, texture, thickness and size. So, the functional load of the playground for very young children is completely different from the load of the playground for older children. When choosing a rubber tile, you need to pay attention to the fact that there are no foreign solid particles in it, since during operation they are able to protrude outside the surface and harm the child. The surface of the tiles must be smooth and uniform.

The technology of mounting a rubber coating, regardless of its type, begins with the preparation of the base for the coating. The base can be wood, concrete or asphalt.

It is much easier to lay the covering in rolls, than all the others:

• the finished base is cleaned of dirt, dust and other debris;
• a polyurethane glue is applied to the cleaned base;
• roll cover is laid;
• the joints are processed with glue.

At the intended place of the playing area, the finished base is leveled and cleaned of sand, dirt and fine gravel. Existing roughness and irregularities are rubbed over with cement. When laying tiles on the street, drainage is pre-made with an angle of about 20 degrees. The finished base is greased with polyurethane glue, then the tiles are laid with minimal gaps between them. It is also important to keep an eye on maintaining the level, which should be the same.

Installation of a monolithic (pouring) seamless canvas has its own method. The coating consists of crumb rubber, polyurethane that binds it, and dyes. Laying steps:

• the prepared base is sanded, cleaned of all kinds of dirt, the concrete base is moistened;
• installation is carried out at a temperature of at least +6 degrees;
• prepare a special soil from glue and solvent, taken in equal proportions, and apply it to the base for a day;
• the coating is also poured on a sunny and dry day;
• according to the instructions, a solution is prepared from crumb rubber, polyurethane glue and dyes in certain proportions, mixing it well;
• this solution is applied to the base with a layer of about 8 cm, leveled with a spatula, then leveled again with a roller moistened with anti-adhesive;
• hardening occurs within 2 days;
• then the surface is varnished with a velor roller.

The use of a crumb rubber coating allows you to create a modern-looking playground. It is especially beautifully combined with various attractions. Often, the design of the play area is decorated with a combination of rubber flooring with artificial grass, imitating bright green islands. An interesting option is to place the sandbox on the surface, like a small island with a beautiful bridge. The cover can have various multi-colored patterns: stars, multi-colored circles, stylized animals and flowers, butterflies, as well as geometric shapes.

You can also draw squares to play classics, or set up a street simulator for learning traffic rules. Tiles in different colors can be staggered and arranged in different paths. The rubber can be combined with other types of surfaces such as bark mulch, modular plastic sheeting and artificial turf. Rubber crumb flooring can realize any imagination.

For information on how to apply rubber coating for a playground, see the next video.