Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Playground Flooring?
Playground flooring is a tough, durable, yet slightly soft material that maintains a fantastic grip during rainy days, minimising the risks of slips and trips with a smooth, perfectly level surface without ridges or hard edges.
Rubber flooring is ideally suited to playgrounds at schools, parks, adventure play areas, attractions and playing fields, with a substantially more pliable feel than concrete or brick, acting as a shock absorber to ensure that children are far less likely to suffer from an injury.
What Are Playground Safety Surfaces Made From?
Flexflooring has two playground safety flooring options. Wet Pour Rubber Surfacing is porous (so it won’t allow surface water to collect) and comprises larger granules of rubber encased in epoxy resin.
Another option is our Rubber Mulch, created from recycled, repurposed rubber as a sustainable outdoor safety flooring alternative – this option is highly cost-effective.
How Quickly Can Flexflooring Install a New Playground Floor?
Our capable outdoor flooring installation engineers can advise on specific dates or curing times, often depending on the weather and the size of the playground you need to lay new flooring for.
We work quickly and efficiently, drawing on our expertise and ensuring your safe playground flooring is accessible within 24 hours and fully cured in 48.
Do Playground Floors Become Slippery in the Rain?
Most flooring surfaces can become treacherous in rain, ice, and dampness. Still, rubber has the uniquely diverse property of being a naturally cushioned material that is impervious to challenging weather conditions and maintains a good level of anti-slip even when wet.
Flexflooring playground floors are specially designed to reduce slip and trip risks and safeguard the welfare of children who happen to fall.
What Are the Benefits of Fitting a Specialist Playground Floor?
Flexflooring provides a comprehensive FlexPlay service, drawing on years of knowledge about decorative outdoor flooring designs, slip testing specifications, epoxy flooring depths and every other element of your playground flooring.
Our design and installation teams can recommend the right options for higher-traffic areas, create unique flooring with any number of colours or styles, and source exceptional quality flooring that will last for years.
Where Are Playground Floors Used?
While playground flooring is typically used in outdoor events, parks, and schools, it also has a diverse number of applications, including:
- Play spaces at sports venues
- Playgrounds at restaurants and takeaways
- Private installations for home playgrounds
- Play areas at airports, train stations and other transport hubs
- Nurseries and private childcare facilities
- Hospitals and clinics with paediatric care units
- Children’s centres and community centres
- Clubs such as scouts, multi-sports, or after-school clubs
This list is not exhaustive but gives you an idea about the variety of facilities, buildings, and attractions where playground safety flooring is beneficial.
Can I Customise My Playground Floor Design?
Yes! As epoxy and polyurethane flooring specialists, Flexflooring often works with clients who wish to develop custom designs for their play areas – examples include schools, theme parks and educational facilities.
Local councils can also install branded or colourful flooring to delineate different play areas, such as walking routes between play equipment or areas designated for toddlers or under-fives.
We can lay Rubbaflex safety flooring in an extensive array of colours, patterns, shapes, and designs with optional EPDM wear pads underneath high-traffic play equipment. These pads are extremely durable and can withstand long-term, vigorous usage without becoming damaged.
How Long Does an Outdoor Playground Floor Last?
A professionally laid Rubbaflex playground flooring system can last many years, providing a safe space for children to play and enjoy outdoor adventures. An outdoor rubber floor will normally last at least 20 years with a little TLC.
This longevity represents a superb cost efficiency compared to bark and wood chips that begin to break down and rot within a few months.
Rubber flooring is also highly preferable to conventional materials such as grass, concrete, and paving, with anti-slip performance properties and a soft cushioned surface that absorbs impact and will not disintegrate or become muddy and impassable in wetter weather.
What Is Soft Fall Rubber for Playgrounds?
Soft fall rubber is another name for wet pour rubber and is used on playgrounds as a low-maintenance, permeable and even surface suitable for access by pushchairs and wheelchair users.
Rubber epoxy floors are preferable to rubber tiles because, inevitably, rubber tiling starts to lift over time, creating a trip hazard where the edges of each panel are no longer flush.
Are Public Playgrounds Legally Required to Install Safety Flooring?
Not necessarily, although it is one solution to ensure your facility and outdoor play spaces are fully compliant with legal standards such as the Children Act (1989), the Consumer Protection Act (1987), the Occupier’s Liability Act (Revised 1984) and the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974).
Some of these standards might not apply depending on the nature of your play space – for example, a free public facility in a park will have different regulatory requirements than a play space provided for paying customers at a restaurant.
However, the basics are that providers of play spaces designed and intended for children need to implement steps to protect the safety of users, and a risk assessment, appropriate warning signs and safety policy may be wise to protect yourself from potential liability.
Investing in a safe flooring surface is a great way of demonstrating responsible playground management and invites more users to access your facility with the assurance that falls or trips are less likely to be serious.
Is Outdoor Rubber Playground Flooring Sustainable?
Sourcing locations are increasingly important, particularly in the public sector, where stakeholders feel strongly about unethically sourced raw materials that carry a heavy carbon footprint and cause potential environmental damage.
All Flexflooring rubber is sourced from a long-established network of reputable suppliers across the UK and EU, with recycled rubber flooring available to repurpose old rubber sheeting, shredded into finer pieces to be used again as outdoor safety flooring.
If you would like to chat about sustainability credentials or the viability of rubber safety flooring over alternative materials, please get in touch at any time.
