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Placement and Play
Placement and Play
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ea Surfacing
ea Surfacing
Before installing the swing, select and prepare a play area.
Placement
Install the swing at least three feet from any structure or obstruction
such as a tree trunk, fence, garage, house, overhanging branches,
laundry lines or electrical lines.
Surfacing
Following are guidelines from the Consumer Product Safety
Commission’s Handbook for Public Playground Safety to minimize
injuries that can result from falls. These guidelines apply to playground
equipment including but not limited to swing sets and climbing
equipment.
Hard surfacing materials are not suitable for use under this equipment.
Earth surfaces such as soils and hard packed dirt are also not
recommended because their shock absorbing properties can vary
depending on climactic conditions such as moisture and temperature.
Grass and turf are not recommended because their effectiveness in
absorbing shock during a fall can be reduced considerably due to
wear and environmental conditions.
Acceptable surfacing materials are available in two basic types:
loose-fill and unitary.
Loose-fill materials can have acceptable shock absorbing properties
when installed at sufficient uncompressed depth of at least 6 inches.
These materials include sand (fine and coarse), gravel (fine and
medium) and shredded wood products (wood mulch, shredded bark,
wood chips). Loose-fills should not be installed over hard surfaces
such as asphalt or concrete.
The depth of any loose-fill material could be reduced during use
resulting in different shock-absorbing characteristics. For this reason,
a depth greater than the minimum recommended should be
considered.
Unitary materials are generally rubber mats or a combination of
rubber-like materials held in place by a binder that may be poured in
place at the playground site and cures to form a unitary shock
absorbing surface.