Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me. I appreciate your interest in learning from all of my synthetic turf teachings. I love helping others succeed in this multi-billion-dollar industry.

In my last vlogs, I discussed how playgrounds can be fun, but injuries can and will happen. I also discussed fall surfacing, critical fall heights, and fall and use zones.

Now that we understand that playgrounds can be fun and safe at the same time, let’s discuss the underlying materials that make a playground installation successful.

I always say … “Your synthetic turf installation is only as good as your subgrade.”

Well for playgrounds to be durable, the quality of materials from the ground up is essential.

I have decades of experience installing playgrounds. I have seen my share of failures, but I have also learned from my mistakes and know what materials to use and what not to use. I have traveled nationwide inspecting playgrounds and witnessed failure after failure, all due to the materials used underneath the playground.

We all know playgrounds take a beating, especially public playgrounds, they take a beating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

This amount of traffic can even wear the strongest concrete coating down!
When children and adults jump and drop from playground heights, the surface also suffers, especially when it has some type of shock padding underneath.

Any surface that is vulnerable to attenuation will break down faster due to the continuous recovery that must occur every time a bounce and depression occurs.

Just because the surface is softer does not always mean it will last longer. Like every surface, it must always be maintained, mainly when it receives heavy foot traffic.

I often get asked what materials should we use and how should we use them.

First off, before we dive into any recommendations, throughout my life, I have played and fallen on all types of playground surfaces including pea gravel, bark, shredded tires, dirt, EPDM rubber, and even asphalt. All of those so-called safety surface materials will never outlast a quality synthetic turf attenuated playground surface.

Here are my recommendations and crucial pointers that will ensure a long-lasting synthetic turf playground system.

1. Survey the playground equipment and its surroundings to ensure that the existing playground area is elevated enough to comply with Head Entrapment. Head Entrapment ASTM 6.1 – 6.14. Entrapments occur when an opening in the playground equipment is large enough for the child’s feet but not their head.
You ask, “Why is this important, JW? I didn’t install the playground equipment.”

Well, that may be true, Grasshopper, …but if you choose to install a new playground system that includes removing and replacing the base, you WILL be responsible for the dimensions under each piece of that equipment.

2. Survey the playground equipment and its surroundings to ensure that it has a good slope so that water can escape and not sit on the play surface.
I have seen contractors take on existing playground installations where the client had told the contractor prior to estimating the job that the playground was always muddy, wet, and hard to maintain. Well, the contractor ignored it, and it all flooded, so it had to be removed and replaced.

If you have a playground where the play surface always stays wet, muddy, and hard to keep clean. This muddy material that is underneath must be removed or reconditioned so that it can be a good base for the complete system. The base must be able to compact, permeate, and allow water to flow through it.

You may also need to install french drains or some type of drainage system that will assist excessive water to escape and drain away from the playground area.

All of these actions prevent settlement and provide longevity.

PLEASE NOTE – If the playground exists and DOES NOT have a border to contain it, you will need to install some perimeter edging as in nailer board, hardscape, railroad ties, or concrete curbing.

Remember, the shock pad thickness will dictate the established height of imported graded fill.

To recap, what we are learning here is that the sub-base materials below synthetic turf playgrounds may and will not perform for many reasons. Placing incorrect materials and amounts, especially in poor existing conditions, will usually dictate what and how much is to be used.

I do not recommend using beach sand, concrete or mortar sand, topsoil, and silt.

These materials may drain well but do not retain cohesion, bond, or, as I put it, “mechanical tooth,” and they’re also not stable enough to withstand years of abuse from playground traffic.

I also do not recommend installing playgrounds over loam, clay or caliche-like materials.

These materials will not allow positive drainage or permeation, which may cause water to pool or flood the playground.

I recommend placing ¾” limestone aggregates as deep as needed to compensate for any existing inferior underlying materials.

Always place the materials in minimal lifts to ensure the most out of your compaction.

Once you have reached the desired elevation of the ¾” aggregate, I recommend placing 1” of either crushed decomposed granite, limestone chat, or 3/8” minus mixture on top and then compact. This will provide a nice sand cushion, and a smooth surface for the shock pad to lie on.

I get asked all the time, JW, why place all the ¾” aggregate and only 1” of fines?

Great question, grasshopper… The more fines you place and compact, the more absorption of water and excessive fluids that will soften up the base over time. When the base is soft, continuous foot traffic and jumping on the turf surface will cause settlement and depressions in the surface.

This is why I recommend my choice of ¾” rock aggregate below a playground system. It gives stability but also drains better.

The more ¾” rock you use, the better it will take on massive drainage.
Crushed decomposed granite, limestone chat, 3/8” minus mixture those materials will compress and slow down permeation and drainage.

If you follow these simple guidelines, use a minimum of ¾” aggregate underneath your synthetic turf playgrounds it will drain better, last longer, and prevent settlement.

I look forward to speaking with you next time, where I will speak on shock pads, do’s and don’ts, and how to get the best out of your synthetic turf playgrounds…

Until next time… JW OUT!!!