We just ordered an outdoor climber with a slide and are wondering what to put underneath it, if anything...if you have one, do you have anything under it or just plain grass?
Thanks. FYI we ordered the Naturally Playful Clubhouse Climber for our 18 month old.
we did just grass but they make this stuff thats foam pieces and hey looklike pebbles i have seen them under someones swing set we know and i would like to do that..... it comes in colors
We have 2 & 3 year old girls. Looked into the rubber mulch...seemed like a great idea, but soooo expensive! We ended up just leaving it grass and glad we did. Looks nice and no issues with the kids on it.
Me being a paranoid mommy, i did lots of research about this before we bought ours :) We have one of the higher wooden playsets.
What I found is that the rubber mulch is hands down the BEST... You don't have to replace it every year, the color holds true, and it has the best protection upon impact. However, its very pricey. So, since at the time it wasn't in the budget, we went with the next best which is playground mulch (wood). If you call around to local landscaping stores ask if they have the "playground mulch". Its usually around $27 a yard. But with this type its recommended that you refill / refresh the play area every year. There are calculators online that you can find that will tell you how many yards you need for the size play area you have. If you'd like me to send you a picture of our play area, just email me and I'll send it to ya.. (just to get an idea) ____@____.com
We had a playset when my kids were little, but didn't put anything under it. It was set on a slight incline, so there wasn't a drainage problem. If yours has lush green grass, it probably won't stay that way, so expect worn patches, which will lead to more mud after a rain. My neighbor, at the time, ran a daycare and had one with pea rock under it. There wasn't really an issue with the rocks being dangerous or anything like that, it was actually pretty soft. However, the rock never stays in the area. She used rail ties to enclose the rock, but would get a little grouchy about the rock staying in the enclosure. I've also seen playsets with mulch or woodchips, but I think I'd rather go with the rock if it were me. There are also the rubber mats or rubber shavings, which are WONDERFUL, but pricey!!!! Good luck and have fun!! :)
The problem with any kind of stuff underneath, whether it is mulch, rubber mulch, stone... it never ends up staying there and you have to keep putting it back or adding more.
My husband and I have thought about this because he doesn't want to mow under the swingset - it is kind of a pain. But I don't like wood chips because they can get slippery when wet. I have seen some nasty falls on them. Some of the other materials are hard on the lawnmower and not that much softer than the plain old ground.
I don't remember what the school uses - I think just sand? It is probably the most "giving" of materials, and easy to spread out several years from now when your child isn't using the climber as much anymore.
For now, we are sticking with grass because we don't have a perfect lawn. At our old house with the perfect lawn, we probably would have dug out an area, closed it in with timbers, and filled it with sand. Don't have the money we used to, though!
Good luck! Hope the little one loves it.
