What's under your swing set?

[Pembo]

There's mud under our swings right now! Blech.

Do you have mulch or gravel under yours? I know they say to put something under there, but what? And what could I put under the swings themselves? Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[kimwim8]

right now, we have dirt. We're hoping this summer to get our backyard looking better, and one part of the plan is to section off a play-area for the kids & put some of that recycled tire-type mulch down. Friends of ours have it & it's really nice. You can walk on it with your bare feet & it doesn't hurt, and it's soft enough to cushion falls if need-be.

 

[minmate]

We used to have mulch... then I had the big idea to put sand down last year... BAD IDEA! Now, it's a mucky, muddy mess. It's very shady and difficult to grow grass... I'd like grass, but mulch or the rubber-tire stuff is safer. Mulch is just not good for barefeet and whilst I know kids SHOULD always have shoes on... what if they want a quick swing after jumping out of the kiddie pool? I have fond memories of running barefoot in the grass in the summer! I have no memories of splinters though.

 

[shep]

Grass is still growing under ours....

 

[Microcell]

playground chips

 

[kimwim8]

playground chips

Can you describe these for me? Are they rubbery? Where did you get them? TIA!

 

[cgcw]

DH built up around the playset with landscaping timbers. We then filled the area inside the timbers in with woodchips.

The woodchips decay rather quickly. We have to replace them 2 times a year. The good news is they are delivered free from our Village so there isn't a cost to us. It takes a couple of hours and lots of manual labor to refresh the area.

Wouldn't gravel be a bit harsh in a fall? I also think the kids would have be taught not to throw it into the lawn. I'd be concerned with the lawn mower spitting it back out and harming someone.

I'm also curious about the playground chips. I've seen the shredded tires used at commercial playgrounds. Although I've never looked into it, I've always thought the cost would be a lot.

 

[MsDisney23]

OM Gosh I can not believe you asked this... This reminds me of something that happened in our town about 10 years ago. There was a local Dr. who murdered his wife and he burried her in his back yard under the picnic table! They used to ask him where is missing wife was and he would tell people out back under the picnic table. Turns out he was not joking, after they bugged his home and caught him, etc. Believe it or not he got away with this due to fact that they had bugged his home. He now lives in Canada and continues to practice medicine. People here still talk about Dr. #####. But Me I do not have a swing set or picnic table.

 

[monarchsfan16]

We had bark mulch under ours. Under the swings themselves we still had bark mulch. But the swing set got taken down a year or two ago (apparently we're now too old for it ) and there's a "garden" there now. Funny place for one since there's no sun, which is part of the reason there was never grass under it. I think all my neighbors had bark mulch under their swing sets too.

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, our first swing set had a well under it!!! You read that right...a well! Things were going along quite nicely for about 2 years. The swing set was in a nice enclosed area about 5 ft. from the house. Then, one spring, our son started pulling at a stick that was coming out of the ground under the swing set. When dh went to get it out, he pulled and pulled and out came a huge branch!! It had been stuffed down a beautiful dry well. Seems we had this dry well for some reason or another and never knew of it's existence until that spring. We then filled in that well with all sorts of stuff. I think dh even put a Big-Wheel down there. I pity the poor person who digs it all up in the future.

My dd's swing set had grass under her swing set...no wells this time, but it is a different house and much newer to boot!!!

 

[mommystieg]

I'm also curious about the playground chips. I've seen the shredded tires used at commercial playgrounds. Although I've never looked into it, I've always thought the cost would be a lot.

We are planning to section off an area of our backyard for a playground and DH looked into the shredded rubber. Wow, it can be really expensive. There is nowhere in Texas that distributes it and I believe DH told me it would cost about $800-$900 for an area of something like 22' x 16'

 

[lyeag]

Shredded rubber is good for kids falling off-I worked at a daycare with it.

Shredded rubber is awful in your house. It ends up everywhere (somehow) even when your children dumpout their shoes before they come it. It sticks to the socks inside the shoes.....

 

[WDWorBUST]

Does anyone know where to get the shredded tire material? That's what is under the swingset at the elementary school near where we live and I love it - it's soft and absorbs a fall good - unfortunately that part I know from experience. My dad was swinging Sammi (not high - and just barely at that) she decided she wanted out and whap - right on her belly. It didn't even faze her....she got up and continued playing. I don't doubt it's expensive....but you wouldn't think so - it's recycled tired that need a use...you would think tire dealers would be giving it away.

 

[Pembo]

So grass or wood chips.

Is there anything I could put just under the swings to cover up the mud?

 

[mommystieg]

Does anyone know where to get the shredded tire material? That's what is under the swingset at the elementary school near where we live and I love it - it's soft and absorbs a fall good - unfortunately that part I know from experience. My dad was swinging Sammi (not high - and just barely at that) she decided she wanted out and whap - right on her belly. It didn't even faze her....she got up and continued playing. I don't doubt it's expensive....but you wouldn't think so - it's recycled tired that need a use...you would think tire dealers would be giving it away.

That was my thought too--you would think they would be paying you to take the old tires off of their hands. DH says to be sure that you are getting the tire mulch and not the recycled shoes. He says the recycled shoe rubber can be slippery. Here's a couple of sites I found:
http://www.detailedplay.com/AccMulc...ch&OVKEY=shredded rubber mulch&OVMTC=standard
http://www.byoplayground.com/premadashred.html
http://www.shreddedmulch.com/

 

[WDWorBUST]

Thanks!! Depending on the expense we may not be able to go with it - but I sure would like to be able to.

 

[lovebuzz]

we have Cypress mulch. Our landscaper told is that the Cypress Mulch is good because it helps keep away the mosquitos.