Has anyone got advice or experience to share?
I have been approached by a North London Primary school, primarily to give them a quote to sort out their gardens (my area of growing expertise) but they also asked if I could suggest any new solution to their children's play area paths (not my area!).
At present there is a woodchip and sleeper path which encircles the playground. The path slopes down, runs around and then follows steps up leading back to the playground.
The main problem is that the woodchip is soon kicked out of the path, the membrane below the path then comes to the surface, the wooden edge along the path becomes broken and it all becomes a trip hazard as the wood chip disperses.
Some pictures of existing path can be viewed here-
http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/photo/albums/school-garden-path-surface-ideas
After a visit to RHSWisley on Monday I am wondering if Hoggin would work?
Also, when I mentioned the possibility of a brightly coloured path the School head was very interested, so have been looking at Wet Pour Rubber sites?
At the moment I am just looking for different solutions or recommendations. The budget is vague.. although apparently the head is a great fund raiser!
So if you anyone has suggestions, experience or advice too share?
- A softish surface would be ideal?
- Would it be ok on a sloped area?
- Does it allow drainage, the path runs along the bottom of a slope, at moment there is NO problem with drainage because rain is able to drain away naturally
- Would it be possible to use in conjunction with existing sleepers and wood edging, which is not damaged? (I think this was only installed a few years ago, sleepers appear to be in good condition)
- Could it be used to continue the path up the steps?
Thanks in advance and sorry I seem to always be asking about surfaces!
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Replies
A rubber path would be suitable for children as i presume there are laws as to the materials that can be used in a public site especially with children around.
Hi Michelle,
I did a wildlife garden last summer for a primary school in Hull, East Yorkshire which I've attached a picture of below, which featured a resin bound rubber path and edged with aluminium edgings which we supply here: http://www.unrealsolutions.co.uk/Landscape-Edgings.html we also supply what are known as ground stabilisation systems which are essentially plastic interlocking grids which are filled with whatever medium the path surface is to be made of - works with gravel and bark chippings to stop the migration and scatter of the materials can also be used with rubber shred which I can also supply for you. (Image also attached) It kind of depends on budget really as to what can be achieved but I am happy to help you to achieve your goals if you need prices etc contact me on either 07984 380040 or 01472 349700. email is john.stobart@unrealsolutions.co.uk Hope this helps, John.
Do you mean the wet pour rubber ? It looks great but fear it may be prohibitively expensive, that path is approx 200m?
Although in another smaller enclosed play area I would like to use it, as a blue river path running through the existing watery themed play equipment of a ship, bridge and island? Any recommendations for suppliers and/or path layers? (N London)
Benjamin O'Neill said:
Its expensive but long lasting.
There are quite a few suppliers now of wet pour rubber and they merge and go out of business almost weekly due to the fiercely competitive nature of the marketplace. try http://www.neolay.co.uk/ they are definitely still in business as I saw them at GLEE on Wednesday. The longevity depends on whether the rubber itself is pigmented or coated with a colour as to how well it wears, but if that isn't important there are cheaper alternatives. Whoever you do choose if you go down this route - make sure their materials are guaranteed wire free as the shred is manufactured using shredded tyres....
Costs can vary dramatically from one company to the next and it depends on whether it needs to conform to critical fall heights etc etc.
Many thanks for the links John, very useful. Have just emailed you too.
Michelle
Unreal Gardens - John Stobart said:
Hello Michelle,
My uncle has been involved in playground construction and inspection for nearly 50 years, I can give you his email address if you would like to contact him for advice.
I've friend requested you, if you accept it I can PM you his address.
Cheers,
Michelle, we have used softbond for this purpose several times. It is resin bonded surface using rubber chips supplied by www.ecoscape.eu it is soft,can be used straight onto soil, your timber eging is fine, comes in an array of colours, it drains well and can be used to infill the steps. In short it fills all your requirements and is cheaper than fine grained wet pour.
If I can be of further help , give me a call
David
we used ecoscape on two nursery playgrounds two ytears ago. Seemed like a great product. One year later all the colour pigment had worn off leaving the children getting covered in black marks from the rubber. We went back to them, they came up with a fix of applying a resin colour to the surface. Despite promises we ended up doing the remedial work and getting stuffed for the bill. As we were going through the initial stages of taking them to court, we found out various other companies had done the same and we were told to drop the action as there was already court orders actioning bailiffs against them and they had ceased trading at the beginning of the year as a result of that. I dont know if they have popped up again.
David if the surfaces you have done are still fine then i would suggest you are the lucky one. I was subsequently contacted by one of their employees who had dealt with me and wanted to put the record straight from his perspective as he felt so embaressed by the way the company had acted. He told me we werent the only instance where the product had failed, he had a big long list, where play surfaces they provided were now unusable, including schools, community centres and disabled childrens playgrounds. Part of the problem was the process of bonding teh colour has to be done at a constant temperature. They were producing it in a warehouse that had no temperature control. I wont even go into what he told me about the organisation, and what they did when the bailiffs came round.
Sorry if i sound hacked off but they cost me a lot of money time and hassle, and were a complete sham of a company. Great product in principle, but it just wasnt properly produced. We have also found that it doesnt stay well bonded under heavy foot traffic and comes loose (if you can call a nursery playground for 10 3 year olds heavy foot traffic) If they have popped up again, id be very wary
I an sorry you have had a bad time with this. I have not had any feedback from any of the sites where we used the product but I will heed your warning.
David
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