Poured rubber playground surfacing

Thickness follows fall height

This is the part that decides your budget, so settle it first. Play equipment has a fall height: the highest point a child can reach and fall from. The surface underneath has to be built to absorb that fall, and a taller fall means a thicker system. A surface poured at the wrong thickness looks exactly like one poured at the right thickness.

The way that is proven is a laboratory test, usually to ASTM F1292, on a complete build-up: a stated wear layer over a stated base layer, over a stated sub-base, at a stated thickness. The result is a critical fall height for that build-up, not for rubber in general. Ask your installer which tested system they are installing, at what thickness, and for the test report that covers it. Get it in writing before work is priced, and keep it with the site records.

Resin Rubber supplies the EPDM granules and binders that go into these systems. We do not certify a fall height for a surface we have not tested or installed, and no supplier honestly can from a bag alone.

Check the site before you price the job

Settle these with your installer before anything is ordered:

• What is under the surface? Concrete, asphalt and compacted aggregate are each prepared differently, and each drains differently. The base has to be sound and stay stable.
• What is the fall height of every piece of equipment? Including anything children climb that was not designed to be climbed. The tallest one sets the thickness for the zone around it.
• Where does water go? Poured rubber is porous, but the base beneath it still has to carry water away. Standing water shortens the life of any surface.
• How does it meet everything else? Equipment posts, edges, paths, grass, drainage channels and level changes all need a detail agreed in advance.
• Who inspects it, and how often? Schools and parks usually need an inspection routine and a record of it. Agree that with the installer at handover.

Preparation, sequence and curing are covered in the installation guide.

Why play areas use poured rubber

• No joints or seams. The surface is mixed and laid in place, so curves, circles and equipment posts are poured around rather than cut to fit.
• Graphics are part of the surface. Hopscotch grids, roadways, logos and animals are poured in colored granules, not painted on, so they wear at the same rate as everything around them.
• It drains. A porous surface over a draining base means fewer puddles after rain and less time closed.
• It can be repaired in place. A damaged patch is cut out and re-poured, rather than replacing a whole run of tiles.
• Wheels and wheelchairs roll over it. A continuous surface with no lips suits mixed-ability play areas. Confirm accessibility requirements for your site with your installer.

What goes into the system

• EPDM rubber granules in solid colors for bright, single-shade zones and graphics
• Mixed-color blends for a quieter, natural-stone look between the bright zones
• Resin binder. Ask the materials team to confirm the approved role, compatibility and quantity for your project, and request current technical and safety data sheets. Binders are not interchangeable by name alone.
• Rubber mixer and trowel cleaner for crews doing the work

Quantities depend on the area, the thickness your specification calls for and how much of it is graphics. Send the measurements and the equipment fall heights to the materials team and we will work out what the job needs. Approved customers can also work it out themselves in the material calculator.

Related guides

• Rubber surfacing for dog parks, kennels and animal care facilities
• EPDM rubber granule hardness explained
• Repairing or extending a rubber surface and matching the color