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Brushing The Surface of Safety09-01-03 | News



Brushing The Surface of Safety

Compiled by Brian Barsuglia, LASN

As a landscape architect designing a playground or updating play structures, safety is always a major concern. Does this new design meet safety standards? How long will it last? What type of maintenance is required?

When giving this type of attention to the play structure, it is equally important to give similar consideration to the surfacing beneath the play structure.

With the ever-changing technology and surfacing needs, we gave manufacturers a chance to answer these questions, with the goal of learning about the newest safety surfacing products and what differentiates them.

The Questions

  1. What is your newest safety surfacing product?
  2. What makes this unique or different than past safety surfacing materials?
  3. What type of maintenance does it require?
  4. What is the longevity of the material?
  5. In addition?


Landscape Structures, Jack Klobucar








  1. PlayTurf is a new generation of playground safety surfacing from Landscape Structures Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-quality playground equipment in North America.
  2. PlayTurf is made from 100 percent recycled rubber obtained exclusively from bias-ply tires (no steel belted radial tires!). This means that PlayTurf contains no metal wires or slivers that can potentially cause injury to children.
  3. Each PlayTurf particle is sealed with a nonallergenic, fire-retardant, UV-stabilized color coating. This process gives playground planners a choice of three vibrant, long-lasting colors: tan, green or blue. PlayTurf provides several advantages over wood fiber loose fill:
  4. PlayTurf does not deteriorate, and does not need to be replaced every few years. It drains quickly and won?EUR??,,????'?????<
  5. When used with Landscape Structures?EUR??,,????'?????<





Landscape Structure?EUR??,,????'?????<







Tierra Verde, Ron Allevato








  1. Our newest safety surface is Grubble. It is a granular color rubber chip. We are also building the molds for rubber molding which will be used for playground containment.
  2. It?EUR??,,????'?????<
  3. All playgrounds should be inspected, however, there is little to no maintenance required since rubber will not compact or deteriorate.
  4. We give a 25-year performance guarantee without the typical reservations.
  5. According to a third-party study of 150 playgrounds by Dr. Robert Ammes: No injuries were reported over a three-year period on playgrounds with rubber chips; there was a low loss of material; there were no unusual maintenance requirements; there were no reports of swallowing the rubber; and there were no reported fire hazards.





Children tested Tierra Verde?EUR??,,????'?????<










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Delta Flex, Jack Abi-Fadel








  1. Two-foot by two-foot resilient tiles 2-1/2’’ and 3-1/2’’ thick, from recycled tires.
  2. Best fall height standards: 7’ for 2-1/2’’ tile; 10’ for 3-1/2’’ tile.
  3. Simple maintenance, sweeping or washing down the surface.
  4. Best warranty, five-years, limited to seven to 10 years longevity.
  5. Easy installation and best prices; ready to ship within five days from order.


Vitricon, Steve Noskin








  1. We are always updating our systems. As a manufacturer of poured-in-place safety surfacing, we upgrade on a continuous basis. Our newest type of system includes a blend of recycled rubber for the base mat.
  2. This ?EUR??,,????'?????<
  3. It does not require any additional maintenance.
  4. The system should last approximately 10 years, depending on use.


Child Safe Products, F. Guerica








  1. Our latest product is a rubberized surface for gyms. We have surfaced many sports clubs in and around New York. The clients say it?EUR??,,????'?????<
  2. Being in the surfacing industry for 30 years, we have perfected the right combination of binding agent to rubber to manufacture the best surface for longer lasting results.
  3. Our surface requires a minimal amount of maintenance, basically just common sense. Keep the surface clean by sweeping away debris, power wash once a year and check for cracks, splits in the surface periodically. If any cracks or splits do appear, a quick visit by one of our technicians is all it takes to make a repair.
  4. Our surface can last as long as 10 years or more with proper care. We warranty the materials and surface for two years, but it has lasted on the majority of sites for up to 10 years or more.





Child Safe Products makes rubberized surfaces for gyms and playgrounds. Recently, the company rubberized the warning track at Dodger Stadium.







Surface America, Cheryl Chapman








  1. TurfTop Infilled is our newest product.
  2. It has as great durability as any system on the market, and is porous, unlike any other turf systems.
  3. No maintenance is required for TurfTop Infilled.
  4. The longevity is 15 years.
  5. It has an eight-year warranty, which is the longest in the industry, and it looks very natural in park-like settings.


Skydex, Chris Mikolay













  1. In addition to being used in a number of playground surfaces across the United States, Skydex technology is now being used to enhance the safety of climbing wall surfaces. Used in conjunction with open cell foam and carpet-bonded Trocellen, or even traditional poured-in-place, Skydex technology has been installed successfully both indoors and outdoors in at least a dozen climbing walls. Another interesting new surfacing product for Skydex is our Special Forces boat decking panels. Designed to greatly reduce impact forces on smaller Navy SEAL and other Special Operations boats, Skydex boat decking surfacing have been proven to minimize shock by 90 percent over competing boat decking materials.
  2. Skydex technology is used in a wide variety of high performance cushioning applications, from Nike running shoes to Navy SEAL boat decking, and now in a radical new football helmet for Schutt Sports. In surfacing applications, our technology serves as the safety layer in a playground or climbing wall surface, and it enables a traditional poured-in-place or engineered wood fiber surface to retain its fall height rating after years of wear and tear.
  3. Skydex surfaces required little to no maintenance if installed properly. When using engineered wood fiber material over Skydex materials, however, proper wood fiber maintenance is required.
  4. Skydex Safety Panels come with a five-year warranty. However, Skydex materials have been impact tested in a million cycle compression test and showed minimal degradation, and will likely retain their cushioning characteristics far longer than five years.


No Fault Sport Group, Jennifer Smith








  1. No Fault Safety Tiles and No Fault Sport Floor.
  2. No Fault has been in the sport surface industry for over 30 years. We are considered a leader in the industry with more experience and knowledge than any other company.
  3. Each product has its own maintenance guidelines.
  4. Each product carries a three-year warranty, however, each product should last well beyond 10 years with proper maintenance.





No Fault Safety Tiles and Sport Floor are durable and decorative.


Playworld Systems, Teri Hurst








  1. Playworld Systems?EUR??,,????'?????<
  2. It is a standard surfacing product made from recycled rubber.
  3. Little to no maintenance other than the occasional cleaning.
  4. It lasts indefinitely.





Cushion Play is made from recycled rubber tires, and is available in three thicknesses and four colors.







Still have questions?

Here is a list of safety surfacing manufacturers. Go to www.LandscapeOnline.com for contact information for the individual manufacturers.

Ace Surfaces – Nike Grind, hardcourt
APM Technology – poured-in-place, tiles
Carlisle Surfacing – tiles
Child Safe Products – poured-in-place
Creative Recreational – tiles
Delta Flex – tiles
Dino Flex Manufacturing – tiles
Fibar Systems – fiber, mats
Forest Wood Fiber – fiber
Gotham Playground – poured-in-place, fiber
Mitchell Rubber – poured-in-place
No Fault Sport Group – tile, fiber, poured-in-place
Playdek International – poured-in-place
Perma-Turf – fiber
RB Rubber Products, Inc. – poured-in-place, mats
Skydex – cushioning layer
Sof Surfaces, Inc. – tiles
Sof?EUR??,,????'?????< Spectraturf – poured-in-place, tile
Surface America – poured-in-place, mats
Synthetic Surfaces – adhesive
Tierra Verde Industrial – fiber, rubber chips
Unity Surfacing Systems – poured-in-place, tiles, mats
Vitricon – poured-in-place, mats


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