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Common Mistakes & Tips for a Safe Backyard Playground

Once upon a time, the plot of land behind your house was just a canvas for landscape and gardening.  Now, it’s so much more than that.  More and more homeowners are utilizing playground sets for backyard renovation and revitalization, but many of them fall into the same traps when learning how to build a backyard playground.  Here are some guide posts to help you dodge the most common slip-ups and pitfalls.

Plot First

All too often, customers invest in creative backyard playground ideas before they’ve closely surveyed the plane they’ve selected as a construction site.  Check for site dimensions as well as water levels, predictable weather patterns, and irregularities in the terrain.   

Also, don’t forget to take the local eco-system into an account.  Nothing kills the mood on ground-breaking day like discovering an underground nest of bees you never knew was there.  Mulch can also be an effective tool in controlling the local flora.

Select Age-Appropriate Activities

Just because an obstacle course looks exciting or a tropical island-themed playset inspires your inner child, doesn’t guarantee your children will share your enthusiasm.  Children’s minds are developing quickly, so every age group will be stimulated by different activities, challenges, and designs.  Our catalog includes an optimized age range for each piece of equipment.  Find the best backyard playground set for your kids, not the one you wish you would’ve had.

Surface Matters

Preventing falls entirely is a difficult endeavor, especially if you want to retain the fun-factor for kids. The best course of action is to find a way to minimize injuries when and where they happen.  Parents frequently make the mistake of either skipping this step, or paying way too much on sand or pebbles (which do little to nothing in terms of safety).

Since backyards required less surface-area to be filled, it’s wise to utilize local companies for affordable safety surfacing.  Engineered wood fiber is the cheapest and most popular and safety surface for backyard playgrounds, but rubber mulch is growing in popularity, thanks in no small part to its safety and durability.

Keep It in Order

After you’ve done all this work putting together your kids’ backyard playground, the last thing you want is to let wind, erosion, and wild critters mess it all up.  A simple border goes a long way in maintaining your playground’s order and aesthetic, but there are materials you should and shouldn’t use.

Plastic or wood timbers seem like classic solutions, and some people might even make the grave mistake of piling stones around the edges.  In actuality, rubber curbs are the only obvious choice.  They’re slick, sturdy, and easy-to-assemble around any playground for backyard use.  Don’t waste your money on lavish alternative.  The simple solution is often the best.

 

Home Use Only

While playgroundequipment.com specialized in reliable commercial-grade equipment, we offer pieces and components that could easily be purposed for home use.  Our experts would like nothing better than to help you find or customize the best backyard playground set for you and your family.