How do you make a border around a playground?

Setting up a playground border is fairly straightforward. The biggest steps include staking out the approximate perimeter of your play area, laying down the frame, and filling the space with ground cover, which can come in the form of wood fiber or rubber mulch. 

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to construct a playground border: 

1. Find a Space

Ideally, you should seek out an open area with at least a 6 foot perimeter on all sides. The area should be fairly level, and should be free of any natural obstructions like tree roots or rocks. 

2. Stake out the Border

Use stakes and string, plastic cones, or other markers to lay out the area you plan to enclose with your playground border. Make sure to look at the space from different angles to get an accurate sense of what the finished product will look like. 

3. Assemble Border Materials

Whether you’re using wood or some other material, make sure you have all the materials needed to enclose the border of your playground. 

4. Use Assembled Materials to Enclose Playground Border

For this step, you’ll need to ensure you have specific materials like metal brackets, so all your border materials stay together. Once this is done, enclose the playground border by placing the materials around the playground perimeter and securing them.

5. Fill with surfacing material

Lastly, make generous use of loose-fill gravel or rubber mulch to fill every bare spot within your playground space, while also ensuring that the surfacing material you pour is evenly distributed and raked to maintain a consistent surface depth around the playground.

Borders are the perfect way to give your playground a more polished, finished look. Playground borders keep all of your safety surfacings, like rubber mulch or wood fiber mulch, intact and contained, extending its use for many years. There are a handful of different types, sizes, and textures to choose from when selecting a commercial playground border. Plastic timbers and rubber edging are the main border options. Your playground border can be customized with a ramp to safely enter and exit the play space, making it more inclusive for all ability levels! Whichever option you choose, you can refer to this guide to ensure your playground border is properly installed.