With all of the options available and all of the play grounds out there, it can be a daunting task to decide what will work best for you. I hope this article will help you make your decision and help keep kids of all ages safe in your play areas.

There are 3 basic types of playground surfaces. Mulch, tile and pour in place. I will begin with a description of each.

Mulch is a protective covering, placed around plants to prevent the evaporation of moisture, the freezing of roots, and the growth of weeds It can also go around play grounds to prevent injury in the case of a fall. (Obviously, this is the application I am referring to) It comes in everything from wood chips, pea gravel and sand to bark or ground up, recycled car/truck tires. This will be the least expensive option of the three. The organic varieties require a fair amount of maintenance each year due to biodegradation and weather erosion which adds to the cost over time. Rubber mulches offer a wide variety of colors and are weather proof, don't float and, believe it or not, are non toxic. Most producers of rubber mulch have very strict procedures that remove 99.9% of the wire treads. The shortest warranty for the rubber mulch I have come across was 5 years for color fading and 10 years for break down. I have seen them as long as 8 yrs for color and 50 years for break down. Organic mulches offer no such warranties. My favorite difference is that the rubber will not attract bugs and does not look like a sand box for animals.

Rubber play ground tiles are exactly as they sound. Recycled rubber pressed into moulds creating tiles of varied thickness. The varied thicknesses are to provide fall height protection. The thicker the tile, the higher the rating is the general rule. These are extremely durable and have nearly infinite color choices. You can get solid colors or tiles with an EPDM (ethylene propylene diene Monomer) surface made of virgin rubber for bright color combinations and even letters, logos or characters. These can be installed by the end user but I would recommend using a contractor for larger areas and/or public play grounds. They come in interlocking or glue down versions. They are also used to turn unused or ugly roof top areas into use able space as well since the "feet" will allow for drainage underneath. Being water proof and extremely durable, you can expect the maintenance to be no more than a pressure wash once or twice a year. These tiles can be heavy and shipping will be costly if you cannot find a production facility near you. Of the three styles of play ground surface, these are offer the best combination of ease of installation, price, color combinations, ease of maintenance and wear life.?????

Pour in place play ground surfaces are made of the same materials as the playground tiles, however, they are only able to be installed by contractors. The product is comprised of a color pigmented synthetic rubber bonded with a polyurethane binding agent. It can be applied in one or two layers of rubber. It would need to be applied over a subsurface of concrete asphalt or at least 4 inched of compacted stone. The contractors mix and pour it onsite like cement, smoothing it with a trowel to create an even smooth surface and whatever designs you choose. One of the nice things about this surface is it can be poured into whatever shape you need with no cuts needed like the tiles. While being the most expensive of the three options, having no seams and creates the most durable and long lasting surface. Maintenance is similar to the tiles but the surface is generally made of larger EPDM pieces making it more porous and can collect dirt. You may need to use a firm bristle brush to get the deep dirt prior to the pressure washing.