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Wet Pour Rubber Crumb for Playground Safety Surfacing

Wet pour surfacing is designed to provide maximum safety precautions with high longevity that can be used in parks, recreational areas, and playgrounds as a playing surface. Wet pour safety surfacing is a system with two layers including a colored layer at the top and a shock pad at the base. This playground safety surfacing is also known as soft tarmac or rubber tarmac. You can find this surfacing in a wide range of colors including green, yellow, EPDM and red, etc. The information provided in this write-up can help you to know this surfacing system for the safety of kids in the playground more precisely.


What is a Wet Pour Safety Surface?

A wet pour surface is a safety surface made from rubber crumbs to absorb impact. It is made by mixing granules of rubber crumb with a resin containing polyurethane and desired colors before laying it. You can find this safety flooring in a wide range of bright colors to choose from while installing it in your playground. In order to meet the safety standards of BS EN 1177 and get a high rating in Critical Fall Height all of these surfaces have to be tested before introducing into the market. They can be used with various types of equipment used in the playground like climbing frames and swings etc.

These safety surfaces are gaining popularity in nurseries and schools to ensure the safety of the kids playing on the playground. But while installing this rubber play surface at different depths you will have to meet a few requirements. To make these surfaces more attractive and fun for kids you can create educational games and graphics. These surfaces are made of a 1mm to 4 mm thick layer of EPDM rubber mixed with polyurethane resin which is poured on the shock pad installed on the ground.


Ideas for Using Wet Pour Playground Safety Surfacing

  • Many schools choose various types of colorful graphics while installing wet pour safety surfacing to brighten the looks of their outdoor areas.
  • The designs of educational activities and games on the wet pour playground surfaces help in stimulating the minds of kids playing there.
  • You can use designs of various types of games like educational activities, hopscotch, number and letter grids, footprints, roadways, cartoon characters, geometric shapes, and phonics activities, etc. while installing this rubber surface on the playground.
  • On the school playground, normally educational graphics with numbers and letters are popularly used as they allow children to practice the lessons learned in the classroom.
  • This safety surface is commonly used in schools to install in the playgrounds as it can absorb impacts efficiently.
  • They can also be used on pathways, around swimming pools, gyms, and retail units, etc.
  • These surfaces can also be used to create a designer surface for sports activities like multi-use gaming areas, running tracks, designer flooring o playgrounds, and daily mile tracks, etc.


How to Install Wet Pour Rubber Surfaces?

On a hard sub-base, wet pour rubber safety surface can be installed directly as concrete, paving slabs, compacted stones, or tarmac is installed on a base with a minimum 100mm thickness. To bond to the surface, the edges of the surface must be secured by using timber or PC edging, etc. The open edges of this surface will be tapered if you install it on an existing base with hard standing.

The minimum thickness of the wet pour rubber surface system should be 20 mm or more while installing on a sub-base with hard standing whereas while installing on a base with a compacted stone it should be 40 mm thick.

A 20mm thick surface of wet pour can be laid at a time whereas you will have to install this surface twice if it is thicker than 20mm. To bound two layers of wet pour polyurethane resin mixed with granules is used while installing onsite as per the depth required. Before using this surface you should give it time to cure.

You can include various types of graphics, educational games, and patterns on the wet pour surfaces to make the playground look more colorful, interactive, and vibrant.

The value of the critical fall height test of the wet-pour surface depends upon its thickness as it helps in absorbing the impact and reduces the risk of fall injuries.


Benefits of Wet Pour Safety Surfaces

The main benefits of these playground safety surfaces may include;

  • Low maintenance
  • Reduce shock from falls
  • Suitable for all weather conditions
  • Easy to clean
  • Easy to install in any shape
  • Durable play surface made of rubber
  • Laid in various designs and colors

In this way, safety surfaces made from wet pour rubber crumbs offer several benefits along with the safety of the children during physical activities.

Though these surfaces look like rubber tiles and poured rubber surfaces still they are different from them as they can be laid easily in any design and shape without wasting the materials.


Designing of Wet Pour Playground Surfaces

As per the specifications of NBS, wet pour safety surfacing a system that includes two layers. Its base layer is made of Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and the top layer by using Ethylene Propylene Diene rubber Monomer(EPDM). To absorb impact its SBR base works as a shock pad. Its top layer is made of granules of EPDM rubber available in various designs and bright colors.

Wet pour safety surface can be installed on various types of sub-bases according to the condition of the existing ground. These impact absorbing surfaces can be installed on sub base with compacted type 1 MOT stone. As the rubber is poured to install this surface, so it is also known as poured rubber flooring. Preferably porous and solid surface with no fines or porous macadam with open texture is used as a sub-base for installing this safety surface.

So if you want to make the playground of your nursery, school, or public facility safe for children to play on then you must install wet pour safety surfacing on it. You can install it in any shape or size to cover the existing surface with a shock-absorbing layer for the kids.