Playground surfacing, or in layperson’s terms, a mulch pit, is an important part of your swing set or playhouse. Playground surfacing is a broad term for many types of materials, including wood or rubber mulch, turf, sand, pea gravel, or other options spread or installed around your swing set or playhouse.
Most people fully grasp that mulch pits are installed around a swing set or playhouse for safety, but that is not the only reason. A mulch pit gives you unique benefits; some of the most common ones are listed below:
Improved Safety – Wood chips, rubber mulch, and other forms of playground surfacing provide excellent impact attenuation. This is a fancy way of saying it helps cushion falls. This is the most common reason why people get a mulch bed.
Ease of Upkeep – No need to mow around the set while dodging slides or trying to duck under swings. A mulch bed makes the yard upkeep around the swing set simple, as all you have to do is weed-wack around it.
Dedicated Play Area – A mulch bed creates a dedicated play area to pile in your other high-impact toys like teeter toters or monkey jumps.
Keep Bugs at Bay – Certain types of playground surfacing don’t attract insects around the play area.
Visually Impressive – With our Beuta Edging and colored rubber mulch, you can create an impressive play area that looks complete, fun, and inviting.
Keeps the Swing Set Cleaner – A mulch pit helps keep the mud at bay. During the wet months, your playground surfacing will prevent big muddy areas from developing around the high-traffic components of your swing set.
The answer is no for a swing set or playhouse going into the privacy of your backyard. You do not have to get a mulch pit. If you are in a commercial setting and want to pass a safety inspection, you must have playground surfacing.
King Swings recommends getting at least 3’’ of mulch around your set for a residential setting. You are certainly welcome to get more than that if you want. If you are in a commercial setting, be sure to follow the guidelines for each type of surfacing.
King Swings offers four types of mulch: wood chips, rubber nuggets (colored and not colored), turf, and poured-in-place rubber surfacing.
How do you know which one is perfect for your family and budget? Let’s look at the pros and cons of each type we offer:
Wood chips are made of natural wood mulch that provides cushioning if a fall occurs. A natural product that is easily sourced, wood chips are cost-effective but do require replenishment to keep from biodegrading down to dirt.
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King Swings offers two types of rubber mulch, though the only difference is in the appearance. We offer colored rubber mulch, which means you can get the nuggets in blue, green, red, brown, or black.
While slightly confusing, we also do over “black” rubber mulch, which is separate from the colored black mulch. Black mulch is not colored, and you will see the “fibers” in the rubber nuggets creating a “speckled” or “cookies-and-cream” look.
The fall protection is the same regardless of color, and rubber mulch is excellent at impact attenuation.
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Poured rubber flooring is the gold standard for impact attenuation. While it is not often seen in the residential world because of its upfront cost, it is an option if you want the best.
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King Swings partners with Perfect Turf® to provide amazing PerfectPlay® systems. Starting with PlayGround Turf™ to provide that lush grass appearance that is antistatic, antimicrobial, and has CoolGrass infused yarn, the turf offers a safe playground surface by adding 100% recycled foam padding.
You can visit perfectturf.com for more information!
Pea gravel is a small, rounded rock about the size of a pea. It is often used in landscaping and as a base material for driveways and paths, and it can also be used as a playground surface. Pea gravel provides a natural, aesthetically pleasing look to a playground.
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If you ask a particular Star Wars character about sand, he will only have negative comments. However, sand makes an exciting and versatile playground surface.
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King Swings can install a swing set on a slope of 12’’ over 20’. We do this by digging down and blocking up the set to get it stable. We use shims, and a mulch pit hides these shims nicely.
Playground surfacing is a great and beautiful way to add a lot of safety to your swing set or playhouse while also making it easier to mow around the set.
King Swings has been crafting, delivering, and installing swing sets and playhouses for 35 years. Our Amish craftsmen take pride in their work, and each swing set is made to order, meaning it is made by hand once the order has been submitted.
King Swings believes every swing set is more important than just a number towards a sales goal. It is your swing set, and so it is important to us. That is why we are happy to spend as much time as needed to make your order perfect for your family.
Browse our website, dream big, and contact us to bring the playground home when you are ready!