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Playground Surface HIC Safety Flooring

Playground surfacing is installed throughout the UK to protect children on play equipment. Playground surfacing has progressed year on year and there are several different types of safety surfaces available to be installed all of which are designed for the children’s safety. The most common type of safety surfacing within the UK is wetpour surfaces. This is a two layered system of SBR base course rubber crumb which is basically recycled truck tyres, and then EPDM wearing course rubber crumb.

Children’s Safe Play Areas

The safety of the children using our play areas is our top priority. This is why we always aim to use the best quality products and offer the best standards of installation. The two tiered wet pour system offers impact absorbing properties to help reduce injuries if children fall on it. These properties make it much safer than other playground surfaces like tarmac and concrete.

This is particularly important if you have any outdoor play equipment like climbing frames or trim trails. Children playing on these could fall from a height, and impact absorbing surfacing is crucial in helping to keep them safe.

What is Head Injury Criterion (HIC)?

The Head Injury Criterion (HIC) is a measure of the likelihood of head injury arising from an impact. The HIC can be used to assess safety-related to vehicles, personal protective gear, and sport equipment. Normally the variable is derived from the measurements of an accelerometer mounted at the centre of gravity of a crash test dummy’s head when the dummy is exposed to crash forces. – Sourced from Wikipedia

When it comes to children’s play areas, avoiding head injuries is obviously a big concern. All pieces of outdoor play equipment will have a Critical Fall Height (CFH) which determines the depth of surface required. The greater the CFH the thicker the rubber surfacing we will need to install.

Design of Rubber Play Flooring

The wetpour safety surface is available in a range of colours but the most common are red, blue, green and yellow. Check out our range of wet pour colours to see which options we have available. Many people will choose to have graphics inserts added to the flooring to make it much more vibrant and exciting. These can include a range of shapes such as:

  • Numbers
  • Letters
  • Words
  • Animals
  • Maps
  • Compasses
  • Roadways

The different coloured wet pour graphics come pre-formed in the desired shape. Our team simply place them onto the area and install the EPDM rubber wearing course around them. We can create a bespoke design for each playground based on a number of themes. In addition, these graphics are made from the same shock-absorbing surface as the rest of the flooring to ensure safety.

Our experienced team have completed work like this in various locations around the UK. We regularly work with schools, nurseries and local councils to install safe and exciting play spaces. A variety of products and designs are available and we can make the surfacing bespoke to suit what you need.

Check out the video below showing the installation of a wetpour surface. This show the full process of installing the different coloured shapes as well:

Feel free to get in touch with our team if you would like some more details on what we can do. We can offer quotes and pricing details for a variety of projects. Simply fill in the contact form to speak with us as soon as possible.

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