Wetpour

As specialist installers of rubber safety surfacing in the UK, we can offer a wide range of wetpour services to schools, nurseries, public parks and play areas to ensure that any children using the facility are fully protected against injuries.

One of the main wetpour services we carry out is the full installation of rubber safety flooring to playgrounds in a variety of bright colours and designs. All of the rubber surfaces that we install have been specially tested to BS EN 1177 standards for safety and Critical Fall Height ratings to use with various playground equipment including swings and climbing frames.

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Wetpour is becoming increasingly popular for schools and nurseries where young people will be playing. The surface can be installed in a number of different depths to meet certain requirements. We can also install play graphics on the areas to create fun, educational games for the children to play on. 

What is a Wetpour Surface?

As experts in the playground surfacing industry, we are able to install wetpour surfacing for schools, nurseries, play parks and various other areas in the United Kingdom.  This type of flooring is great for use underneath play equipment since it can be installed at different depths to meet safety requirements. We can work out the Critical Fall Height of the play apparatus and install the required depth to ensure children are not at risk in the event they fall off the play area equipment. 

The surface can also be installed in a number of colours to stand out to children and create a fun environment to play in. This soft surface can also be used for golf pathways and gardens. If you have any questions on this type of surface, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team. 

How do I Maintain Wet Pour?

Wetpour requires very little maintenance, however it is recommended to keep it in the best possible condition by carrying out regular cleaning. It is possible to carry out wet pour maintenance by yourselves, but we can provide additional services it the condition of the surface requires professional attention.

Servicing ensures that any kind of debris and contamination on the surfacing will be removed to avoid further issues. If the debris won’t come off with a brush, a power spray service can remove tricky patches of dirt. This surfacing has a completely porous design, therefore water can pass through the pores inside the surfacing to stop any kind of flooding.

Routine maintenance makes sure that you won’t lose these qualities. Any contaminants on the surface can prevent water from soaking through. This would cause floods throughout rainy months, making the flooring unusable. It could also become dangerous as it can make the surface slippery leading to injuries.

Brief History of Playground Surfacing

“A playground surface is the material that lies under and around swings, slides, monkey bars and other playground equipment. The surfaces are usually made of wood or rubber and designed specifically for aesthetics, child safety, and/or ADA wheelchair accessibility. Playground safety surfacing often involves the use of recycled rubber tire products such as poured rubber, rubber tiles or loose rubber mulch”. Credit and thank you to Wikipedia for the information provided.

Suppliers of Wetpour

We are professional wet pour suppliers who have plenty of experience in the surfacing industry. We can supply the EPDM rubber surfacing in a number of different colours to meet individual needs and preferences. You will find that black EPDM rubber is cheaper than coloured surfacing. Our team will do our best to look into your spending budget and make certain you get the best results for the money you have to spend.

EPDM rubber flooring is the most common product we supply for play surfaces. Wetpour may also be referred to as soft tarmacadam. This surface is far safer when compared with macadam because it’s much softer and spongier underfoot which means falls will not result in serious injuries.

This means that schools, nurseries as well as play areas countrywide are making use of this excellent product. We offer an array of products and services relating to wet pour, which means you can receive everything you will need without needing to go out to different companies. The full supply and installation of these facilities is one of our most popular services.

Wet Pour Flooring Specs

We can alter the designs and specifications of the surface to meet your individual preferences and requirements. If you have a small budget, we are able to alter the spec to meet your needs – as an example, you may choose to install black wetpour rather than colour, or you may decide on a thinner depth providing you have no play equipment. 

One thing that you will need to think about when considering the wet pour specification to have installed is the depth needed to ensure the surfacing is safe for young children. If you have high play equipment within the area, you will generally need a thicker depth of EPDM rubber installed to meet the correct Critical Fall Height. Our team can discuss this in more detail if necessary and we can offer more information on the CFH and how this is measured.

Wetpour Graphic Inserts

In order to improve playground facilities, our team are able to include fun and educational designs when installing wetpour surfacing. These wet pour graphics can be installed in numerous colours and various designs creating a more unique area.

The graphic inserts are ideal for improving the children’s playing experience. They are also great for meeting demands of school inspection bodies like Ofsted. There are loads of designs you could choose for the play area, some of the common ones include:

• Hopscotch
• Phonics activities
• Number grids
• Roadways
• Sea life creatures
• Alphabet snakes
• Footprints
• Geometric shapes

These are just a few of the options we have available. Our team can customise a design for you, or if you have your own ideas please let us know.

What is the Price of Wetpour?

There are a number of different factors which can alter the wet pour costs. Obviously one of the biggest factors which can cause costs to vary is the size of the facility. Although it will be more expensive to cover a larger area in wetpour, the cost per square metre will be lower due to the economies of scale.

The colour of the surfacing will also cause the costs to change. If you need wetpour with a thicker depth due to the CFH, this can also cause the price to increase. Obviously, we’ll need to use more material and it will take longer to install.

The existing surface can also impact the costs, depending on what preparation work it needs. The more groundwork we need to do, the more costly the installation is likely to be. We will aim to offer you the best prices and get you the greatest value for money. Our team are experts in the industry and aim to provide top quality installations at affordable prices.

What Colours are Available for Wetpour?

There are a number of wet pour colours that you can choose from when installing EPDM rubber surfacing. You can choose to install the surface in black with coloured graphics to reduce costs. We can also install the wetpour in red, yellow, blue, green and plenty more colours. Many clients choose different colours to create specific designs for unique areas. We can create roadway tracks and other designs to meet your individual requirements.

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Since we have such a wide selection of colours for you to choose from, you are sure to get the design you want. If you would like to know if we can install a particular colour, please do not hesitate to ask us.

How to Repair Wetpour

Over time a playground may start to shrink at the edges. This leads to the perimeter diminishing from the border, creating spaces all around the outside of the facility. This can be hazardous for children as they could fall whenever playing on the surface.

Additionally not addressing the issues promptly can cause more severe issues happening and make repairs far more pricey. We’ve got a wet pour repair service which is made to help do something about these issues by filling in the spaces with your chosen EPDM rubberised granules.

Our team can offer professional repair services at a reasonable cost and can cut out rips and tears within the surface and replace them with EPDM graphics that the kids can play on. We specialise in installation and repairs and can provide top quality services to ensure you get the best value for money.

Supply of Wet Pour DIY Kits

With regard to repairs, if you would like to do it yourself, we could sell you DIY wet pour repair kits that contain rubber and binder. You ought to maintain stocks of these repair kits to make sure that if the problem ever occurs again you have the equipment to deal with it. We often supply these to:

• Schools
• Nurseries
• Councils
• Individuals

It is possible to avoid these issues taking place more regularly by starting a maintenance plan. These techniques dramatically increase the entire condition of the facility as time goes by. It’ll furthermore guarantee that the facility stays in a better state maximising its product lifespan. We can easily mend these border issues in a different colour rubber to develop a boundary effect.

How is Wet Pour Installed?

We offer wet pour construction across the United Kingdom for playgrounds, golf walkways and more. The EPDM rubber surfacing comes as a 2 tier system, the very first layer being an SRB impact mat. The shock-pad offers cushioning to prevent injuries in case a child trips or falls. This, therefore, makes the facility much safer and reduces the risk of injury. The other coating will be the wetpour crumb wearing course which goes on top of the base.

These surfaces are obtainable in a variety of shades to make sure you acquire the best design intended for you. These types of surfaces can come with vibrant graphics and shapes which add educational games. The overall look and feel of your facility is completely your choice, ensuring you receive the surface that you want.

We can install wetpour in a number of areas including schools, nurseries, public parks, gardens and more. As experts in the industry with plenty of experience, we make certain that we complete our installations to the best possible standard to ensure the longevity of the surfacing.

We will also make certain that the surface is safe for young people to play on. Our team are more than happy to alter any specifications to meet your individual requests, so please don’t hesitate to mention any specific requirements prior to the construction.

Creteangle Wet Pour Mixer

A Creteangle Wet Pour Mixer is a forced action pan-type mixer that requires no electricity as comes in a range of petrol or diesel engines. This is great for installation of these safety floorings because means we can be self-sufficient without the need for any electric supply onsite.

The Creteangle Wet Pour Mixer is perfect for mixing rubber crumb granules and low density, lightweight materials on site. The mixer is a robust steel complete with safeguarding to head/pan and the engine/motor.

Contractors in the UK use CreteAngle Forced Action Mixers for installing SBR base rubber surfaces and EPDM wearing course safety surfaces. This is often for playgrounds, schools and nurseries including early years foundation stage facilities.

We get enquiries for supply only of materials and people then ask if the landscapers can use a cement mixer for mixing the materials. You certainly cannot use a cement mixer so we would always recommend ordering from a professional installation company. You should also carry out a credit check and see if they have been trading a minimum of 10 years.

The reason we ask the clients to check this is that so many installers go bankrupt and just set back up invalidating all warranties you might have thought you had. At Soft Surfaces Ltd we have been trading over 20 years now and proud of this because installed thousands of square metres throughout the UK.

Rubber Crumb Mixers

Our creteangle mixing solution is a fast and efficient method of thoroughly coating SBR and EPDM rubber crumb with resin to achieve an effective installation of play area safe surfacing. A complete mix of the polyurethane binder and rubber crumb material is normally achieved in under one minute.

The Polymer Manufacturers approve and recommend the creteangle mixers because it is vital to coat every granule with the polyurethane binder glue. This video shows the creteangle mixer in action:

The mixer shows the blades that help mix the products together thoroughly. The powerful fast mixing blade action is a perfect solution for installations where quality mixing vs time is key to making sure the finished install is top quality but fast enough to keep prices competitive and cheaper for clients.

The biggest advantages of the creteangle mixer over concrete mixers is the consistent thorough mix every time. The easy discharge tipping bucket into the wheelbarrows allow mobilisation to be accessible where access restraints might be critical.

Schools and nurseries in London for example usually have bad access and therefore being able to set up closeby is key but with this easy tipping-bucket function allows wheelbarrow access to still be able to complete installations where tricky restraints are in place.

Installing Safety Surfaces

We install the wetpour surfacing in a porous two-layer system. This consists of an SBR shockpad base course and an EPDM rubber crumb wearing course on top. This EPDM wearing course layer is what gives the safety surfacing its brightly coloured appearance, however, you can choose to have this layer installed in simple black.

Many clients choose to have the main playground area installed in black with different coloured graphic designs within the surface for a range of activities. These could include educational games, cartoon characters and classic playground activities, we can install each of these designs as part of our wetpour services.

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Many nurseries and kindergartens will have this type of impact absorbing rubber surface installed to create a safe outdoor area. There are also plenty of colour choices and graphics which we could include as part of a vibrant and eye-catching design.

If you have any questions about these products or you’d like more information on the costs, please contact us today. Our specialists would be happy to speak with you about what you’re looking for and provide you with a quote for the work.

Rubber Tarmac

As well as the full installation of wetpour surfacing, which is sometimes known as ‘rubber tarmac’, we can carry out wetpour services such as maintenance and repairs of the rubber flooring to help you keep the playground surface in top condition through heavy use by the kids.

The rubber tarmac specification has a porous design so it allows water to drain through it. However, if you don’t keep it clean the pores can clog up and the playground may start holding water. In order to prevent this, it’s important to make sure you regularly brush the playground surface. This should remove any dirt or debris and stop it from sticking within the wetpour flooring.

If your rubber tarmac surface does sustain damage over time, we can supply repair kits as part of our wetpour services which allow you to fix small areas of damage. However, if there is a larger area of damage to the playground, we can repair this for you. It’s important to have these issues fixed by professionals, this will make sure that the problems do not become any worse.

This video shows the installation of a wetpour playground surface in Lancashire. The play area had a lot of climbing equipment which needed a safety surface to protect kids whilst they were playing. We installed the wetpour EPDM surface in a multicoloured design with graphics which were engaging for the children. The final result was a functional and attractive rubber safety surface which children of all ages now enjoy.

Daily Mile Wetpour Surfacing

The Daily Mile project is happening in UK schools to inspire kids to achieve a mile each day. They’re able to do this by walking or jogging the whole mile. It helps to boost the overall health of the children. Wetpour surfacing is one option available to create special running and walking tracks for this activity. These come in a number of bespoke designs to create running circuits or meander trails.

Making certain that kids are fit and strong really is important and also it plays a role in tackling obesity. Running The Daily Mile is an additional activity which isn’t part of the mandatory PE curriculum. The school Daily Mile plan is related to improving the social and physical health of pupils at school.

Starting a Daily Mile with your school will require no expense and it is simple to start. Along with children walking one mile every day, parents and teachers could also participate by running, walking and jogging. Pupils of all age groups and backgrounds can join in with the mile on a daily basis. This is because it is such a simple sports activity to complete.

Improving Fitness in Schools

As The Daily Mile has been integrated into a number of schools, studies have revealed that pupils have much better concentration and behaviour, and also improved fitness. For that reason since the Daily Mile participants now have higher concentration; this can also assist with learning and offering young children more chances to achieve success in everyday life.

It is not just schools who can participate in The Daily Mile, nurseries, playgroups and kindergartens could also join. Wetpour surfacing is an excellent choice for this activity, particularly when young children are taking part. It offers safety qualities through impact absorption and is more gentle on children’s joints when they are running around the area.

Because of the plan being extremely straightforward, The Daily Mile has fast become extremely popular with many primary schools. Kids can complete the activity in 15 minutes at a teacher’s specified time of the day. Kids will get the benefits of actively playing outdoors and spending time with other kids.

You will not need to spend more money on special apparatus to take part as it is just running around an open space. Each and every pupil who takes part will succeed regardless of the completed time without having any limitations for skill or age group.

Children’s Health and Wellbeing

There’s no rivalry or test related to walking the mile. Children are taking part to enhance their fitness and emotional wellbeing. Through participating in the mile each day at school, kids and teachers will discover plenty of improvements in health and fitness.

Being able to focus more throughout academic lessons has more significant educational benefits. The strategy offers young children the opportunity to be physically active and boost their overall health in a happy setting. This will of course have many benefits for improving their mental health and wellbeing too.

References

Shrublands Pre-School at Wroughton Infant School (Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Wetpour) – we were asked to provide a safety surface at this pre-school because young children were going to be using this facility. They wanted a surface which was eye-catching but also safe, this is why they decided to go for blue EPDM rubber. The video below, shows the installation of our surfacing:

Here is Shrublands Pre-School Wetpour Reference which they sent us with regards to this installation.

‘March 2017

To Whom it may concern,

Regarding the soft play surface that we have recently has installed by Soft Surfaces Ltd;

The workmen were friendly, efficient and not only did they do a fantastic job they tidied away after themselves. We are exceptionally happy with the outcome of the surface provided.

Keep up the good work

Kind regards

Sandra Vincent

Shrublands Pre-School at Wroughton Infant School’

Get In Touch

If you’re in need of any of these wetpour services, please feel free to get in touch with us. Simply use the enquiry form on this page to send over your details. Our experienced staff will be able to answer any questions you have with regards to wetpour surfacing. We can also provide details on many other playground flooring specifications.

We can carry out full installation as well as repairs and maintenance to wetpour rubber playground surfaces. Don’t hesitate to send us over the details of the work you need us to carry out. Be sure to include a postcode and dimensions of the area. We can then get back to you with a price quotation for your project.

Please also take a look at our website here –  https://www.softsurfaces.co.uk/ if you’d like to find out more about our other products and services for play area facilities.