Safe Surfaces for Playgrounds - Green hypertrophic mats

Safe Surfaces for Playgrounds – Green hypertrophic mats

Playgrounds, or outdoor gyms are extremely difficult terrain when it comes to choosing the surface. On the one hand, it must be durable, especially if the site is to be intensively used, and on the other hand, soft, because it must provide an appropriate level of safety and shock absorption in the event of a fall. If we add to this additional requirements related to compatibility with green terrain or the cost and ease of installation, then the choice of an appropriate, i.e. safe surface, is not the easiest choice.

Safe Pavement – Characteristics

When it comes to the most important aspect of a playground equipped with our mats – protection against injuries in the event of a fall – its properties are specified by the EN1177 standard and its national implementation PN-EN1177-1: 2009. It describes the thickness of the surface made of a given material to prevent head injury (the so-called HIC criterion) from a height, which is also specified in the standard. For different base materials, the standard specifies different critical fall heights, e.g. for turf it is no more than one meter, and for a 20 cm layer of chips (with a grain size of 5 mm to 30 mm) or tree bark (with a grain size of 20 mm to 80 mm) already two meter Synthetic pavements that meet the HIC EN1177 criterion have a critical height of up to three meters. However, their advantages do not end there.

safe-playground
safe playground with colorful rubber mats

Hyperplastic Mats – Advantages of the Mats

Synthetic surfaces, such as overgrown mats, are characterized by much better operational parameters and higher aesthetics. They are a much safer surface for playgrounds or gyms than often used sand, sawdust or bark. Overgrown mats are also much more durable and cheaper to operate. Due to the fact that the growth mats are hidden in the ground, they combine the advantages of synthetic mats (such as recently popular rubber surfaces) and a lawn. A surface made of an overgrown mat looks almost like a lawn, especially if we use the green overgrown mat, which has recently been added to the offer. Nevertheless, it ensures high performance parameters of the surface when children play in the playgrounds.

The hypertrophic mat, in addition to providing protection against injuries in the event of a fall in accordance with EN1177, from a height of up to three meters, is also anti-slip. The offered hypertrophic mats for the playground meet the anti-slip requirements of BS-EN 7188: 1998. As a result, they provide a surface that not only prevents injuries in the event of a fall while using the playground, but also provides excellent grip, for example, when running. You don’t even need to explain why it is important in such an area.

In addition, due to the fact that they are made of special materials, the hypertrophied mats sold are flame-retardant. It distinguishes them positively from surfaces such as sawdust and bark – these materials catch fire easily, without providing safety, for example, in outdoor gyms. What’s more, it is easy to ignore glass or other sharp and dangerous objects that can cut our playing children.. This is another advantage that we get by using mats on playgrounds.

rubber hypertrophy mat

Hyperplastic Mats – BS EN 4790: 1987 Standard

hic designation for playground mats
hic designation for playground mats

Our mats for playgroundswe offer meet the requirements of BS EN 4790: 1987, thanks to which they provide us with a guarantee that accidentally ignited fire will not spread over the entire surface. Installation of growth mats is very simple – just place them on the prepared soil and cover them with soil on which you can sow, for example, grass. The excavation to be prepared for this type of mat is very shallow – it is only 23 mm high. This is not much compared to at least 300 millimeters thick pavement made of bark, sand or sawdust, which according to the EN1177 standard is to provide the same protection against injuries during a fall as an overgrowth mat.

What does it mean?

This means that safe mats need less involvement in adapting the floor to play for our youngest in schools, kindergartens or playgrounds, and even – in accordance with the latest trend: in residential estates or in the yards of single-family houses.

green-playground-mats

Openwork mat– Main advantage

The openwork mat has one more important characteristic. This is due to its construction. If we think about it, associating holes in our mats, we can easily jump to conclusions. The holes allow rainfall to flow deep into the ground and grass overgrowth. Thus, in addition to acid rains, it allows water to be supplied to the vegetation, which allows it to develop, under and above the mats, gently reducing their appearance from our field of view. This allows the playground, i.e. a playground for children, to be designed in harmony with nature, and yet it is also important for our children to be close to nature.

However, the advantages of hypertrophic mats do not end there. They are much more durable than bark or sawdust, which need to be replaced almost every year. The hypertrophic mat can fulfill its tasks for many years without the need to replace it, which allows the development and growth of natural vegetation, the main type of which is grass.

Rubber surface on playgrounds– Summary

To sum up – hypertrophic mats are an excellent surface for playgrounds and outdoor gyms. The new green color variant makes the green mats blend perfectly into the lawn, are affordable to buy, cheap to use and easy to install, and provide the same or even better performance parameters than classic surfaces. These mats meet the strict requirements of standards regarding protection against injury during a fall, anti-slip and flame-retardant properties. Can you imagine a better rubber surface for our playgrounds than the Green Overgrowth Mats?

Take care of the health of our children by using rubber mats with PZH approval and HIC certificate for playgrounds!

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