Howdy, Foax! We’re seeking a Devil’s Advocate regarding a DIY construction project in the lowcountry of the Great Sovereign Confederate State of Georgia. My vastly better half and I are preparing to construct a playhouse for our grandchild. After careful research, we purchased a slide-swing combo that ostensibly could be constructed over a weekend. Of course, nothing was said about the fact that preparing a 38’ L x 23’ W x 1’ D safe playground area would require exponentially more effort and time than that required to build the playhouse, which leads me to the following questions:

(1) Are 787 cubic feet of mulch (the play area surrounding the playhouse, filled to a depth of 9" – 12") truly necessary? Given that the maximum height from which a child may fall is 90" (i.e., a child leaps off the swing at it’s maximum extension) will such a “soft” area truly protect life, or is it simply one more in the long list of “sound good” manufacturer recommendations designed to shield the company from Torts-R-Us? (I note that none of the seven public playgrounds near my residence possess more than 1" of mulch at most. More than this, the playhouse manufacturer recommends the purchase of a safety surfacing called SofPlay, which sells for almost four times as much as the playhouse itself. While I recognize many feel no cost is too great where child safety is concerned, Reason suggests that this is an illogical fallacy, especially in the absence of evidence that such a quantity of “soft” ground is any better at mitigating injuries over time than ground mulched to a lesser depth.)

(2) Assuming a deep mulch to be desirable, our initial response would be to construct a 38’ L x 23’ W x 20" D area, level the ground within, and border this with pressure treated 2 x 6s. After constructing and “planting” the playhouse, we would fill the bottom of the play area with pea gravel to a depth of 6” (to expedite drainage), cover this with 12" of “rubber” mulch under a porous matting material, and top the whole off with 2" of natural mulch, to be replenished seasonally as required. The 64K questions: (a) Does this make sense, and (b) do y’all have any better ideas?

Thanks very much for your kind assistance. May our experience, and your expertise, prove useful to future generations of overzealous grandparents.

Waltrrr wrote:
(snip)

(1) Are 787 cubic feet of mulch (the play area surrounding the
playhouse, filled to a depth of 9" – 12") truly necessary?
(snip)
especially in the absence of evidence that such a
quantity of “soft” ground is any better at mitigating injuries over
time than ground mulched to a lesser depth.)

The manufacturer's guidelines are almost certainly based upon
recommendations published by the CPSC. The CPSC did impact testing with
the various materials (sand, pea gravel, mulch, etc.) and came up with
depths which would protect against "life threatening" head injury, not
"big owie", or even "serious injury" so I think it's OK to view it as a
reasonable minimum standard.


(2) Assuming a deep mulch to be desirable, our initial response would
be to construct a 38’ L x 23’ W x 20" D area, level the ground within,
and border this with pressure treated 2 x 6s. After constructing and
“planting” the playhouse, we would fill the bottom of the play area
with pea gravel to a depth of 6” (to expedite drainage), cover this
with 12" of “rubber” mulch under a porous matting material, and top the
whole off with 2" of natural mulch, to be replenished seasonally as
required. The 64K questions: (a) Does this make sense, and (b) do y’all
have any better ideas?


I think the 2" of wood mulch would quickly get displaced, exposing the
matting. I'd skip the rubber mulch and go with 9" - 12" of wood mulch.

CPSC information he
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/playpubs.html

Howdy, Foax! We’re seeking a Devil’s Advocate regarding a DIY
construction project in the lowcountry of the Great Sovereign
Confederate State of Georgia. My vastly better half and I are preparing
to construct a playhouse for our grandchild. After careful research, we
purchased a slide-swing combo that ostensibly could be constructed over
a weekend. Of course, nothing was said about the fact that preparing a
38’ L x 23’ W x 1’ D safe playground area would require exponentially
more effort and time than that required to build the playhouse, which
leads me to the following questions:

(1) Are 787 cubic feet of mulch (the play area surrounding the
playhouse, filled to a depth of 9" – 12") truly necessary? Given that


It depends on your (and the child's) tolerance for bumps and bruises*
If the child isn't big enough to survive a header off the swing onto
turf, it shouldn't be on the equipment unattended anyway. how old
is this creature?

You were a child once, right? How deep was the mulch under
YOUR swing? (Personally, I remember dirt. With an amazing
resemblance to concrete.) On the other hand, I was allowed
to jump off beams into loose piles of hay in the barn,
swim in the ocean with no personal floatation device, and
climb trees all the way to the top, too, so I may not be
a good measure of what's acceptably dangerous. (What's
a good depth of mulch for a fall out of a 30' tree?)

--Goedjn


* And your tolerance for liability exposure. Deep mulch
probably won't affect the injury rate much, but not following
the manufacturer's recommendation may help the parent's
medical insurance company when they decide to sue you.
And the parents probably won't have any choice about
whether to sue or not.

follow manufactuer directions to the letter because if a child gets
hurt there and its not to snuff you will be sued and your homeowners
will likely disown you.

So settlement will come out of your wallet.

Waltrrr wrote:

Howdy, Foax! We’re seeking a Devil’s Advocate regarding a DIY
construction project in the lowcountry of the Great Sovereign
Confederate State of Georgia. My vastly better half and I are preparing
to construct a playhouse for our grandchild. After careful research, we
purchased a slide-swing combo that ostensibly could be constructed over
a weekend. Of course, nothing was said about the fact that preparing a
38’ L x 23’ W x 1’ D safe playground area would require exponentially
more effort and time than that required to build the playhouse, which
leads me to the following questions:

(1) Are 787 cubic feet of mulch (the play area surrounding the
playhouse, filled to a depth of 9" – 12") truly necessary? Given that
the maximum height from which a child may fall is 90" (i.e., a child
leaps off the swing at it’s maximum extension) will such a “soft” area
truly protect life, or is it simply one more in the long list of “sound
good” manufacturer recommendations designed to shield the company from
Torts-R-Us? (I note that none of the seven public playgrounds near my
residence possess more than 1" of mulch at most. More than this, the
playhouse manufacturer recommends the purchase of a safety surfacing
called SofPlay, which sells for almost four times as much as the
playhouse itself. While I recognize many feel no cost is too great
where child safety is concerned, Reason suggests that this is an
illogical fallacy, especially in the absence of evidence that such a
quantity of “soft” ground is any better at mitigating injuries over
time than ground mulched to a lesser depth.)

This is assuming that you want to teach the kid that falling
from that height and at that velocity is harmless. If you
want them to learn about the laws of nature, leave it as dirt.

All of my children (and a lot of the neighbors children) have
survived on our unprotected playground equipment. We have a
rope swing, trampoline, see-saw, jungle jim and a big wire
spool that have taught our children that it is wise to NOT
fall and hit the dirt. It hurts.

(2) Assuming a deep mulch to be desirable, our initial response would
be to construct a 38’ L x 23’ W x 20" D area, level the ground within,
and border this with pressure treated 2 x 6s. After constructing and
“planting” the playhouse, we would fill the bottom of the play area
with pea gravel to a depth of 6” (to expedite drainage), cover this
with 12" of “rubber” mulch under a porous matting material, and top the
whole off with 2" of natural mulch, to be replenished seasonally as
required. The 64K questions: (a) Does this make sense, and (b) do y’all
have any better ideas?

Doesn't make a bit of sense to me. Unless you intend to open
it to the public unattended.

Thanks very much for your kind assistance. May our experience, and your
expertise, prove useful to future generations of overzealous
grandparents.

Man, what is it today? Jump on all of Roberts' pet peeves?


--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

On May 29, 9:46 pm, Robert Allison wrote:
Waltrrr wrote:
Howdy, Foax! We're seeking a Devil's Advocate regarding a DIY
construction project in the lowcountry of the Great Sovereign
Confederate State of Georgia. My vastly better half and I are preparing
to construct a playhouse for our grandchild. After careful research, we
purchased a slide-swing combo that ostensibly could be constructed over
a weekend. Of course, nothing was said about the fact that preparing a
38' L x 23' W x 1' D safe playground area would require exponentially
more effort and time than that required to build the playhouse, which
leads me to the following questions:

(1) Are 787 cubic feet of mulch (the play area surrounding the
playhouse, filled to a depth of 9" - 12") truly necessary? Given that
the maximum height from which a child may fall is 90" (i.e., a child
leaps off the swing at it's maximum extension) will such a "soft" area
truly protect life, or is it simply one more in the long list of "sound
good" manufacturer recommendations designed to shield the company from
Torts-R-Us? (I note that none of the seven public playgrounds near my
residence possess more than 1" of mulch at most. More than this, the
playhouse manufacturer recommends the purchase of a safety surfacing
called SofPlay, which sells for almost four times as much as the
playhouse itself. While I recognize many feel no cost is too great
where child safety is concerned, Reason suggests that this is an
illogical fallacy, especially in the absence of evidence that such a
quantity of "soft" ground is any better at mitigating injuries over
time than ground mulched to a lesser depth.)

This is assuming that you want to teach the kid that falling
from that height and at that velocity is harmless. If you
want them to learn about the laws of nature, leave it as dirt.

All of my children (and a lot of the neighbors children) have
survived on our unprotected playground equipment. We have a
rope swing, trampoline, see-saw, jungle jim and a big wire
spool that have taught our children that it is wise to NOT
fall and hit the dirt. It hurts.

(2) Assuming a deep mulch to be desirable, our initial response would
be to construct a 38' L x 23' W x 20" D area, level the ground within,
and border this with pressure treated 2 x 6s. After constructing and
"planting" the playhouse, we would fill the bottom of the play area
with pea gravel to a depth of 6" (to expedite drainage), cover this
with 12" of "rubber" mulch under a porous matting material, and top the
whole off with 2" of natural mulch, to be replenished seasonally as
required. The 64K questions: (a) Does this make sense, and (b) do y'all
have any better ideas?

Doesn't make a bit of sense to me. Unless you intend to open
it to the public unattended.

Thanks very much for your kind assistance. May our experience, and your
expertise, prove useful to future generations of overzealous
grandparents.

Man, what is it today? Jump on all of Roberts' pet peeves?

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

If that trampoline is of any size I hope its of recent viintage, with
all the proper safety protections.

They have been removed from most schools because a bad bounce can
bring someone down wrong and break their neck, paralyzing them for
life.

Mike Paulsen wrote:
Waltrrr wrote:
(snip)


(1) Are 787 cubic feet of mulch (the play area surrounding the
playhouse, filled to a depth of 9" – 12") truly necessary?

(snip)

especially in the absence of evidence that such a
quantity of “soft” ground is any better at mitigating injuries over
time than ground mulched to a lesser depth.)


The manufacturer's guidelines are almost certainly based upon
recommendations published by the CPSC. The CPSC did impact testing with
the various materials (sand, pea gravel, mulch, etc.) and came up with
depths which would protect against "life threatening" head injury, not
"big owie", or even "serious injury" so I think it's OK to view it as a
reasonable minimum standard.


(2) Assuming a deep mulch to be desirable, our initial response would
be to construct a 38’ L x 23’ W x 20" D area, level the ground within,
and border this with pressure treated 2 x 6s. After constructing and
“planting” the playhouse, we would fill the bottom of the play area
with pea gravel to a depth of 6” (to expedite drainage), cover this
with 12" of “rubber” mulch under a porous matting material, and top the
whole off with 2" of natural mulch, to be replenished seasonally as
required. The 64K questions: (a) Does this make sense, and (b) do y’all
have any better ideas?


I think the 2" of wood mulch would quickly get displaced, exposing the
matting. I'd skip the rubber mulch and go with 9" - 12" of wood mulch.

CPSC information he
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/playpubs.html

I like # 2, BUT: I'd go 6 " of the rubber under the mat and go 8 - 10 " of
the wood mulch.

wrote:
On May 29, 9:46 pm, Robert Allison wrote:

Waltrrr wrote:

Howdy, Foax! We're seeking a Devil's Advocate regarding a DIY
construction project in the lowcountry of the Great Sovereign
Confederate State of Georgia. My vastly better half and I are preparing
to construct a playhouse for our grandchild. After careful research, we
purchased a slide-swing combo that ostensibly could be constructed over
a weekend. Of course, nothing was said about the fact that preparing a
38' L x 23' W x 1' D safe playground area would require exponentially
more effort and time than that required to build the playhouse, which
leads me to the following questions:

(1) Are 787 cubic feet of mulch (the play area surrounding the
playhouse, filled to a depth of 9" - 12") truly necessary? Given that
the maximum height from which a child may fall is 90" (i.e., a child
leaps off the swing at it's maximum extension) will such a "soft" area
truly protect life, or is it simply one more in the long list of "sound
good" manufacturer recommendations designed to shield the company from
Torts-R-Us? (I note that none of the seven public playgrounds near my
residence possess more than 1" of mulch at most. More than this, the
playhouse manufacturer recommends the purchase of a safety surfacing
called SofPlay, which sells for almost four times as much as the
playhouse itself. While I recognize many feel no cost is too great
where child safety is concerned, Reason suggests that this is an
illogical fallacy, especially in the absence of evidence that such a
quantity of "soft" ground is any better at mitigating injuries over
time than ground mulched to a lesser depth.)

This is assuming that you want to teach the kid that falling
from that height and at that velocity is harmless. If you
want them to learn about the laws of nature, leave it as dirt.

All of my children (and a lot of the neighbors children) have
survived on our unprotected playground equipment. We have a
rope swing, trampoline, see-saw, jungle jim and a big wire
spool that have taught our children that it is wise to NOT
fall and hit the dirt. It hurts.


(2) Assuming a deep mulch to be desirable, our initial response would
be to construct a 38' L x 23' W x 20" D area, level the ground within,
and border this with pressure treated 2 x 6s. After constructing and
"planting" the playhouse, we would fill the bottom of the play area
with pea gravel to a depth of 6" (to expedite drainage), cover this
with 12" of "rubber" mulch under a porous matting material, and top the
whole off with 2" of natural mulch, to be replenished seasonally as
required. The 64K questions: (a) Does this make sense, and (b) do y'all
have any better ideas?

Doesn't make a bit of sense to me. Unless you intend to open
it to the public unattended.


Thanks very much for your kind assistance. May our experience, and your
expertise, prove useful to future generations of overzealous
grandparents.

Man, what is it today? Jump on all of Roberts' pet peeves?

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


If that trampoline is of any size I hope its of recent viintage, with
all the proper safety protections.

They have been removed from most schools because a bad bounce can
bring someone down wrong and break their neck, paralyzing them for
life.


It is a homemade model that I built out of pipe for a mat that
someone gave me. The only safety equipment on it is me.
Start to do something stupid and you get kicked off for a day
or a week, depending upon the infraction.

The only injury we have had on it in the last seven years is a
kid ran into it and broke his arm. He wasn't bouncing on it,
he just ran into it while running in the yard.

Keep in mind that all of my kids and the neighborhood kids
have learned that if you push the envelope too far, it hurts.
You don't have to tell them not to do that again.

Reminds me of myself when I was growing up (back when
dinosaurs roamed the earth). My mother told me a hundred
times not to touch the oven cause it was hot. After I touched
it, she never had to say that again.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX