2019, bonded rubber mulch, loose rubber mulch, safety surface, safety tiles, synthetic play turf
School’s out, it’s hot, and unless there’s a family vacation or summer camp in the plans, summer means a lot of sitting around the house.
Getting kids to play outside during the summer can be a challenge. Face it—who can blame them for not wanting to get out of the air conditioning?
But playgrounds are just as important for kids this summer just as much as they are the rest of the year.
Here are a few suggestions to get your kids excited about heading to the playground instead of plopping down on the couch over the next couple of months.
- Get them to round up a few friends to come along. Structured games need a few others to join in, and unstructured play is always better with a large cast of characters. The more the merrier!
- Bring along healthy refreshments. Make an outing of it by packing a picnic with things like baby carrots, healthy snack bars, and fresh fruit.
- Bring things for the kids to enjoy in the shade. Break up the activity with cooldown time. Things like bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and art materials are great when a break is needed from climbing on playground equipment in the sun.
Find Playground and Parks Programs for Kids
For parents, summer camps can be budget breakers. That’s why many cities offer free and low-cost alternative programs for children during the summer. Many of them happen at your local park or playground!
“Summer Playground Programs” around the country give kids a chance to participate in fun, supervised activities during the hot summer months.
Activities typically include:
- Board games
- Sports
- Playground time (of course!)
- Arts and crafts
- Teamwork and character building
- Fitness and nutrition lessons
Many of these programs even have field trips that include activities such as fishing, swimming, movies, and museum visits.
Summer Playground Programs give kids an opportunity to make new friends, stay active, learn new things and get some exercise. Here are just a few of the cities that host summer activities.
Austin, TX
Little Rock, AR
Superior, WI
Pittsfield, MA
Albuquerque, NM
Tacoma, WA
If you don’t see one near you, just Google “Summer Playground Programs” and you’re likely to find something.
Don’t Take Shortcuts on Safety
What’s another way to make the playground a part of this summer’s fun? Staying safe, of course!
Summer safety means staying hydrated, wearing sunscreen, and checking equipment before playtime to ensure that it’s free from damage and anything else that could be a hazard. For example, make sure there are no splinters on wooden equipment. Make sure the metal slides haven’t gotten too hot in the summer sun. If possible, schedule your playground visits for earlier in the day, before the equipment heats up.
Most importantly, make sure areas where kids are prone to falls are protected with the safety surface needed. No Fault Safety Surface, for example, is the perfect shock-absorbing cover to ensure safety around playground swings and climbing features, and No Fault Safety Surface for Water Play is ideal for splash pad surfaces, and pool decks.
Speaking of pools, if your kids’ summer routine includes splashing around, make sure you’re keeping the life jackets nearby, check the pool depth before allowing kids to dive, and make sure water play is supervised.
Why Playgrounds Were Made For Summer
During the school year, recess is the only time some kids get to spend on their local playground. But remember—unstructured play gives kids the space they need to really grow, to discover how fun life can be, and recharge before the next school year begins. This kind of learning doesn’t take a break just because school is out.
Your kids will look back on this summer for the rest of their lives. Without school, there is more time to build memories, to de-stress, and to play without “rules.” This time is important for them. They need to be able to make their own rules for a while, and playgrounds are the natural location for this kind of personal development.
Movies, TV, and video games are no match for a day of sunshine at the playground. When they’re playing, kids are using their bodies and their minds to learn and to grow. So don’t let the heat keep your kids indoors this summer!
No Fault’s slogan is “safe play means safe surfacing!” Contact us today to discuss our playground surfacing options which include poured-in-place rubber surface, rubber tiles, bonded and loose-fill rubber mulch, and synthetic play turf. Our No Fault team is ready to assist you!
2019, safety surface, synthetic play turf
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence – especially when the other side includes a playground that features No Fault SporTurf (synthetic play turf)!
Like any other business, the play equipment industry sees its share of technological innovation and trends. One of the hot trends we’re seeing these days is artificial turf installation at playgrounds and parks across America.
Synthetic grass is trending for a lot of reasons. It’s attractive, durable, versatile, and it’s saving schools and parks administrators lots of money and time in maintenance and upkeep.
No Fault SporTurf allows schools and parks to save money in water use, fertilizer, and grounds keeping. It also gives you more usage out of your play areas. Our synthetic play turf is better suited for playground areas than regular grass for several reasons. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Why Should You Consider Synthetic Play Turf?
It’s attractive. Today’s synthetic grass looks a lot like the real thing. In most cases, it’s even more attractive than a beautifully-manicured lawn.
It’s durable. Today’s high-performance systems provide a year-round, all-weather playground surface that can withstand heavy use.
It’s always ready. Your “grass” won’t need downtime for recovery between uses.
It’s low-maintenance. Synthetic turf is a weed-free surface that doesn’t need water, fertilizer, pesticides, or mowing.
It’s More Than Just a ‘Green Carpet’
At No Fault, we specialize in synthetic play turf for playground areas (although, as we’ll see, it also has other uses as well).
Today’s synthetic turf systems are “infilled,” meaning the synthetic grass blades are interspersed with sand and/or granulated rubber to provide stability and resilience. In some systems with lower pile height and less infill, there is a pad or elastic layer beneath the turf. No Fault’s play turf is infilled with a cooling sand designed to reduce the turf’s temperature.
No Fault synthetic turf systems are installed with a drainage layer, a multi-layered backing system, and resilient “grass” blades. We usually install our turf over one of two base layers:
- Foam Padding is an impact-absorbing protective padding optimized to enhance safety and drainage.
- Poured-in-place impact layer. Our closed-cell foam underlayment pads meet or exceed the standard specification for impact attenuation (or shock absorbency), offering superior fall protection and ADA accessibility.
Grass Is No Match for Kids
A grass field that is used more than 3-4 days a week is never going to look good. That’s why synthetic turf is a smart solution for playgrounds and multiuse areas where the natural grass cover has become unsafe, worn down, and sparse making for a muddy and unattractive area.
If a grass play area is used after heavy rains, the compacted, muddy ground you end up with could mean that grass won’t grow at all. And during the hot, dry summer months, you have to irrigate and apply pesticides and fertilizers, leaving you with a potentially unsafe area that kids should avoid.
Synthetic turf can be used daily and in all types of weather. You don’t have to worry about damage. Our turf is made from polyethylene, which is more resilient than the nylon and polypropylene. Its durable, long-lasting, and the cushioned coverage provides a safer area for children to play.
Artificial Turf Uses Less Water and Costs Less to Maintain
Maintaining grass playgrounds is expensive. On top of regular cutting, watering, reseeding, fertilizing and more, areas with heavy use have to be “refurbished” from time to time. This means laying sod over bare areas and keeping kids away until the new grass is established.
One of the main reasons artificial turf has become so popular, especially out West and in the South, is because of the water savings it offers. More than ever, school and parks administrators are looking to conserve water and cut down on the maintenance of their playgrounds and other play areas.
Synthetic turf has a higher upfront cost than other solutions. However, one playground system typically pays for itself in the first 3-4 years for schools and community uses.
What About Heat Concerns?
You may have heard about synthetic turf getting hot in the sun. It’s true that the type of product used in the infill can have a significant effect on the temperature of the grass. Our infill provides an average cooling range of 30-50 degrees and works naturally when hydrated by irrigation, rainfall, and dew. This advanced cooling technology also prolongs the life of the turf fibers.
Will No Fault Play Turf Fade?
Our synthetic turf is UV stabilized to protect against color fading. If you live in a cooler climate, or if your installation is shaded, you can expect it to look great longer.
How does it look? Take a look below. Earlier this year we had a customer who wanted both No Fault Safety Surface (poured-in-place rubber) and No Fault SporTurf for their play areas at The Nest – Center for Women, Children & Families in Lexington, Kentucky. We think using both surfacing products makes their play areas look “twice as nice”!
Care and Maintenance
You’ll want to protect your investment. That’s why synthetic turf needs to be maintained to maximize its lifespan. You’ll need to hose it down with water. For other spills and stains, a mixture of mild soap and warm water can do the trick as well as a half-and-half solution of vinegar and water.
A leaf blower or a light rinse with the garden hose may be all you need to wash away dust, dirt, and pollen.
It’s Not Just for Playgrounds!
The owners at Avanti Senior Living in Covington, Louisiana were extremely pleased with the No Fault SporTurf we provided and installed at their assisted living facility. The natural look of the turf created a beautiful, low maintenance courtyard for the residents to enjoy. Our partner for this project, Terry Hill with Womack Construction, stated, “We enjoyed having knowledgeable and professional No Fault installers as our subcontractor and will definitely use them again!”
No Fault provides coast-to-coast installation services to ensure consistent quality. Having knowledgeable and professional installers makes a big difference! In fact, you’ll find that every member of our No Fault team is professional, helpful, and knowledgeable. Please contact our team today for more information about the benefits our synthetic play turf can bring to your new playground areas.
