Certified Playground Mulch (Engineered Wood Fiber)

• Meets the Impact Attenuation Test as outlined in ASTM F-1292.13
• Meets the Sieve Analysis Test as outlined in ASTM F-2075.10a
• Passes the Heavy Metals Test as outlined in ASTM F-2075.10a
• Passes the Tramp Metals Test as outlined in ASTM F-2075.10a
• Meets ADA Accessibility outlined in ASTM F-1951-09b

Call us today at: 203-659-0456 or email us at info@trassig.com for a quote.

Make sure the Engineered Wood Fiber you install on your playground is not Landscaping Mulch! It should look like the chips in the video below:

Playground Mulch Installation

Choosing the sire for playground mulch is key to its longevity and to reduce maintenance. Choose a site that is fairly flat but that also has a little pitch so water can drain. If the site is too slanted, the mulch will try to migrate down forcing you to rake it up all the time. If the site is flat or dug out, we recommend installing a layer of crushed stone and some type of drainage system and overlaying it with filter fabric before you install the mulch.

• Figuring out how much mulch you will need is easy. You will need a minimum of nine inches of material. That thickness will increase as the fall height of your equipment does. Most initial installations will call for 10 to 11 inches because most if not all available plastic borders on the market are 12" high. An initial install of 10 to 11 inches will compact to 9 inches in no time. Playground Mulch is sold in cubic yards. To translate the square footage of your playground area into cubic yards, multiply the total square footage by the number of inches constituting the thickness you desire. Let's say your playground area is 1,000 sf and you want 10" of material. You will multiply 1000 x 10, which is 10,000. Then you would divide this by 324 to get 30.86, rounded up to 31 cubic yards of material.
• Engineered Wood Fiber must meet ADA accessibility standards. In order to do so, we recommend installing the first 6 inches of playground mulch and compacting it down before installing the next layer and compacting it again. Special care should be taken at the entry points of the playground. These should be ramped in a way that they meet the ADA standards. Playground mulch can be installed either manually after it's delivered to the site, or blown with special blower trucks. For areas that have access issues, or where the playground is too far from where the truck can dump the playground mulch, blower trucks with long hoses can come in very handy.

Playground Mulch Maintenance

Among all surfacing materials, playground mulch is the one that needs the most maintenance. Like all organic materials, it will decompose over time. It will also compact with use. This means that you have to replenish it over time. A good practice is to have marked borders or playground posts with a line that shows the "fill level" of the mulch as a reminder to replenish it. The decomposition rate is highly affected by how well the site drains. The more the wood fibers stay wet, the faster they break down. If the area doesn't drain well, expect frozen mulch in the winter as well.

You also have to rake the playground mulch regularly to make sure the impact attenuation is uniform throughout the sire and also to keep in compliance with ADA laws. This can be very challenging in areas with high traffic, such as entry points, slide exits and under swings. We recommend using wear mats in those areas to minimize the displacement of playground mulch.

Certified Playground Mulch Gallery