Critical Fall Height

This is the maximum height that a child could fall from a piece of equipment. Take a tower as an example; the highest height of the tower itself might be 3.5m while the highest accessible platform might be 1.5m. The Critical Fall Height of the tower would be 1.5m, as this is the highest point on the product that they can access.

Once the Critical Fall Height is determined, it is possible to find the required surface depth for your playground. This ensures you are using the correct depth in your surface for each separate piece of equipment. Don’t forget, each piece will have different fall heights so this is important.

These are the recommended surface depths that our surfacing team works to based on a measured Critical Fall Height.

Wet Pour

Playground Surfacing, Rubber Crumb, Soft Surfacing, Soft Tarmac

Ground rubber is formed into this impact absorbing surface. Wet Pour is the popular option for finishing a ground surface in order to add colour, patterns and structure.

Not only will a playground become much more aesthetically pleasing with the addition of Wet Pour, the opportunities it opens up to the playground are vast. Trackways can be designed and made from the surfacing. The playground can be separated by borders, lines and shapes in order to keep dedicated spaces for different play types. Graphics can be made out of the surfacing in order to aid learning through play while other shapes can be made for playing games.

View our gallery of Wet Pour projects for a better understanding of how the surfacing can be best utilised.

Playground Rubber / Rubber Mulch offers a continuous, seamless rubber surface which is hard wearing and can be laid over almost any type of existing ground without the need for foundations, and coupled with the natural-looking aesthetics and colour options it is uniquely positioned to work all year round in a huge variety of applications.

The process starts with recycling solid rubber that otherwise would go to landfill; then has a coloured coating applied. On site, the rubber shred is mixed with a polyurethane binder and the mixture is then simply spread out with a trowel.

As this bonded shred system is self-supporting it requires no digging of foundations and the lack of large or heavy equipment makes it cost effective for even small or difficult access areas. Moreover, it will easily work directly onto almost any existing ground conditions including grass or soil, old tiles or wet pour, crushed aggregate or concrete; it will follow the naturally sloping contours of the ground and / or absorb undulations and can even be spread directly over tree roots and around plants.

However, there are so many variables in source material, manufacturing, colouring and installing techniques that the performance and safety will vary greatly, so you may use our web site to take you through some of the basics, but you will notice we do not have online ordering as we strongly recommend that you use our unrivalled expertise in the subject and call us to discuss your project so we can properly advise you.

Which quality do you need for your project?

Specification chooser

Just Mulch® & Just Binder™:

For simple landscaping areas and most pathways and other areas where safety, durability and technical performance may be less important we can utilise some cheaper production methods and offer the Just Mulch® product range at one of the lowest prices on the market for self-install and basic trade installation projects.

Ecobond™ Mulch & Ecobond™ binder:

For areas such as regulated playgrounds and others needing certainty on coverage rates, fall height protection, toxicity, flammability, tested durability and the longest colour retention then the Ecobond™ materials system is the professional’s choice for self-install and trade installation projects.

Gummibond™:

This is what we call the market leading Ecobond™ system (as above) when it is installed by us and is offered with a meaningful 5 year warranty.

In the following chart, you may want to ask, ‘why does it matter?’ or ‘what are the consequences?’ so we invite you to call us for further clarity on any subject as we have far too much information to detail here.

We are in an unparalleled position in the marketplace as we are the only industry provider with control over every aspect of material, production and installation processes and are responsible for installing 10s of 1000s of square metres of our own material every year and give every mm of it a 5 year warranty, and have been doing so for many years without problems.

Material detail	Industry standard	Just Mulch®	Ecobond™	Gummibond™
Known exactly where rubber comes from, rather than using waste sources?
Uses 100% solid rubber from fork truck tyres only – Not from pneumatic road tyres?
Is the material 100% metal free?	Up to 99%
Is the material fibre free?	Up to 99%	Up to 99%
Uses rubber shred only with no chippings added?
Specifically designed binder?

Material detail	Industry standard	Just Mulch®	Ecobond™	Gummibond™
Seller has control of the input material and control of the shredding process?
Controlled shred size, shape and cut?
Injection controlled coating process?
How thorough is the coating & colouring process?	Basic covering	Full coating	Up to 5 times more coating	Up to 5 times more coating

Material detail	Industry standard	Just Mulch®	Ecobond™	Gummibond™
Has the system been impact tested to BS EN1177 2018?
Has the system been Toxicology tested – oral (toy safe) to EN 71-3?
Has the system been tested for skin contact (carcinogenic) Toxicology – PAH – XP 33-012?
Has the system been tested for flammability – EN7188?
Has the system been tested for slip resistance –  EN7188?
Has the system been tested for resistance to abrasive wear  – EN7188?
Has the system been tested for resistance to indentation – EN7188?

Material detail	Industry standard	Just Mulch®	Ecobond™	Gummibond™
Match finished surface with original sample?
Approved for use under swings, roundabouts and other high traffic areas?				Warrantied performance
Safe for use with young crawling children?
Highly resistant to vandalism?
Coverage rates?	Varies	Consistent	Consistent	N/A Charge is per square meter
Batch to batch consistency?
Colour stability suitable for laying large areas in single colour?
Geotextile included?

Material detail	Industry standard	Just Mulch®	Ecobond™	Gummibond™
Will the manufacturer of the mulch support you in the event of a problem with or after install?				Warrantied performance
Will the manufacturer of the binder support you in the event of a problem with or after install?				Warrantied performance
Will the installer accept responsibility for the rubber mulch and binder they use?	Unknown	Unknown	Full manufacturers support, but no responsibility for the install	Warrantied performance

Colour options
Where we show a 2 colour blend, these are simply examples of what can be achieved by blending 2 individual colour bags during the mixing process on site. This option to have 2 colour mixes is included at no extra charge when ordering the Gummibond™ system.

Polyurethane binders:

A vitally important part of any system and there are a wide range binder formulations to suit various applications, so not all will be suitable for the type of rubber shred found in our systems, and we know from testing we have done that the amount of binder you will need to apply may vary greatly; so unit price is not a good guide to its value.

All the binders we sell are 100% solvent-free and have no specialist storage instructions or transportation restrictions.

All the binders we sell require no additional treatment or additives on-site; the catalyst for the required chemical reaction is simply air moisture.

Just Binder™: A really good quality binder that is proven to work with rubber mulches in a standard reaction time and a consistent ratio of use. We can supply Just Binder™ on its own without the need to buy Just Mulch® rubber at the same time.

Ecobond™ binder: Has been specifically formulated to work with our grade of Ecobond™ rubber mulch, our exclusive coating system, and our installation techniques, and therefore we can be sure of optimum strength to secure each shred without ‘glassing through’ like standard binders do. The 25 kilo plastic kegs are better able to maintain ambient temperature, whilst its quicker curing time could lead to reduced overnight security costs, more working hours in the day, less need to anticipate temperature variations and weather conditions and should reduce the risk of atmospheric contamination. We have an optional reformulation should it be necessary to install in severe heat with reduced humidity.  Note we will only sell Ecobond™ binder as a system when purchased alongside our Ecobond™ mulch.