Playground and Children’s Flooring
Special children’s flooring created with a base layer of SBR rubber is ideal for playground flooring because it protects from falls, avoids slipping, allows very attractive designs, is easy to clean and maintain, and avoids water accumulation. Plus, if there are swings or elements that could provoke a fall of more than a metre, the EU has created regulations for its implementation.
The shock-absorbing qualities required by European regulations for playground flooring can be measured using HIC (Head Injury Criterion) tests: the HIC index is a criterion established for head injuries provoked by falling and it is a fundamental value for calculating the critical falling height for which an acceptable level of shock absorption is provided.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PLAYGROUND FLOORING
As a result of all this, it is increasingly common to see playgrounds with special children’s flooring made with a base layer of SBR rubber and EPDM granules. The main characteristic of this type of children’s flooring is that it is one grain size bigger than that used in sports flooring.
Plus, adding shock-absorbent continuous flooring in children’s playgrounds offers an entertaining aspect for the children due to the possibility of creating different designs, combining the lively colours characteristic of the EPDM material to display very attractive pictures for the younger ones.
ADVANTAGES OF EDPM IN CHILDREN’S FLOORING
The elastic rubber paving for playgrounds also has other characteristics and advantages.
Children’s flooring made with our EPDM ECOLASTIC is the most secure, attractive, and clean option for children since these surfaces do not retain water, meaning that they can be used a short time after rain.
What is more, this playground flooring is easily repaired, does not have joints or elements that could cause injury, is anti-slip, and, of course, is shock-absorbent for hits and falls.
The concern for security in playgrounds has provoked a constant increase in safety flooring installation since the eighties. These types of installations have been strengthened by specific, highly-descriptive European regulations (EN 1176/ EN 1177) that are in constant evolution and with an increasing number of regulatory checks.
Continuous flooring is a safe option because of its shock-absorbing capacities and because it avoids costly maintenance.