Looking to put a swing set in the back yard this spring. Thinking about sectioning off the area and filling it with rubber mulch or something similar so that I don't have to mow around the structure. Area will be approx 25' x 25'.
Any of you gone this route? Likes/Dislikes? Cost?

I have been wanting to do the same thing at our home. I dealt with it in a commercial park setting and our biggest headache was when you got a huge rain it would float up and out of the area.

Curious about this as well. We are thinking of doing the same when we put our set up this spring too.

pea gravel

I did a large area at a previous home and it worked well.

It is expensive. I found a deal on some overstock or overrun a company in Houston had.

I did this at our house. It is expensive. My problem is the dang pine straw covers it up. However they really last well.

Don't do it if you have trees nearby. The leaves and sticks will make it a constant battle to keep clean.

I have a large triangle that is about 20 feet on each side. Fort is gone now, but the rubber mulch is still there.

I would love to be rid of all of it.

I did find that if I got a large bucket and filled it with water, I could shovel the stuff in with leaves/sticks and the leaves/sticks would float, while the rubber would sink. But that got to be a royal pain and I gave up.

I learned more about rubber mulch than I ever wanted to after dealing with a school project.

It is simply shredded rubber tires that have the steel belting removed. It cushions well, stays in place as well or better than bark mulch, preferred over pea gravel. Downsides, it is expensive, gets hot in the summer, and you'll want to wash it down after installing to rinse the black dust off. And it causes cancer according to helicopter moms. The trucking cost is what drives the price, in my limited experience. Any of the painted or coated options are about double the price.

If you had access to some that was free I'd say go for it, otherwise bark mulch with tall perimeter boards is the next best option. The weight of pea gravel makes the install and removal no fun at all.

And if it was me I'd mow around the swing set instead of dealing with the alternative. If you don't care about fall protection then it's not worth the cost and effort IMHO.

Kiddie Cushion is way better. Those ground up tires never go away, wash out of the enclosure, get scattered by lawn equipment, etc.

Not for a play set but under a trampoline. I've been very pleased with it. We dug up the sod, laid down the black anti-growth cloth, set the edges with landscaping timbers, and put down the mulch. Just spray it with Roundup as needed to knock down any weeds.

TRIDENT said:

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Kiddie Cushion is way better. Those ground up tires never go away, wash out of the enclosure, get scattered by lawn equipment, etc.

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Ultimately that's probably what we will go with. Doesnt sound like the added cost really gives you that much added benefit.

I wouldn't try going the route of surrounding the entire swing set with either shredded tire or kiddie cushion. To do it right you need 12" which means you will need to do a French drain to get it to drain properly. Do get the rubber mats that go under the swings so you can keep from having a bare spot or muddy hole.


You'll just have to mow around it.

I looked into it when I built the play area for my kids.

Pros:
Lasts forever
Internal temp of the mulch pile is hotter than wood, which stumps weed growth

Cons:
Lasts forever
Expensive

I ended up going with regular shredded mulch. Need to spruce it up this spring, add a new layer of weed cloth and fresh mulch.

Built up play area - weed cloth, 3" of sand, mulch. Eventually this is going away, so the sand and,mulch can be spread out when the timbers are removed. No issues with drainage.

We are looking at these options as well.

How does the shredded bark much/kiddie cushion fair on barefoot kids?

I can't keep shoes on my wild bunch and concerned with splinters or poking with the mulch options

KCchemE said:

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We are looking at these options as well.

How does the shredded bark much/kiddie cushion fair on barefoot kids?

I can't keep shoes on my wild bunch and concerned with splinters or poking with the mulch options

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I should have clarified, we have regular mulch not the the rubber stuff or special cushioned mulch. No problem with boys going barefoot. Turns their feet black but nothing that won't wash off and no splinters.

I'm cheap, I'd go with Fibar.

I spend way too much time with people doing playground inspections.

We have it around our backyard swingset. It was there from previous owner. It doesn't float away and it looks good, but it still packs down and needs to be replenished over time.
I looked into it and it is WAY too rich for my blood. For the area you're talking about would be about 10-12 yards (for 6" thick) and I'm guessing that's north of $2k for the stuff we have.
If it's intended for safety, my kids still get cuts and bruises out back. It sure wouldn't prevent a broken arm either.

TLDR: do what Schmellba did. Good weed control and cheap.

ursusguy said:

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I'm cheap, I'd go with Fibar.

I spend way too much time with people doing playground inspections.

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How come? We're not talking about a public playground with random rug rats crapping on the swing set.

I get that. Different mulches are rated differently for impact protect. Standard wood mulch does not provide nearly as much fall protection as engineered wood chips.

We've become our parents, only worse.

ursusguy said:

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I get that. Different mulches are rated differently for impact protect. Standard wood mulch does not provide nearly as much fall protection as engineered wood chips.

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Meh, I'm not doing it for cushion. Toughen up the buggers. I have it so we don't have to move the trampoline around the yard or just have one, nasty, weedy, mud hole under the trampoline if we don't move it.

As a kid, I worried about dog *****

What about artificial turf? Has anyone used it ?

I'm with you, I'm thinking about putting a 10x8 ft artificial turf section just under the swing-set.

What does't kill us, makes us tougher. How many of you had the legs coming off the ground while swinging on your set? If you are posting today, you are a survivor!

Whould neighbor's cat $# be an issue? putting down large amount of mulch under the playset mean i'm building a humongous litter box?

This is a great week for home improvement advice! I'm putting a playscape in a new house in about month. I'd like to put something down less for fall protection, more for preventing weeds and filthy kids. With all the new house costs piling up cheaper is better.