Trampoline on patio?

[Inaquandry19]

Does anyone have a trampoline set up on a patio? What do you use underneath it and how have you secured it?

Ours is on the patio…. It’s pretty loud. When I jet wash the patio and move it onto the grass it’s SO much quieter but our garden is sloping so it can’t be on there really.
I bought some of those foam pads to put under it and it made zero difference.

Ours is on decking, it's not at all super loud but again our garden slopes so no alternative. Secured with sandbags over the flat bits of the legs. It hasn't shifted an inch through 2 years of crazy winter storms.

What about the safety aspect of it though? Domestic trampolines are infamous for causing broken bones, even if they have been surrounded by all around safety net. A&E departments hate them! The safest way to have a trampoline at home is to have it buried into the ground, so only the actual bouncy bit is exposed - I am sure that a gardener could tell you how to get the bit of ground the trampolime is buried into, level.

@HeartvsBrain

What about the safety aspect of it though? Domestic trampolines are infamous for causing broken bones, even if they have been surrounded by all around safety net. A&E departments hate them! The safest way to have a trampoline at home is to have it buried into the ground, so only the actual bouncy bit is exposed - I am sure that a gardener could tell you how to get the bit of ground the trampolime is buried into, level.

I thought the injury from trampolines was because people land badly, not be sue they fall off?

We always had ours on slabs it never moved and wasn’t that noisy ( mostly squeaking) we sometimes put some massive stones on it but we didn’t always and it never moved. We obviously had a safety net and we never had any injuries either. It should be fine on a patio.

This is a very sad tale please don't read if sensitive...a child in American died by drowning, due to a trampoline which was buried in to the ground. The child fell through a rip in the trampoline, the parents didn't notice for a couple of minutes, and sadly the child drowned in water in the hole underneath.

The issue with water underneath is when people just dig a hole. It fills up.

Really you want to dig a hole, add drainage pipes and drain any water away.

This is safer for a child falling under, rare, and for wildlife getting under, common.

Orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists rarely let their children have trampolines! Elbow fractures is mainly what we worry about.

We had one on our patio for years & it was absolutely fine on slabs. I honestly don't think many people have space to dig a hole!
It's lovely having the patio back now it's gone though.

The safety concerns are usually due to what happens on the trampoline rather than falling off it:

Badly executed flips and other acrobatics
More than one child bouncing at a time

While I was having my broken wrist plastered in A&E, the nurse said her work would be halved if trampolines were banned.
My injury was unrelated.

Thanks. I am aware of the dangers. My son is autistic and a trampoline is a very important source of sensory input for him. He never goes on with anyone else and only jumps and does not try to do any acrobatics (yet anyway!).

We currently have one on the grass but it is getting too small and we can't fit a bigger one on the grass so would have to move to the patio. It needs to be well held down as he sometimes jumps into the side of the enclosure. Also read that you need to put some sortbof matting underneath to absorb shock but just not sure what type is best.

Trampolines were great for my ds and dd when they were kids (both autistic and adhd)

I had very strict rules with mine, 1 allowed to bounce at a time and NO somersaults.

I used to trampoline for a local team so I am all too aware of the dangers of trampolines. I was able to teach them safer moves.

@TopTabby can’t wait to have our patio back in 10 years time

@Inaquandry19 I bought a really thick exercise/yoga mat in TK Maxx the other day,a couple of those might be good underneath?

We have one and put the cheapo fit together foam matting under the parts that rest on the patio. Stops stones staining and absorbs some of the noise. We are very strict about one on a time and zip down, and not had any accidents.

Ours is on the patio, another sloping garden here. One at a time, no somersaults. And no throwing themselves at the net like loons .

That particular bit of patio projects onto the lawn so if the net failed they'd land on grass in most directions. It is squeaky though.

DD1 fractured her elbow swinging out of a tree, but DD2's best friend fell out of a trampoline (broken net) onto a patio and broke her arm, so I try to be as cautious as I can.

Yes it’s a risk….. but my friend’s son broke his foot in a soft play 🤷‍♀️

The enclosure are not designed to be jumped into. It must be clear that injuries can happen both from jumping on and falling off the trampoline. If he's jumping into the side I'd doubly want it on grass, even if it means the surface area is smaller.

Ds fell through ours after jumping and landed on his back on the grass. Apparently there had been a small hole in it which just ripped open. Could have been worse if he'd fallen through onto concrete. You can get rubber tiles like the stuff they have in playgrounds which might be suitable.