Astounded by the cost of play grade wood chip!

[TwoDrifters2]

Since we have not been on a holiday for the last couple of years, we have decided to spend some money instead on a big “fort” style playground for the children to use in the garden. It has swings and a slide, monkey bars etc.

It was expensive but hopefully worth it, as we believe they will use it for years to come.

However, I have been totally taken aback by the cost of the wood chip that is recommended to make the area safe for any falls etc.

The “fort” has a 1.3 metre high viewing tower, so a “critical fall” depth of 30cm wood chip is recommended. Allowing for a margin around the fort, we have a 56 square metre area to fill!

The average cost of a cubic metre of play grade wood chip is £90 and I can’t believe (a) the sheer volume that we’ll need and (b) the total price!

We will spend 2-3 times the price of the fort itself on the wood chip alone!

Surely this can’t be right?! Does anyone have any experience of this? Is there a cheaper alternative we should look at? Are my calculations even right?!

Any suggestions or advice would be gratefully received. Thanks!

Personally I think that's madness. Would you place woodchip under every tree they climb? 1.3 metres wouldn't make me feel the need for woodchip.

How old are your kids? 1.3m isn't very high at all so, personally, I wouldn't bother with wood chip at all. It is spiky and splintery and annoying, and a fall from 1.3m is unlikely to be a big issue for most kids.

If you want to ensure safety, could you look at just doing the required depth at places that are "likely" to be fall points? I would imagine a fort would have walls around most of it? So maybe just do deep sections near to the access point?

Get in touch with a local tree surgeon and see if they can supply you with chip. It’s a fraction of that for the stuff we get for our allotments. I’m not sure what makes the stuff you are looking at buying “play grade” but I suspect it’s probably the price tag!

Have you looked into recycled rubber chipping? We have just ordered some for our play area. 10mm of chipping gives a critical fall height of 2.7m

It's £7.33 per cubic meter in Wickes.

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Play-Safe-Grade-Bark-Chippings---100L/p/185213

Hi, we did something similar during lockdown but didn't build a big structure as the depth of wood chip was madness!

We shopped around and bought a HUGE compressed bag of play-grade wood chip on a pallet, it was delivered and unloaded by crane onto our driveway, then we spent hours and hours shuttling it into our back garden in a wheelbarrow.

We only went to a depth of about 3 or 4 inches, and under the trampoline we cut it right down to save on the wood chip. What with the weed-control we laid down, and the sleepers to keep all the wood chip inside the new play area, it was quite a mission.

Not a cheap option at all!

@stormelf

Have you looked into recycled rubber chipping? We have just ordered some for our play area. 10mm of chipping gives a critical fall height of 2.7m

Yes, this is what we're doing. Not sure it's much cheaper though!

[quote QueenStromba]It's £7.33 per cubic meter in Wickes.

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Play-Safe-Grade-Bark-Chippings---100L/p/185213[/quote]
I clicked on your link and that price is for a 100 litre bag.

A 100 litres is actually only 1/10th of a cubic metre. So the price would be £73.30 per m3.

To the OP

[quote QueenStromba]It's £7.33 per cubic meter in Wickes.

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Play-Safe-Grade-Bark-Chippings---100L/p/185213[/quote]
That price is for 100L so they'd need ten of them!

1.3 metres isn’t very high at all, are you sure you have that correct? That’s just a little over 4’. If your children are small enough that this height will be a big deal, then supervision will give just as much protection to be honest!

Thanks for the replies!

@AppletonP To be honest, I hadn’t thought about the need for “safety” at all until we purchased it and the company recommended what sort of base to use etc.

@HappyAsASandboy The DC are 5 and 2. Keeping it deeper at likely fall points might be a way forward. Thanks!

@umbel That’s a great idea! I will look for one this afternoon!

@stormelf That’s helpful too thank you. We would prefer wood I think, but I’ll keep that as a Plan B! (I agree with @LBOCS2 that I don’t think it’s that much cheaper either!)

@RainingZen It’s quite an undertaking isn’t it?! We are using old wooden telegraph poles we’ve cut down as a “surround” to keep the wood chip in, and off cuts of logs for a little wall. I hope it’s all worthwhile. I’ll use it at this rate, even if the children don’t!

@nickymanchester @womaninatightspot Thanks for the calculations - I keep getting so confused as different websites use different measurements. I clearly need to be doing more maths with the children!

@Emmelina Yes, 1.3m is the height at the bottom of the “tower” where they’d stand, if that makes sense. It’s not that high, at all. “Tower” made it sound a lot more grandiose, I realise that now

I have s swing/ fort/slide thing I have more chips at the more likely to fall areas. Also worth noting is the wood chip breaks down and needs topped up every year or two with a fresh coat. I buy it from a builders yard 90 quid delivered and then wheelbarrow it round. I got utterly fed up with the chip being kicked away from under the swings once they damaged the membrane underneath and pinned these down underneath the swings with tent pegs and at the foot of the slide www.amazon.co.uk/IKEA-PLUFSIG-Folding-green-78x185/dp/B015WZ24XI/ref=asc_df_B015WZ24XI/?hvlocphy=20342&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=214192173502&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-423223241508&hvrand=12673986126583262484

I put them in the greenhouse over winter but had them outside for 3 years without issue.

Will the climbing frame be on grass/soil? We have one like you describe and it is on woodchip, with soil underneath. There is no way we put the depth down you describe, although I do remember reading similar at the time we got it. I assumed they had to say that for health and safety purposes, but don't actually expect you to do it unless you're in a commercial setting. I think the most dangerous bit to fall from is if they get on top of the monkey bars and fall from there, that's more like a 2m+ fall. If your 'fort' bit is like ours it would be quite hard to fall out of anyway.

Might also consider how daredevil your DC are! Mine are a bit lazy and unadventurous so I wasn't too worried

I would seriously consider the rubber bark or some other alternative.
Play bark in my bitter experience ends up becoming a neighbourhood litter tray and gets tiny bits of wood and dust everywhere and rots away so needs topping up all the time.

@womaninatightspot Good thinking - we were looking at something like this for under the swings and slide:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001Q3SDSG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_V9BDSFGR4SQPHB6J83MT?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

@scaredsadandstuck Yes it will be on grass/soil. That’s actually an excellent point about how adventurous the children are. I suspect mine wouldn’t be too reckless but I don’t want to worry and be on constant “garden watch” when we have braver friends over!

@Kottbullar I’ll look again at the rubber bark. We had normal bark (whatever non- “play grade” bark is?!) in our old garden and the kids traipsed it in constantly. It would be stuck to their clothes and in their hair, I’ve no idea how or why. I suppose they rolled around in it. As you do.

The last load of bark we got was free from a tree surgeon. He struggles to get rid of the stuff and will pretty much give it away if you have hard standing with suitable access for a tipper truck to dump a load. It softened very quickly.

@TwoDrifters2 I'm so glad you posted this. We have a similar issue our gardener has recommended a tree surgeon as well it seems as a pp has said it's hard to get rid of tree clippings so they are happy to deliver it to get rid. I'm a bit concerned about the litter tray issue though so I'm still thinking about it whilst banning DS from using the climbing frame 😂.

It'll rot down into mulch, make a hells mess and you'll be cleaning it up forever. Neighbours cats will shit in it. Kids throw it at eachother.
The Fort manufacturer has to give that recommendation I'm sure, doesn't mean you have to follow it

My friend got heaps of wood chippings for free from a tree surgeon. Not sure what would make it play grade?
It sounds amazing. Would love to see a photo when it's finished?!

Thanks everybody for all your suggestions and help!

@surreygirl1987 I’ll try to attach the picture from the website. It was called a “fort” online but it’s really a swing set and slide with aspirations

we had that but 20 years ago, so there were no safety recommendations. went on grass and never had any problems. I'd only have added chippings if it was cited on concrete or similar hard surface

As a gardener/designer I'm asked this a LOT, when I explain it won't splinter you're kids feet, quickly turn into compost and look almost like new for af least 12 seasons, most people understand!