Rubber Flooring

What is the Material Used in Playgrounds?

Close Up of a Playground Slide Landing Mat In Front of the End of a Yellow Slide

Playground floor material must be shock absorbent, anti-slip, and resistant to damaging environmental factors to prevent serious injuries. The ideal playground floor material is recycled rubber crumb due to its excellent durability, shock absorption, and indoor/outdoor versatility. Available in the form of playground rubber tiles, these rubber outdoor playground mats are easily customizable for sufficient surfacing around playground equipment. Crumb rubber tiles are safe alternatives to hard surfaces, such as carpet, concrete, grass, and hardwood, and will offer the impact absorption and anti-slip properties required for safe playground flooring. Therefore, recycled crumb playground floor material is the safest surfacing option for both indoor and outdoor play areas.

What is the Material Used in Playgrounds?

The material used in playgrounds in recycled rubber crumb that derives from resilient post-consumer vehicle tires. Recycled rubber crumb playground floor material comes in the form of interlocking tiles that allow for easy installation in both indoor and outdoor settings. Recycled crumb playground floor material is the idea material for playground surfacing as it is highly durable, shock absorbent, non-slip, and environmentally resistant. A recycled tire playground surface will offer excellent moisture resistance with low absorption and high impact resistance (sciencedirect.com). Shock absorption is an important property to have in playground rubber tiles as it can help prevent serious life-threatening injuries. Shock absorption can help protect children in case of a fall or a more serious fall from playground equipment. Without a shock absorbent playground floor material, the chances of serious injuries are significantly increased. Falls are one of the most common, if not the most common, cause of serious playground injuries. Case in point, “79% of ALL playground injuries involve falls. Falls also account for 90% of the most SEVERE playground injuries” (brainline.org). A fall onto shock absorbent playground floor material can help reduce chances of severe injuries by adding a layer of padding between a hard subfloor and the force of an impact. Although it cannot completely protect a child from all injuries, a shock absorbent recycled rubber crumb play surface can significantly reduce chances of a traumatic brain injury. For instance, “Energy absorbers are responsible for protecting the brain by reducing the head acceleration… concussion risk can in principle be lowered by reducing the force transferred to the head” (arxiv.org). A shock absorbent playground floor material can cushion the blow of an impact to reduce chances of a traumatic brain injury by absorbing the energy.

“Eco-Safety 3-inch” Rubber Playground Tiles

A Plastic Slide and Swings Set on Top of Eco Safety 3 Inch Tiles and Ramp In the Yard
A Plastic Blue Slide Is Nearby an Outdoors Pool in the Yard, and it is on Some Eco Safety 3 Inch Playground Tiles

Not only does crumb rubber playground floor material protect against serious impact injuries, but it also actively prevents these accidents from occurring. Crumb rubber in the form of playground rubber tiles offer excellent anti-slip properties that can help prevent slip and fall accidents even when moisture is present on their surface. Rubber is naturally a traction-enhancing, non-slip material; however, the surface texture produced by crumb rubber further enhances the tiles’ non-slip properties. For example, a rubber crumb play surface enhances rubber’s natural grippy surface by producing a surface texture that helps footwear grip onto the playground surface better. The texture of a rubber crumb play surface is produced during the manufacturing process of recycled crumb playground rubber tiles. Instead of being melded together, recycled crumb playground floor material is bonded together using an adhesive – producing a texture rather than a smooth surface. A rubber crumb play surface will not lose its traction even when moisture is present on its surface.

In addition, recycled crumb rubber is highly resistant to damaging environmental factors allowing it to be durable and long-lasting playground floor material in outdoor settings. Made of post-consumer vehicle tires, recycled playground rubber tiles will not be damaged by harsh UV rays, ozone, oxygen, and moisture. Tires are made of durable natural and synthetic rubber materials that are designed to resist abrasions as well as harsh outdoor settings. Environmental factors, especially UV rays and ozone, can be extremely damaging to most materials if left exposed for too long; however, due to the combination of natural and synthetic rubbers in the production of vehicle tires, a recycled tire playground surface will resist deterioration. This durability will help keep the rubber outdoor playground mats level and intact to avoid trip and fall hazards and its resistance to wet weather conditions will help it retain its grippy surface to further prevent slip and fall accidents.

“Eco-Safety 3-inch” Rubber Playground Tiles

  • Also good for patio and gym flooring
  • Can be cleaned with a broom or wet mop
  • Ideal as temporary flooring, can be moved from one place to another
  • Contains EPDM rubber in order to function in harsh environmental situations

Soft Surfaces for Playgrounds: With a gauge of 3-inches each, these outdoor rubber mats are the thickest playground surfacing products currently available. Given the fact that kids play rough and often fall, parents can rest easy knowing that 3 full inches of rubber are there to cushion their children’s many trips and tumbles. Each of these 3-inch tiles have been tested and approved for 7 foot fall heights, making them among the safest rubber matting options currently available on the market. It is because of rubber’s elasticity that playground rubber matting has become popular across the country.

Unique Speckled Colors: These recycled rubber tiles stand out from the competition not only because of their 3-inch thickness, but also due to their color speckled appearance. Consumers have the options of getting their rubber surfaces for playgrounds in two forms: blue and white or yellow, red, and white speckles. This allows a playground flooring to have visual appeal matching the playground equipment.

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A Stack of Three Eco-Safety 2.5 Inch Tiles, Top Color Green, then Blue and Red

“Eco-Safety 2.5-inch” Rubber Playground Surfacing

$39.20$45.60

Some Colors are Out of Stock.Free Shipping On Orders Over $99 Need Help? Call 1-844-Rubber-4

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One Candy Corn Colored Eco Safety 3 Inch Tile On Top of a Blue Steel Colored Eco Safety 3 Inch Tile

“Eco-Safety 3-inch” Rubber Playground Tiles

Original price was: $65.00.Current price is: $48.75.

In Stock. Ships in 24 Hours!Free Shipping On Orders Over $99 Need Help? Call 1-844-Rubber-4

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Eco Sport Interlocking Rubber Tiles with four colors

“Eco-Sport 3/4-inch” Interlocking Rubber Flooring Tiles

$0.05$26.40

In Stock. Ships in 24 Hours! Free Shipping On Orders Over $99
Need Help? Call 1-844-Rubber-4

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Fanned Out Spread of Four Eco Sport 1 Inch Tiles, Each in the Colors Of Coal Black, Light Blue, Light Green, and Terra Cotta

“Eco-Sport 1-inch” Interlocking Rubber Flooring Tiles

$0.05$31.20

In Stock. Ships in 24 Hours! Free Shipping On Orders Over $99
Need Help? Call 1-844-Rubber-4

What is the Floor of a Playground Made of?

The floor of a playground is made of interlocking recycled crumb rubber tiles. Using interlocking playground rubber tiles is highly beneficial as it can be customized according to the size and placement of the equipment on the playground. It is important to have sufficient shock absorbent playground floor material around the playground equipment in case of a fall off them. Because it is difficult to determine where a child will fall or exit from the equipment, playground surfacing should extend at least 6 feet in all directions from the equipment to ensure that a child will land on a cushioned surface to prevent injury. This is easy to achieve with playground rubber tiles thanks to its customizable interlocking mechanism. To install, simply connect the tiles together with small plastic connector pins through the holes that line the sides of each tile. For customization, continue adding on tiles or remove tiles until you have reached the correct size. Additionally, recycled rubber crumb playground tiles are available in 3/4″, 1”,2.5”, and 3” thicknesses. Depending on the height of the playground equipment present, the thickness of the playground surface may need to be adjusted according to its critical height. The critical height value of playground surfacing should be thick enough to absorb the shock of a fall from the highest point of the equipment (cspc.gov). With 4 thicknesses offered, it is easy to find playground surfacing tiles thick enough to absorb the shock of a fall according to the playground equipment present.

“Eco-Sport 1-inch” Interlocking Rubber Flooring Tiles

  • This rubber surfacing can be permanently installed using adhesive glue
  • Great for use as gym flooring, flooring for a basement, outdoor deck surfacing, playground surfacing, trade show floors, and more
  • Ramps available upon request. The sloped ramps are great for use as safe entry points and are useful for getting wheeled equipment onto the mats

Surface Protection: Since these rubber floor tiles are 1″ thick, each outdoor tile is perfect for protecting the base surfacing of an area. Heavy objects and/or a high volume of foot traffic can damage surfaces like wood. By installing this durable rubber surfacing, you are essentially adding a barrier between your area’s base surfacing and outside stresses like treadmills or sofas.

DIY Flooring: Another feature that makes these recycled mats so popular is their ease of installation. It makes a great do-it-yourself project, saving you the unwanted additional expenses of hiring third party installers. Each outdoor tile comes with pre-drilled holes on each side. These holes are meant for special connector pins (sold separately) that hold each tile firmly together. The beauty of interlocking floor tiles lies in their easy to install nature. Save yourself some extra time and money with these rubber floor tiles!

“Eco-Sport 1-inch” Interlocking Rubber Flooring Tiles

Person Sitting on a Purple Yoga Ball, On Top of Blue Eco-Sport 3/4 Inch Interlocking Tiles
Woman Side Planking on Green Eco Sport 1 Inch Interlocking Flooring Tiles

What is the Floor on a Playground Called?

The floor on a playground is called playground surfacing. Playground surfacing is “the material that lies under and around swings, slides, monkey bars, and other playground equipment” (Wikipedia.org). Made up of interlocking recycled crumb rubber tiles, rubber playground floor material meets the standard for ASTM F1292, which is the minimum requirement for impact absorption of playground surfacing materials (astm.org). Playground floor material comes in the form of interlocking tiles, and thanks to its interlocking mechanism, they are easily customizable to provide sufficient surfacing around playground equipment. Additionally, playground surfacing tiles can be placed over a wide range of subfloors, including carpet, hardwood, concrete, dirt, and grass. These surfaces, even grass and carpet, do not offer sufficient shock absorption required for playground surfacing. Furthermore, they are excellent indoor/outdoor products that will not be damaged or deteriorate in the face of harsh environmental factors, making them excellent rubber outdoor playground mats.

Recycled crumb playground floor material offers superior shock absorption, anti-slip, and environmental resistance properties making it the perfect surfacing option for both indoor and outdoor play areas. A recycled tire playground surface is made of resilient post-consumer vehicle tires which gives it unmatched durability and shock absorption compared to other playground flooring options. Additionally, playground rubber tiles are available in 4 thicknesses which allows you to choose tiles that are thick enough to provide sufficient padding according to the equipment’s’ critical height. Furthermore, its customizable sizing option allows you to create flooring that extends far enough to protect children as they exit the equipment or in case of a fall off equipment. Overall, the best playground floor material for creating a safe play area is recycled rubber crumb.