How we gave a community centre its outdoor play area back

How we gave a community centre its outdoor play area back

How we gave a community centre its outdoor play area back

Challenge

A community centre had a real issue with their outdoor play area. It was unloved and unusable, it needed a complete make over. We were one of three companies asked to quote for the project and we were selected! The area was very overgrown with dangerous fencing around it.  This was a challenge for our team  – but we do love a challenge!

The area was looking very tired and neglected!

outdoor play area before new surfacing

Outdoor play area before resurfacing

Action

After the new fencing was put in place we got down to work. We stripped away the old rubber tiles as they were no longer usable. These were sent to our sister site where they will be recycled into a rubber material for equestrian arenas. We removed all of the weeds and applied a weed killer to the area.

|Outdoor play area being stripped of weeds

We then laid a base layer of recycled rubber. This acted not only as a base for the surface, but also as a great leveller for the area.  We then marked out the hopscotch pattern and laid this with our grey recycled rubber crumb.

Outdoor play area line preparation

The wearing course was laid to a depth of 15mm over the area in a mixture of green and brown rubber crumb, to match the surrounding area. Finally we cut out the number shapes and infilled these with the green and brown mix to give contrast and consistency.

|Outdoor play area with hopscotch pattern

Result

The outdoor play area is accessible, safe and attractive. Our client is delighted with it and the community have their outdoor space again. The entire project took us just two days to complete. From clearing the space to installing the recycled rubber safety surface – all in just 48 hours!

Outdoor play area in recycled rubber

This is a close up of the surface – just so you can see the real colour of the area.

Outdoor play area close up of surface