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A Buyer’s Guide To Outdoor Play Area Flooring
Red Monkey Play’s Outdoor Playground Surfaces are perfect for providing children with great learning and playing opportunities. Playing and learning safely is crucial to children and their learning experience.
This buyer’s guide outlines the features and benefits each outdoor play area flooring option provides to help you choose the right playground equipment for your needs, so your children can have the freedom to express themselves within a safe and fun learning and playing environment.
Why Red Monkey Play’s Outdoor Playground Surfaces
With our selection of captivating and innovative designs, you can be sure that safety, creativity, and durability are prioritized throughout all of our outdoor play area flooring offerings.
Outdoor play area flooring designs offer inspirational and creative features, which is an important basis for children’s physical, mental, and social development. Because youngsters are naturally inquisitive and curious, ensuring they can explore their immediate surroundings without risk of injury is paramount to us.
Therefore, our outdoor playground flooring options provide absorbency, robustness, and efficiency. When combining safety elements with many thrilling design features created with vibrant colours, we can help foster a stimulating environment for children to thrive in, maximise fun, and spark their imagination.
Our Outdoor Play Area Flooring Products
MUGA (Multi Use Games Areas Surfaces)
Bonded Rubber Mulch Surfacing
Red Monkey Play’s Bonded Rubber Mulch Surfacing provides a unique solution to any playground floor due to its natural-looking touch. It is commonly referred to as rubber play bark because of its realistic appearance, it provides a robust and durable formula that allows children to thrive independently as they learn and play. By utilising this distinctive design in your playground area, you can help capture your student’s imagination as they explore new learning and playing opportunities.
Features and Benefits
Environmentally friendly
Our Bonded Rubber Mulch Surfacing offers an environmentally friendly solution, as the product is made from recycled materials, containing 90% recycled rubber, and it’s made by bonding together rubberised bark pieces from recycled tires.
With such a flexible design, you can even install this outdoor play area flooring option directly onto grass or underneath pre-existing climbing play units, thanks to its natural appearance, which also delivers a critical protective characteristic that can be found in all our play area surfacing options.
The finished product is a safe but sturdy rubberised surface, which creates a seamless, absorbent, and soft play area space that is clean and ecologically efficient.
Colourful and natural-looking
With multiple colour options, you can tailor your product to create your ideal kids’ playground utopia. You can opt for a natural-looking colour design, a mixture of bronze and dark orange that helps create the sense of a classic woodland trail, or perhaps an emerald green glow to capture a grass-like forest effect.
Either way, the natural appearance of all our colourful playground floor designs sets them apart from the competition.
Easy maintenance
There is no need to worry if you’re concerned about damage from the temperamental British weather. With our Bonded Rubber Mulch Surfacing, you will have super fast drainage, which will eradicate any potential damage from surface water or floods.
Additionally, no loose materials mean no maintenance, which makes this product a hassle-free way to help uplift your playground offerings without creating any extra work for yourself or your staff.
Audience Type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and Installation
We can arrange for your Bonded Rubber Mulch Surfacing to be installed directly onto your current playground floor. The installation involves 2 parts: usually, a base layer with a topping mixed on-site with resin, and laid and trowelled wet.
This surfacing starts at just £100 per square metre + VAT, with the cost of onsite installation dependent on locality.
RED MONKEY PLAY BONDED RUBBER MULCH SURFACING
Multi Use Games Areas Surfaces (MUGA)
Multi Use Games Areas Surfaces (MUGA) are surging in popularity as they provide improved playing results and a decreased risk of injury, both factors which can help amplify children’s sporting experience and education.
Playing sports at school is a precious highlight for kids, whether in an educational or recreational setting, whereas playing on poor-quality, run-down pitches can be greatly demotivating.
With our Red Monkey Play MUGA Playground offerings, you can take your sporting facilities to the next level! Having the best play and learning facilities possible will provide an ideal platform for children to excel at sports and exercise, whilst encouraging an increased sense of self-confidence, crucial to their development. Even more, all our MUGA surfaces are designed to meet the Type 3 and 4 specifications for Sport England MUGA.
Features and Benefits
Versatile and adaptable
Although it seems obvious to say, all our MUGA outdoor playground flooring options offer brilliant versatility, providing the requisite adaptability to host a multitude of sports on the same surface. Rather than committing your resources to develop various play surfaces for different sports, our MUGAs eradicate this problem.
In the long run, this will save you a considerable amount of money, whilst helping to easily maintain other playground spaces and avoiding time-consuming planning for extra facilities. Without the need for heavy maintenance and high resistance to vandalism, they are ideal for both supervised and unsupervised children’s play.
Comfortable and practical
Our MUGAs offer most primary colours, with different prices subject to change. You can either choose the natural green aesthetic of sports pitches or opt for something akin to an indoor sports court with our blue colour design. Regardless of what colour you choose, our MUGA surfaces guarantee a practical element that standardised sports pitches simply cannot.
A strong grip surface provides great comfort to ease the pressure on aching joints during exercise. These surfaces carry a minimised risk of injury, which is crucial in assisting children when exercising and playing freely without fear. Unlike normal grass pitches, which are highly susceptible to the weather elements, a MUGA surface offers incredibly fast drainage, even after a severe downpour of rain.
Audience type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and installation
We can arrange for a MUGA surface to be installed at a time convenient for you.
This outdoor play area flooring option starts from just £65 per square metre + VAT, with the cost of onsite installation dependent on locality.
RED MONKEY PLAY MULTI USE GAMES AREAS SURFACES (MUGA)
Wet Pour Playground Surfacing
With our Red Monkey Play Wet Pour Playground Surfacing, you can create a magical playground landscape, both striking in appearance and enthralling.
This outdoor playground flooring option combines maximum safety performance, high durability, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the continuous, seamless surface provided by our wet pour surfaces ensures the safety of children whilst playing at all times.
By customising their design, you can incorporate many vibrant colours and quirky patterns, designed to fascinate children and keep them engaged. The opportunities to be creative with the design are endless, as you could choose to create a rainbow-themed hopscotch display or a multi-coloured pattern design that will help bring your school playground to life and add much excitement.
The options are limitless with our wet pour playground surfacing solutions, so why not introduce them to your play areas and witness pupils’ enthusiasm soar during playground activities!
Features and benefits
Durability and cost-effectiveness
The high durability of our wet pour surfacing is optimised by their construction, created from rubber granules and polyurethane binders. By being designed in this way, we can ensure that the operating costs of production are lessened, thus guaranteeing a cost-effective solution for you.
The surface consists of two layers: a base layer of coarse black granules made from recycled tire rubber, and a top layer made of much finer rubber granules, the place where the splash of colour emanates, to complete the surface look and to offer the wow factor.
Absorbent for maximum safety
Our primary concern is ensuring all our products are tested and safely secure. Our wet pour surfacing has been fully tested to ensure it complies with the British and European Standard regulations for impact-absorbing surfaces. Additionally, we can assist you further by advising what surfacing is required for specific fall heights on your playground equipment.
Versatile and environmentally friendly
Flexibility and versatility embody our wet pour surfaces, making them an appealing selection for any outdoor playground flooring needs. They can be applied as part of a new construction, laid onto a dynamic crushed stone layer, or it can also be laid onto any existing hard surface.
Audience type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and installation
Our Wet Pour Playground Surfacing will be installed directly into your current surfacing. This way we can ensure that it is fixed appropriately, eliminating the risk of choking or any other hazards that could create trips or falls.
Pricing starts from just £95 per square metre + VAT, with the cost of onsite installation dependent on locality.
RED MONKEY PLAY WET POUR PLAYGROUND SURFACING
Playground Markings
At the heart of our thermoplastic playground markings are creativity and inspiration! With our bespoke designs, we aim to create an optimum learning environment in any playground area that differentiates from the classroom experience.
We specialise in offering varied designs that cover many learning concepts, to encourage children’s physical activity and exercise. Our design team creates exquisite shapes and pictures that inspire, and make learning fun.
Thermoplastic playground markings are a maintenance-free and cost-effective way to ensure your school playground has the best features for improving physical literacy, whilst creating movement blocks that are essential in children’s development.
Red Monkey Play’s concepts are unique and provide a host of intriguing features, the reason why our floor markings are immediately distinguishable to children. By having a great selection of floor markings in your outdoor play areas, you can provide multiple choices that will invite curiosity and a greater desire to play.
Features and benefits
Bespoke designs
School playgrounds can often have a dull aesthetic despite the lively and fun atmosphere created by children. Our specially designed playground markings will alleviate this by offering vibrant colours and exuberance.
We also have a team of experienced graphic designers who can create bespoke items and classic games, thus expanding our repertoire of offerings. They can craft exquisite shapes and pictures to inspire your students and invite them to make learning more fun. In addition to improving the aesthetic value of your school or nursery, we guarantee our playground markings epitomise quality and provide long-lasting durability.
A huge range of themes
Our graphic designers ensure all playground markings are installed safely for numeracy games, sports activities, and literacy games. We also cater to school sports courts with a variety of themes to choose from, including:
- Educational playground markings
- Fun playground markings and games
- Hopscotch playground markings
- Maze playground markings
- Number playground markings
- Footprint playground markings
- Roadway playground markings
- Trail playground markings
- Target playground markings
- Sports playground markings such as football, rounders, netball, hockey, and tennis among others
Audience type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and installation
We can arrange for the installation of any of our playground marking designs at a time convenient for you.
Pricing starts from £450 + VAT, with the cost of onsite installation dependent on locality.
RED MONKEY PLAY PLAYGROUND MARKINGS
Bark Floor
With our Bark Floor, children can express themselves freely through play with no fear! It’s a great product that can help to protect kids when falling from heights, thus reducing any injuries.
The natural design of our bark products provides an opportunity to create a forest-like environment in any playground area by adding a decorative touch that resembles a country park play area. So why not allow your students to explore the feel of a natural environment, as they experience an excellent new way to learn and play.
Features and benefits
Creative elements
Why not use a bark floor underneath your children’s playground equipment to bolster your safety measures? Or you could replicate a garden path that leads to a promised mythical land of goodies and treats for your pupils.
Children adore wacky and creative concepts as they increase their attention, sparking intrigue and enthusiasm. There are no limits to the imaginative ideas you can create when utilising play bark within your school’s outdoor play area!
Safety at the forefront
Bark is a bi-product of the timber industry, and at Red Monkey Play, we only use FSC-certified timber products because of their sustainability and their excellent impact-absorbing properties, along with their natural look and feel.
Audience type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and installation
The installation of our playground bark floor is simple, efficient, and hassle-free.
Pricing starts from £55 per square metre + VAT, with the cost of onsite installation dependent on locality.
Artificial Grass Flooring
The use of Artificial Grass Flooring is practical and offers children an inviting space to maximise their fun when learning and playing outdoors at school. It can be utilised in areas where living grass would be difficult to maintain, such as walkways and narrow paths.
Aside from practicality, it can be installed as a replacement to go over old and worn-out school playgrounds and play areas to revitalise your school’s outdoor exterior with a colourful surface that mimics the appearance of a well-manicured lawn, or a more luxuriant long grass.
Features and benefits
A versatile solution
Our artificial grass flooring is a hardwearing and attractive surface solution, perfect for transforming patchy, tired grass into lush green areas that can be enjoyed all year round, no matter the weather.
The usage of this playground floor is not limited to being a great space for your pupils to play sports. With mud-free areas, you can organise outdoor reading and organised lessons to transform your children’s learning experience during the hot summer months.
Robust without the fuss
This outdoor play area flooring can withstand intensive use and be combined with the look and feel of natural grass. Our play-grade artificial grass also comes with a pile height of 28mm.
This permanent soft, durable surface will encourage all types of play and activity, as it looks and feels just like real grass! Only minimal maintenance and upkeep are required, as the surface is extremely hard-wearing and weather resistant.
Audience type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and installation
Our artificial grass can be installed over a cushioned pad or directly onto properly prepared sand or pulverised granite.
Pricing starts from £110 per square metre + VAT, with the cost of onsite installation dependent on locality.
RED MONKEY PLAY ARTIFICIAL GRASS FLOORING
Playground Grass Mats
Our Playground Grass Mats are the ideal budget option that can ensure your pupils’ safety at all times when playing and having fun.
Thanks to their ring holes, natural grass can grow through easily, offering your outdoor playground areas a strong level of protection and safety, whilst allowing the surrounding fields and lawns to flourish. Even more, they’re also perfect to use together with our role play equipment, where fun and safety go hand in hand.
Features and benefits
Budget-friendly
A great flooring solution for budget-friendly seekers that will truly make a difference on your outdoor school grounds. With very low maintenance, once installed, they don’t need to be lifted, moved, or cleaned, and the only thing you’ll need to do is mow the grass!
Safe and versatile
Considering your pupils’ safety and how often the school playground is used, the grass mats can be used to reduce the impact of wear and tear on the soil and any existing surface. Also, with our playground grass mats, you can create a completely natural play area that kids will love, either used around trim trails or larger structures as a cost-effective solution to wet pour.
Audience type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and installation
When installed by professionals, the grass mats will transform any outdoor play area and offer them a natural grass look. At Red Monkey Play, school playground preparation is imperative, the reason why we use only the best ground reinforcement materials.
Additionally, if one or more of the mats get damaged, it is very easy to replace them without having to do any major work.
Pricing starts from £35 per mat installed (mat size 1.5 x 1m) + VAT, with the cost of onsite installation dependent on locality.
RED MONKEY PLAY PLAYGROUND GRASS MATS
Resin Bound Gravel Surfaces
At Red Monkey Play, our Resin Bound Gravel Surfaces are maintenance-free and porous, making them an attractive alternative to tarmac or concrete. The traditional methods of floor paving can’t offer the range of strengths, resistances, structural, and aesthetic benefits that resin-bound surfacing offers.
They’re available in a wide range of vibrant colours, being perfect for pathways, driveways, sensory areas, and recreational areas. Additionally, logos and creative patterns can be incorporated within the surface, making them a great choice for school and nursery entrances, sensory paths, and access pathways.
Features and benefits
Many design possibilities
With many resin-bound colours to choose from, the appearance and design options are endless! You can make your design as unique as you like, with logos and patterns easily created by our craftsmen and designer. This is the reason why resin-bound gravel surfaces are much more visually stunning in comparison to the other methods of paving available on the market.
Low maintenance
Resin-bound is an exceedingly low maintenance surface when installed correctly. Weeds cannot grow up through the resin, meaning there is little to no maintenance, making it look fantastic for years to come.
Long-lasting
Resin-bound gravel surfaces have a long life span as they are exceedingly strong, durable, and built to last. All our resin surfaces are of the highest quality and specially created for the purpose of outdoor playground surfacing.
Audience type
Early years
KS1
KS2
SEN
Pricing and installation
The installation of resin-bound surfacing is very quick and hassle-free. When done correctly, it won’t soften with heat, freeze in any adverse weather conditions, or fade with UV light from the sun.
Pricing – POA.
RED MONKEY PLAY RESIN BOUND GRAVEL SURFACES
Products Comparison Table
| Product | Benefits & USP | Type Of Play | Price Point |
| Bonded Rubber Mulch Surfacing |
| Physical development equipment Playground surfaces | £100 per square metre + VAT |
| Multi-Use Games Areas Surfaces (MUGA) |
| Physical development equipment Playground surfaces | £65 per square metre + VAT |
| Wet Pour Playground Surfacing |
| Physical development equipment Playground surfaces | £55 per square metre + VAT |
| Playground Markings |
| Physical development equipment. Playground surfaces | £450 + VAT |
| Bark Floor |
| Natural outdoor play equipment Physical development equipment Playground surfaces | £55 per square metre + VAT |
| Artificial Grass Flooring |
| Physical development equipment Playground surfaces | £110 per square metre + VAT |
| Playground Grass Mats |
| Physical development equipment Playground surfaces | £35 per mat installed (mat size 1.5 x 1m) |
| Resin Bound Gravel Surfaces |
| Physical development equipment Playground surfaces | POA |
The Installation Process
At Red Monkey Play, we ensure all our outdoor play area flooring options are made with the finest quality from sustainably sourced materials. All our products are installed in adherence to current building and safety regulations.
Throughout the installation of your outdoor playground flooring, we carry out several quality assurance checks for thoroughness, to ensure all our surfaces are installed correctly and adhere to the best practices. The safety of your staff and pupils is our top priority at all times, and we guarantee that all relevant safety checks are in place.
After the playground floor has been safely installed, we advise scheduling playground safety checks twice a year by a certified professional. For more information on this, please see our blog on Playground Safety and Annual Inspections.
Create Your Dream Playground With Us
At Red Monkey Play, we understand the importance of having a special outdoor environment in the development of children during their education and early years.
We pride ourselves on our innovative and creative approach to designs, where each and every one of our products are specifically designed to offer both learning and play opportunities that challenge and inspire children’s natural curiosity, imagination, and determination.
Our highly effective, impact-absorbing range of outdoor play area flooring gives you ample opportunities to design and create a school playground utopia that will uplift any outdoor play space, thus elevating your kids’ play and learning experience.
To get further advice and support to help you choose the perfect product for your school, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would love to discuss the range of options available to you and help you decide on the best product for your needs. You can simply give us a call on 0116 366 9922, or send us an email at hello@redmonkeyplay.co.uk, and one of our friendly team members will be happy to assist you.
In the meantime, keep an eye on our blog where we write a plethora of valuable information, up-to-date case studies, news, and much more. Additionally, you can download our Red Monkey Play 2022 Brochure to find out more details and information about us and our products.