Preventing slips, falls, and injuries with rubberized safety surfacing

Toronto Zoo splash pad

When the Toronto Zoo decided to incorporate a splash pad as part of its long-established attraction, they understood that it needed to provide a fun and safe experience for all guests. Thus, two challenges were presented: minimizing slip-and-fall accidents on a surface that would be constantly wet, and adhering to the CSA’s fall-height criteria. Although splash pads are not specifically included within the scope of CAN/CSA-Z614-07, climbing apparatuses are, and the splash pad included several of these. With this in mind, Toronto Zoo officials considered it was essential to treat the surface as a regular playground by providing a resilient, impact-absorbing surface that was also attractive, durable, and slip-resistant. Therefore, rubberized safety surfacing was selected in this regard.

In addition to the many practical, safety-first benefits rubber surfacing provides, it is also available in a wide array of vibrant colours. Further, a major factor in making this the surface of choice for many clients is that designs and/or logos can be easily embedded into the surface, whereby enhancing the play value.

For example, the Toronto Zoo used different shades of blue, green, and white to create the illusion of waves crashing around a sunken ship. In other scenes, giant porpoise leap from the bright blue ocean; a huge whale’s head and tail emerge from the frothy green sea; a hippopotamus drinks from the shallow water, while frogs and tortoises play on the grassy banks of the nearby river as ducks swoop in to land on the water where beavers have built a dam. These are all great examples of how a multicoloured rubber safety surface can provide a soft, comfortable, and safe wet-deck, while also enhancing young imaginations at play.

Easy to clean and repair

Rubber safety surfacing is easy to keep clean and in pristine condition with a simple maintenance program. The same way one would care for indoor carpets, rubber safety surfacing benefits from regular sweeping and periodic washing with soap using a bristle broom, power washer, or specially developed cleaning product. With proper maintenance and a small investment of time, the surface will remain as beautiful as the day it was installed—year after year.

Should the surface need to be repaired due to subsurface plumbing or ductwork, for example, the area concerned is simply cut out and new rubber is poured and trowelled to blend into the existing material.

Installation procedures

A typical splash pad application starts by thoroughly inspecting the existing surface, taking into account any preinstall remedial work necessary to ensure the finished surface is perfect. On the day of installation, the crew will set up their workstation in an area close to the splash pad, where the dry rubber granules will be mixed with the urethane binder.

Once the surface has been prepared and after the primer has been applied a workable quantity of the granulated rubber mixture is poured and hand trowelled to a uniform thickness, typically 10 mm (0.39 in.). As the surface is being applied, the installation crew should watch for undulating areas until the entire area has been covered. On completion, the crew will clean up and remove their workstation, checking the surrounding area for any debris, leaving the client with a safe, professionally finished splash pad surface.

There is an unquestionable need for fun, colourful surfaces on splash pads, but they also need to be permeable, comfortable, and non-slip. Therefore, facilities that use rubber safety surfacing will not only meet, but exceed these challenges.

Barry Meakings is CEO of Rubaroc International Inc., a Canadian and U.S.-based developer and installer of rubberized safety surfacing. He has more than 30 years of experience in commercial and residential poured-in-place rubber safety surfacing throughout North America. He can be reached via e-mail at barrym@rubaroc.com.