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Home & Garden Articles
Materials For Playground Borders - Wood, Plastic, and Rubber
Mon 18 May 2009 - 09:10
Materials For Playground Borders - Wood, Plastic, and Rubber
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Nic_Breedlove]Nic Breedlove
When choosing the type of border you want for a playground, you should consider safety, cost, and aesthetics. Fortunately, there are enough border materials available for just about any playground need. We cover the top three: wood, plastic, & rubber.
Wood Playground Borders
Creosote treated wood from fences, bridges, railroad ties, or telephone poles are not recommended for use in playgrounds. Children who play on soil contaminated with creosote have more skin rashes than children playing on non-contaminated soil. Apart from this, health effects of creosote have not been extensively studied in children. In adults, creosote causes irritation of the respiratory tract, and long-term exposure to low levels of coal tar creosote can cause skin damage such as peeling. Direct long-term exposure to creosote has been correlated with skin cancer and cancer of the scrotum.
Additionally, landscape timbers and lumber treated with chromate copper arsenate (CCA) as a protection against weather, mold, and insects, has been phased out, but such lumber made before 2004 could still contain high levels of CCA, which is dangerous because the arsenic in it is a known carcinogen.
Alternatives to creosote and CCA treated lumber include untreated redwood or cedar, which are naturally decay resistant and sustainably harvested. Composite lumber made from sawdust and recycled plastic is another option. Lumber treated with ammoniacal copper quarternary (ACQ) and copper boron azole (CBA) are not known to contain known or suspected carcinogens. These substances, however, may be corrosive to metal fasteners. Hot-dipped galvanized or stainless steel fasteners should be used with ACQ and CBA treated timbers.
Plastic Playground Borders
Plastic playground borders are gaining favor because they don't need maintenance, keep loose playground surfacing in place well, and are extremely durable. Usually, plastic playground ties are made from recycled plastic and come with galvanized stakes to hold them in place.
Plastic border timbers are made of hollow polyethylene with ribs molded into each timber for strength. They are available in 4-foot and 6-foot lengths, with spikes included for securing them to the ground. They are made to stand up to harsh conditions, and some come with up to 10-year warranties. These timbers are made without sharp corners or edges, for an extra measure of playground safety.
In addition to being used as borders for loose fill areas of playgrounds, plastic border timbers also make good frames for sandboxes. They can be moved easily if necessary. While timbers in all lengths and widths are available in black, some sizes are also readily available in blue, green, red, or yellow. Different colors can usually be special ordered, too. Some manufacturers offer granite colored stone textured borders for a different look.
There are also recycled plastic landscaping timbers with hinged joints to accommodate unusual shapes. Though it would not be a good feature for a playground, hinged-joint edging timbers often have built in space for solar lights in the joints.
Rubber Playground Borders
While not as common as plastic or wooden timbers for use in creating playground borders, flexible timbers made of recycled rubber can be used to follow curves in a design that straight plastic or wood timbers cannot. They can also be cut to proper length easily, and are available in various colors.
A [http://www.aaastateofplay.com/rubber-curb-6-foot-with-spikes-p-778.html]rubber curb can be used to contain surfacing for most playground equipment including [http://www.aaastateofplay.com/playground-slides-c-3.html]playground slides.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nic_Breedlove http://EzineArticles.com/?Materials-For-Playground-Borders---Wood,-Plastic,-and-Rubber&id=2100193
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