Indoor playgrounds emerged from the idea that all children can throw off the high energy in winter. Playgrounds, also called indoor play centers or indoor playgrounds, are playgrounds located indoors. Game centers are generally located in places such as shopping malls and nurseries. It is designed to play, have fun, and therefore both learn, acquire new knowledge through teamwork, and release their energies. Thanks to their soft structures and sheltered play equipment, they are wrapped in soft foams to reduce the impact when children fall or jump. For this reason, indoor playgrounds are safer than outdoor playgrounds.
Starting in the USA in the 1990s, it has spread worldwide and has had great popularity. Starting with a simple indoor climbing frame, the areas have turned into entertainment centers with updated equipment for different age groups and a wide variety of games. Playgrounds have differences in terms of their features and sizes. Small indoor playgrounds can often be a soft play game structure, while large indoor playgrounds are a part of family entertainment centers. Some indoor playgrounds can span up to 10 thousand square meters.
What is a Safe Playground?
Children’s safety starts with their parents’ rules and control. Parents and supervisory adults should always be prepared and attentive when children play. Training on game rules is important. Children should be instructed not to push or make any other misconduct while on the playground and near or on equipment. To reduce the possibility of injury due to improper use of equipment, necessary precautions should be taken by providing training as much as possible.
Before a child starts playing in the playground, parents should visually examine the play equipment and the entire surrounding area and thoroughly examine the products and equipment they have found damaged, as well as other factors they perceive to be a danger. All equipment should be walked around for the children’s playground safety, and sharp – rusty or hard edges that may cause harm to children and cut, opened swing chains, loose joints, and opened bolts should be checked. Parents should be careful and always know what children are doing. Not even a second should go unnoticed.
Safe Playground Surfaces
Adults need to pay attention to some details for children to play in a safe environment. Adults should not allow children to play on hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, gravel, grass, or dirt. Surfaces that can absorb impacts are among the most preferred features of playgrounds. The playground flooring process made with sand, sawdust, and especially rubber material is the most reliable playground.
Rubber, which is used in almost every part of our daily life and has an important place in the industry, is flexible and durable. It has a wide range of applications from stationary vehicles to textile products, from automobile wheels to shoes.
What is Rubber?
Rubber is a natural substance obtained from the rubber tree. V-shaped slots are obtained in the bark of the rubber tree with the help of special blades. A substance with the appearance of milk flowing through these slits and called latex is collected. 30% of latex material consists of rubber. The rest is protein, resin, water, sugar, and ash. Preservatives are added for the continuation of this fluid liquid.
Afterward, the unwanted substances are removed. The rubber is combined with sulfur at high temperatures. The resulting material is formed into a layer so that the obtained rubber can become rubber.
What Are The Properties Of Rubber?
Thanks to its high elasticity, rubber has many different usage areas. The oil obtained from the melted material is used as a solvent in the subsequent processes. Almost all of the tires produced from rubber, whose name is pure rubber, which is common among the people, are pure. Rubber softens as its temperature is increased. When it reaches 180 degrees, it becomes sticky and melts at 220 degrees. Then, with the distillation process, rubber oil is obtained, and this oil is used as the rubber solvent.
In addition to all these, since rubber is not conductive for electrical current, it is widely used for insulation and insulation. Another feature of rubber is that it becomes plastic. The rubber’s getting oxygen through the air causes its aging. At first, the rubber’s surface becomes sticky, then it hardens and starts to crack. Flame does not affect rubber.
Usage Areas of Rubber
Each year, approximately a million tons of natural rubber and 7 million tons of synthetic rubber are produced to produce more than 50,000 different products that we use daily worldwide. It is used for cars, planes, trucks, tractors, and earth-moving machines, and bicycles. Apart from these, rubber is used to produce many materials such as shoes, sanitary items, toys, waterproof clothing, toys, and gloves. It is also used in insulation and insulation due to its durability, softness, adhesiveness, air and water impermeability, and does not conduct electricity.
Today, rubber, widely used as wood material, is also used in tire production due to its long life, water resistance, strength, and heat resistance. It is an indispensable substance in the automotive sector. This item, which is widely used in children’s playgrounds, is preferred due to its many advantages.
Where Is Rubber Flooring Used?
Rubber flooring is highly preferred in children’s playgrounds and outdoor activities. Tile rubber in 20, 25, 30, 40 mm thickness and 40×40 cm 50×50 cm dimensions is used as a flooring material. It is applied on flat concrete and ground. Indoor and outdoor sports areas and outdoor playgrounds and activities are the places where it is mostly used.
Rubber flooring applied to all areas requiring smooth, aesthetic, and suspended softness, except the children’s playground, walking/running tracks, kindergarten, nursery or other education and training institutions, disabled and rehabilitation centers, outdoor playground flooring, fitness, and sports ground protection used in halls.
How is Rubber Flooring Made?
Due to its elasticity and its protective properties to reduce the feeling caused by impact, rubber is generally the most preferred material for covering the playgrounds where children are and playing, school gardens, bicycle paths, shooting ranges, and tennis courts, as well as being quite healthy and safe compared to sand.
Rubber that does not form puddles even in the face of heavy rains is applied in a wide area as possible, as it creates a non-slip and dry floor. Delivered in disassembled form, the rubber floor is fast and easily repairable and does not deform at very high and low temperatures.
How is Rubber Flooring Made?
Due to its elasticity and its protective properties to reduce the feeling caused by impact, rubber is generally the most preferred material for covering the playgrounds where children are and playing, school gardens, bicycle paths, shooting ranges, and tennis courts, as well as being quite healthy and safe compared to sand.
Rubber that does not form puddles even in the face of heavy rains is applied in a wide area as possible, as it creates a non-slip and dry floor. Delivered in disassembled form, the rubber floor is fast and easily repairable and does not deform at very high and low temperatures.
Rubber Floor Application Method
After the factors such as color, thickness and shape are decided, the work starts with preparing the floor. Then the ground is made both flat and smooth. After a smooth and flat floor is obtained, the chemical adhesive is applied on the floor with a specially produced Marley comb, and it is started to be laid on it. Adhesive application and bonding are applied in a row spacing of 5 to 7 meters. Different bonding techniques can be used for different styles of rubbers. There are some rules to be considered during rubber application. The rubber floor material must be pressed at high pressure and temperature and have high UV properties.
Chamfering should be applied to the upper part of the rubber floor stones to form a joint. The thickness of the coating material is chosen 20/40 mm, and according to the drainage, rectangular and round bumps with a height of 5 mm are added to the bottom part to increase the adhesion strength to the floor. The rubber coating process is applied to the previously stuck floor with special polyurethane chemical adhesives. Less than 0.5 kg of chemical adhesive should not be used per square meter. The points where the pipes come from the playgroups are cut together, and it is ensured that the distance between them does not exceed 10 mm.
Rubber Playground Advantages
Thanks to its rubber elastic feature and shock absorbing feature, it is a useful playground rubber flooring type that can reduce the effect of traumatic injuries in areas such as children’s playgrounds, gyms, athletics tracks. It is cleaner and more hygienic than other floor covering materials. It can be easily cleaned thanks to the rain. It is effortless to repair in case of possible deterioration or wear. Outdoor playground flooring minimizes the possible injuries of children in possible falling and slipping situations.
Thanks to the softness of the floor, major accidents are prevented. While children can safely play games and healthily release their energy, parents can also be more comfortable. The rubber material is a material that can be used safely in many places. Its popularity is also increasing. It can be used easily wherever children and activities are present.
