Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Playground
  • Surfacing
  • Parks
  • Athletics
  • Aquatics
  • Play
Home
  • Playground
  • Surfacing
  • Parks
  • Athletics
  • Aquatics
  • Play
  • Build a Sandbox
  • The Play Value Of Sand
  • With Community Helpers the Play Lady Receives the Fred Rodgers Helpers Award
  • Keeping the Fun in Fundraising
  • See Accessibility Through the Eyes of a Child
  • Outdoor Play for Children with Intellectual Disabilities on Playgrounds
  • child dressed as a super hero

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Playground
  3. Construction
  4. Be the Playground Hero

Be the Playground Hero

Construction
December 22, 2020
Profile picture for user Tim McNamara
By Tim McNamara on
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • envelope
  • print
277
group of kids running to a newly completed playground

It’s time to celebrate all the hard work that’s been done for the playground!

You’ve successfully completed the playground design process. Now it’s time for the vision to come to life!

Finalize the Design and Budget

Now is the time to make sure that everything you want and expect to be done is included within the established budget.

  • Play equipment. Remember to account for shipping and freight costs of the equipment.
  • Site amenities. This includes trash receptacles, bike racks, benches, and shade.
  • Safety surface. Surfacing material can have a big impact on the cost of a playground but there are several options available from rubber and wood mulch to poured-in-place rubber to artificial turf. Different surface options provide different benefits and one of these options should fit in the budget.
  • Site Preparation. Construction costs can often be overlooked, and you want to make sure you’ve budgeted for permits, lighting, sidewalks, and installing or repairing drainage.

Over Budget? Here are some options to consider:

  • Phasing the project over a period of time rather than reducing the scope of the playground.
  • Planning for a community build installation.
  • Examining the play equipment choices to see if cost savings can be found without losing play value.
  • Reducing open space areas to save on safety surfacing costs.
Playground Planning and Design
With successful planning completed, it’s time to bring the playground to life.

Order the Equipment

  • Colors should be reviewed and finalized by the owner/representative and play equipment consultant.
  • All the equipment is ordered, and lead times are provided by the manufacturers. 

Preconstruction Meeting

Once the play equipment is ordered, a preconstruction meeting should be scheduled. If possible, this meeting should take place on-site.

The first step is to bring all key parties together – the play equipment consultant, installers, and the owner/representative – in a pre-construction meeting to discuss the logistics and sequencing of work. A lot is happening during the playground construction and installation, so this is a critical step to make the project run smoothly.

  • Level Set. Lay out all the parameters. Identify anything that needs to be done prior to playground installation. Scraping, grading, installing or repairing drainage, public and private utility location and marking, removing existing non-compliant play equipment. Agree on location(s) for construction access. 
Playground Construction Site Access
Access to the playground for installation is imperative.
  • Who and when? Identify who is responsible for each item and where it falls within the sequence of the project. The order of the workflow will help build the project timeline. For example, what happens if the equipment installers realize a layout change must be made to ensure the playground is compliant with ASTM and CPSC guidelines? Who should be involved in the discussion to revise and resolve the layout issue? Who needs to give final approval? This is the time to address the proper chain of command and all responsible parties.

Good, open communication is a must throughout the project. It is crucial to have a chain of command and points of contact established upfront.

Building a Timeline for your Project

Building out a timeline is critical and should outline who needs to do what, when, and where. The goal is to have a smooth transition of workflow with as little downtime as possible. Of course, that smooth workflow can be interrupted with scheduling issues and delays. For example:

Utilities. Public utilities are only required to locate the infrastructure they own. Therefore, there may be private and consumer-owned subsurface utilities that will not be located and marked. If these private utilities get cut, the time to fix them could impact your schedule. (Identifying these private utilities during the preconstruction meeting will help avoid this issue.)

Play equipment lead time. All equipment is custom made to the customer’s expectations and equipment manufacturers typically have different lead times. Play equipment lead times vary from 4 to 16 weeks and possibly longer for custom pieces. When multiple manufacturers are involved, the ordering and delivery of the equipment need to be coordinated and arrive at the playground for a timely install. If it arrives too early, a storage location will need to be identified. 

Inclement weather. How do you handle inclement weather days? What is the process for getting the project back on track? An experienced play equipment consultant typically has processes to address most scheduling hiccups.

large-equipment-playground-installation
Some play pieces are quite large and require bringing in larger equipment for installation.

Site Preparation

How much site preparation is needed depends on the condition of the space and whether it is a new playground or a playground renovation. Things to consider:

  • Make sure everything is in order for zoning and required permits.
  • Contact a utility-locating service to mark any underground lines before digging begins. Remember that all private assets/utilities must be located.
  • The playground site must be graded
  • to 1 – 2% of level if possible.
  • Make sure your timeline accounts for all prep work. For instance, major site renovations may require the removal of existing play equipment, fixing drainage issues, or leveling the site because the slope is too steep for ADA compliance.
spread out play structure
Some play structures are very spread out with many footings. Drainage lines and private utilities in the playground area must be well planned and located.

Installation

What kind of installation is the best fit for your project?

  • Professional. A turn-key service that will take care of every aspect of installation using certified professionals.
  • Supervised Community Build. Led by a certified, well-trained installer working with a group of volunteers to install the play equipment. This method has become popular because the community feels more invested in the playground having been involved in its creation and construction. It also costs less than a turnkey professional installation.

Opening the Playground

Celebrate all the hard work that has gone into your project! Here are some ideas:

  • Park Playground. The city or municipality should be proud of a new playground. Take the time to engage the community and celebrate the achievement with an opening event.
  • School Playground. The kids at a school with a new playground are always excited about new play opportunities. An opening event can also be combined with some orientation of the new equipment and how it should be used.
  • HOAs and Private Daycares. An achievement to be proud of but also a major selling point for the neighborhood or daycare.

When creating the plan for your playground, a best practice is to work with a play equipment consultant to help guide you in the design, layout, planning, and installation process. He or she can help make things flow smoother and lead to a successful outcome.

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
About text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Profile picture for user Tim McNamara
Tim McNamara
Published 2 years ago
Last updated 9 months ago
277
4
min read
A- A+
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • envelope
  • print

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

More About

Oct 01, 2005
Construction

Pre-Construction

Playground Magazine
Virginia Church Renovates Courtyard into Playground
Dec 28, 2018
Construction

Virginia Church Renovates Courtyard into Playground

Jonathan Moore
Assembly Line
Feb 01, 2004
Construction

Assembly Line

Playground Magazine
Building Community with Community Build Playgrounds
Mar 20, 2015
Construction

Building Community with Community Build Playgrounds

Jay-Beckwith
Company Remains Leader After Nearly 75 Years
Jan 01, 2002
Construction

Miracle Workers

Playground Magazine
Play Spaces Transform Communities
Sep 24, 2019
Construction

Play Spaces Transform Communities

Victoria Babb
Build a New Playground
May 05, 2020
Construction

How Much Cost To Build a New Playground In 2020

Gregory Chapman
Security Fastener
Sep 12, 2016
Construction

The Highest Security Removable Fastener

PGP
KaBOOM! Build Lifts Spirits in Dallas
May 01, 2001
Construction

Making Faces Happy

Playground Magazine
Playground Construction School
Mar 01, 2005
Construction

Playground Construction School

Playground Magazine
Playing Around with Playground Design. It should be fun!
Jul 01, 2001
Construction

Playing Around with Playground Design. It should be fun!

Playground Magazine
Under Construction
Jan 01, 2002
Construction

Under Construction

Playground Magazine

Construction Professionals

TL Contracting Inc.
TL Contracting Inc.
Services
More
Recreation Today Of Idaho, LLC
Recreation Today Of Idaho, LLC
Services
More
Playground King, Inc.
Playground King, Inc.
Services
More
Sports & Golf Solutions, LLC
Sports & Golf Solutions, LLC
Services
More
FlexGround, LLC
FlexGround, LLC
Services
More
Leathers and Associates
Leathers and Associates
Services
More
New Ground Builders, Inc.
New Ground Builders, Inc.
Services
More
Mid-Atlantic Products, Inc.
Mid-Atlantic Products, Inc.
Services
More
PlayGo Company, LLC
PlayGo Company, LLC
Services
More
LuckyDog Recreation
LuckyDog Recreation
Sales Rep
More
National Playground Construction, Inc.
National Playground Construction, Inc.
Sales Rep
More
Heisler Landscape General Engineering, Inc.
Heisler Landscape General Engineering, Inc.
Services
More
Home

Follow Us

Play and playground news and information since 2001

  • instagram
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • linkedin

Company

  • Playground Magazine
  • Contributors
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Copyright © 2001 - 2023 Playground Professionals, LLC

Footer menu

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions