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Play area plans sense check

hw28x594smUAuVQaxKhw28x594smUAuVQaxK Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hello!

I'd like to build a little play area for my son at the bottom of our garden — made from a single row of treated sleepers and filled with play bark. I don't have any experience of doing this kind of thing, so before I order materials etc. I wanted to check a couple of points.

Here's a sketch of the plan (sleepers in red)


Here's a photo of the area as it is


My plan:
  • Garden is to be cleared of weeds and rotavated in full as prep for lawn, which will run up to the edge of sleepers as shown in plan
  • Level crushed gravel bed, place sleepers (2.4m x 200mm x 100mm) on their sides (100mm side in contact with the ground) and fix together using stainless steel screws and straight/corner brackets (Wickes have the stake brackets). Chamfer corners so they're not sharp
  • Lay down weed control membrane in play area, level with sand (100mm deep), top up with play bark 80mm deep
My questions:
  1. Given the garden fences have concrete posts and gravel boards, do I need to have sleepers running along them as well? I have some leftover gravel boards and figure I could always double up and have them free floating just in front of the fences
  2. Will just one row of sleepers placed on their side that way be OK? We don't want too much of a step, but having two rows of sleepers placed 200mm side down feels like overkill
  3. I assume I'll be OK to have a log store resting on the bark in terms of weight? I plan to use 4 leftover gravelboards to sit on top of the play bark to form a solid and level base, and the log store will sit on top of them
Thanks in advance!

«1

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited June 2022
    You wouldn't really need the depth of materials you're planning, but if you're using sleepers, then it will be a certain height, so you'd need to fill it up reasonably well. If you had some spare turf, or similar, to fill it up a bit, that would save on the expense of sand. A layer of landscape fabric would help in case any grass grew through the top layer. 
    Your existing gravel boards and your log store will be fine  :)
    I wouldn't bother chamfering the edges. The sleepers will be fine. Kids just get used to scrambling over stuff  :)
    Good luck with it  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • hw28x594smUAuVQaxKhw28x594smUAuVQaxK Posts: 4
    We may well end up having some top soil left over from what we've ordered for the lawn. And you're right, probably best not to top the area up too high as I'll be forever raking up that play bark from the grass.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Indeed!
    I forgot to say - if you're wanting to make a new lawn, and there are perennial weeds present in the existing site, a rotovator is a bad idea. Roots of those weeds get chopped up, and then regrow from those pieces, so it can make everything worse. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JellyfireJellyfire Posts: 1,139
    Just to prewarn you, I made a play bark area for my 2 boys when they were toddlers, they studiously ignored it for the 4 or 5 years we had it, despite regular refreshes to the bark. The only time they ever played in it was when the bark started rotting down and becoming more like soil so they could dig, tunnel, and generally get mucky in it. I eventually dug what was left of the bark into the soil, then they couldnt get enough of it. Im sure it heavily depends on the child, but if I were doing the whole toddler thing again, I would just have bare soil (or sand if you wanted less messy) instead
  • SuesynSuesyn Posts: 664
    We had an area about 1m.x 1-4m which we made into a sand pit for our boys when the oldest was only a baby. It was about 80cm deep so we bought play sand in builders dumpy bags but in terms of play value it was the best "toy" ever. They used it almost every day for the 10 years that we lived in that house and there was plenty of room for all 3 of them and a few extra. The sand did get spilt onto the grass so generally needed topping up every year but because sand drains quickly they were able to play in it all year round. 
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Yes!  @Suesyn  Sand pits for kiddlies are the bestest!!  They can have a little area with water in a basin for making "sand" pies and building castles and moats - or bombing Barbie into the pile of sand.  Roads for trucks and cars etc.  Sand is the bestest ever!!!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    My sister has a little play bark area which does get used, but only because it has a swing on it. The bark does need periodic topping up. I wouldn't bother with the sand layer underneath, just fill up with bark to the desired depth. I wouldn't bother with a membrane; it will just end up exposed and ripped and looking worse than bare soil would.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • hw28x594smUAuVQaxKhw28x594smUAuVQaxK Posts: 4
    Thanks all for the tips!

    Fairygirl said:
    You wouldn't really need the depth of materials you're planning, but if you're using sleepers, then it will be a certain height, so you'd need to fill it up reasonably well. If you had some spare turf, or similar, to fill it up a bit, that would save on the expense of sand. A layer of landscape fabric would help in case any grass grew through the top layer. 
    Your existing gravel boards and your log store will be fine  :)
    I wouldn't bother chamfering the edges. The sleepers will be fine. Kids just get used to scrambling over stuff  :)
    Good luck with it  :)
    Just to check I've understood right, by 'existing gravel boards' do you mean the ones that are already slotted in between the fence posts, or the old ones I have lying around that I planned to prop up as an extra barrier?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The ones that are part of the fence. If they're sound, there would be no need to add anything to the inside of them.  :)
    Re the landscape fabric- it's only useful if you're using old turf to help fill before putting down bark. Not if you're putting the  bark onto the hardcore layer.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • hw28x594smUAuVQaxKhw28x594smUAuVQaxK Posts: 4
    Fairygirl said:
    The ones that are part of the fence. If they're sound, there would be no need to add anything to the inside of them.  :)
    Re the landscape fabric- it's only useful if you're using old turf to help fill before putting down bark. Not if you're putting the  bark onto the hardcore layer.
    Thank you, really helpful
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