18 Poured in Place Rubber (PIP) PIP was recorded as the surface material requiring the fewest instances of maintenance. Maintenance areas were noted where the surface had cracks, buckles, openings or a granular layer had worn away under high traffi c areas like swings, transfer steps and the egress at slides. While PIP had the fewest instances requiring maintenance, it is sƟ ll notable because the surface repairs can be extensive. Repairs must be done by either the original installer or professional cerƟ fi ed by the manufacturer resulƟ ng in added costs. The patch repairs also necessitate cuƫ ng away a larger secƟ on of surfacing in order to fi ll and level the defi cient area. Tiles (TIL) TIL sites were recorded with a high number of locaƟ ons in need of maintenance. TIL defi ciencies included punctures holes ranging from .50 inches to more than 2 inches in diameter; and instances where the seams had started to shiŌ or buckle creaƟ ng openings and changes in level along the accessible route. It was unclear whether the puncture holes were products of intenƟ onal vandalism or unintenƟ onal damage from users stepping on rocks and other foreign objects with enough force to penetrate the surface. Playground owners in the NCA study reported their maintenance crews were able to replace the TIL with puncture holes. Defi ciencies were also idenƟ fi ed at sites surfaced with a combinaƟ on TIL and EWF. The intent of the playground design was to use the TIL as the primary accessible route to points of entry/egress and fi ll the remaining use zone with EWF. The loose fi ll parƟ cles of EWF were scaƩ ered throughout the play area, across the Ɵ les, concrete walkway and in the grass. Some of the parƟ cles had started to lodge in the TIL seams causing separaƟ on at the seams. There were even instances where the parƟ cles had lodged so deep in the seams that the adhesive had degraded and the TIL had separated from the concrete subsurface. Over Ɵ me, these areas would be idenƟ fi ed with changes in level and openings requiring repair or replacement of the individual Ɵ les. Engineered Wood Fiber (EWF) EWF sites were recorded in need of maintenance most frequently and earliest in the NCA study. Sites surfaced with EWF were commonly found to have an undulaƟ ng surface material creaƟ ng changes in level, along with running and cross slopes exceeding the maximum allowable standards. This would result in non-compliant accessible routes to play components. Large areas where the loose material had been displaced under heavy use areas with moƟ on such as at swings, slides, sliding poles, climbers, spinners, and teeter toƩ ers were observed at all of the sample sites with EWF. A kick-out area at a swing could be as large as 3 Ō . x 8 Ō . with a depth of more than 5 inches. The accessibility standards require the minimum 30 x 48 inch clear fl oor space for transfer to/from the accessible play components to have a level surface with less than a 2.08 percent cross slope in all direcƟ ons. The displaced surface material at locaƟ ons such as the boƩ om of slides, a swing, or ground level play component rendered the accessible route to the play component noncompliant with the accessibility standards. Maintenance issues at sites began to emerge where the product was fi lled at the kick-out area rather than the raked level, compacted and then fi lled and compacted. Where the kick-out areas had been fi lled, the surface material would eventually be displaced. Over Ɵ me this created higher undulaƟ ng mounds at the front and back of the kick-out area and greater cross slopes within the required clear fl oor space. At locaƟ ons where the EWF was paired with a unitary surface, defi ciencies were idenƟ fi ed at the transiƟ on between the two surface materials. The EWF had seƩ led by 1-5 inches creaƟ ng a change in level and excessive running slope up to 16 percent at the transiƟ on. This was most prevalent at sites installed with PIP as the primary access route. At locaƟ ons where TIL was intended as the primary accessible route and EWF was used as secondary safety surfacing, the EWF parƟ cles began contaminaƟ ng the TIL seams. To the layman, the terms EWF and woodchips are oŌ en, incorrectly, interchanged. The diff erence between EWF and wood chips are the addiƟ onal processes beyond the typical landscape chipper. Unlike woodchips out of the chipping equipment, EWF is shredded again, stamped/fl aƩ ened and made pliable to the extent that the parƟ cles will weave together to create a traversable, impact aƩ enuaƟ ng surface. In addiƟ on, there is an ASTM standard specifi caƟ on for EWF (ASTM F2075) further distancing the material from any product made on site or purchased from a nursery or home improvement store. The ASTM standard for EWF requires the parƟ cles be small enough to pass through a series of three sieves, ¾ inch, 3/8 inch and No. 16 (0.0469 inch). The sample is considered compliant if no more than 1 percent residue is leŌ on any individual sieve. Large wood parƟ cle chips, chunks and shredded twigs were found at all of the EWF sample sites. The observable quanƟ ty of large wood parƟ cles raised into quesƟ on whether a test sample from any of the sites would comply with the ASTM standard specifi caƟ on for EWF and specifi cally the sieve test. In addiƟ on to the large parƟ cles, there were instances where vegetaƟ on and mold were found growing in the surface material. Hybrid Surface Systems (HYB) As tested within 12 months of installaƟ on, all three HYB surface systems were observed to have minimal defi ciencies, comparable to PIP. One of the most commonly noted defi ciencies among the HYB was separaƟ on at the seams that created openings and changes in level greater than ½ inch. A build up of staƟ c electricity was also found to occur seasonally with the arƟ fi cial grass hybrid system. A Longitudinal Study of Playground Surfaces to Evaluate Accessibility: Final Report www.ncaonline.org
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