Children's and sports grounds can be considered at traumatic zones. During the game or when performing exercise, you can easily fall and hurt. But if you fall not on solid soil, but on a softer coating, then many health problems can be avoided. To date, you can find several types of special rubber coating for sites, and how to choose the appropriate option, we will tell in this article.

Features, Advantages and Disadvantages of Rubber Coating

Flooring from rubber is most often used in playgrounds or in sports complexes, meanwhile, the scope of its application is quite wide. Such a coating can be found, for example, on animal farms and various enterprises, owners of private houses use rubber plates to create sidewalks and garden tracks. The advantages of such a type of cladding are very many, consider them in more detail:

1. High mechanical stability is one of the main advantages of rubber. It is almost impossible to damage such a flooring, it transfers high static and dynamic loads due to its elasticity.
2. Rubber coating for children's and sports grounds is not afraid of moisture, sun, precipitation, frost, heat, temperature fluctuations, ice and other unfavorable conditions.
3. Rubber refers to durable materials, its operating time exceeds decades, so that it is possible to use a coating for a long time without repair.
4. Rubber coating for sports and playgrounds is safely as it is its main advantage and purpose. Spring properties of the material play the role of a shock absorber at shock loads, so, falling on such a flooring, you can avoid serious injuries.
5. The coating is most often done with a rough surface, so that it is impossible to slip on it - it also testifies to the safety of the material under consideration.
6. Though slabs of rubber and have a certain porosity, they are easily clean. This causes the hygienicity of the material. Among other things, in such a coating, fungi and mold are not breeding, bacteria are not multiplied there, we are not growing plants, there are no insects.
7. Speaking of rubber coating for sports grounds, which is mounted on the street, it is impossible not to mention its ecology. Such material is safe for use, it does not emit harmful substances into the air.
8. The aesthetics of the flooring is another of his advantages. If necessary, the manufacturers add painting substances, often creating interesting drawings. At the playgrounds, such a decor turns out to be quite by the way, giving children a positive.
9. It's very easy to care for rubber coating. It is enough to spend it in dry weather, sometimes for the prevention of the slab can be washed with water. The grass in such a cladding does not germinate, so there is no need for a weeding.
10. The material has the smallest pores through which the excess moisture seeps into the ground. Due to this property on the coating after the rain, puddles are not formed.
11. Rubber flooring does not fade in ultraviolet rays and does not lose its decorativeness for many years.
12. Rubber coating is very easy to fit with their own hands. Thanks to the simplicity of installation, there is no need to invite specialists and pay them money. Carefully having examined the instructions for the product, you can easily handle all the works yourself.

At the coating for sites made from rubber crumb, there are a few minuses:

1. High cost is one of the main flaws. However, buying an expensive rubber coating, you for long years do not have to change it and even repair, so the price is fully justified by the durability of the material.
2. Fire hazard is another of the minuses of rubber. The material easily melts and smolders, so there is no recommended fire next to the playground.

Types of rubber coating for street venues

To date, the rubber flooring is presented in the market in several versions, each of which we will look at in detail.

Rolled coating

Such material is made by cutting frozen rubber long stripes that roll into rolls and in this form go on sale. Length bands can be different. It should be noted that such a flooring is easiest to mount with your own hands. By purchasing a predetermined amount of material, its laying is carried out in the following way:

1. Initially, the plot of carrying out works is purified from dirt and dust. You can lay rolled rubber on any durable and even base, for example, on concrete or wood. It is important that the basis was dry enough. Concrete must be well frozen, that is, dumped at least 28 days ago. Wood humidity should not exceed 10%.
2. The next stage, the purified base is grinning, dust is removed, and then apply a layer of polyurethane glue.
3. A fragment of the desired length is cut off from the roll and laid on the prepared surface.
4. The joints between the sheets are wicked by the same glue.
5. After two days, the coating is ready to operate.

Rubber tile

Another option for the facing of children's and sports grounds is a rubber tile. It is often produced from the used car tires. Such raw materials are considered optimal because it can carry strong mechanical loads. The tires themselves are made of rubber and a variety of fillers in the form of oils, dyes, etc. Rubber tile is not afraid of practically no aggressive chemicals: alkalis, acids, solvents. Another advantage of such a rubber coating for sports and playgrounds is the simplicity of repair, because in case there is no need to replace the spoiled tiles much easier than a piece of rolled material or part of the solid flooring.

Manufacturers make tiles of different dimensions. The most common is the size of 50x50 cm, although there are other options: 30x30 cm, 35x35 cm, 100x50 cm. The thickness of the material also happens different and varies from 10 to 40 mm.

For playgrounds, it is possible to use a thickness tile about 30 mm - such an indicator will be enough to consider the material to be injurious, if its density is 850 kg / m³. For complex operating conditions, more dense tiles are used with an indicator of 1000 kg / m³.

Tile for sites differs in color scheme. In addition to standard black and gray shades, it is represented by other colors: blue, red, yellow, green. From the elements of different shades, you can lay out on the surface of any pictures.

By purchasing rubber tiles, it is important to take care of its quality, which is not always high. High-quality tile consists of several layers of crumbs. The lower layer is not squeezed and is a large fraction of rubber, whereas the fine-flowing crumb is placed on top, painted in another shade. If you see that the facial side of the tile consists of large elements, think well above the acquisition of the material, since it may come into disrepair in a short time. Large rubber particles are quickly clogged with mud, wash it almost impossible. As a result, the coating will deteriorate and lose decorativeness.

Prefer the tile that is painted unevenly. If it has one shade across the thickness, it means that it was produced by the method of hot or cold pressing. With hot pressing, the material is strongly heated, which is why it reduces its operational properties. In the second case, a low-quality rubber is simply used.

The technology of arranging rubber coating in children's and sports grounds can be described as follows:

1. Initially, the basic coating is cleaned of contamination and align. You can additionally set the cement screed, so that the base was smooth.
2. Then, with the help of a hygrometer, the humidity check. When creating a platform, it is also important to make drainage, so that there are no puddles in the rubber. In this case, the drainage implies the creation of a small slope of the surface, so that the moisture stocked from the site. The angle of inclination should be approximately 20 °.
3. After that, the working base is covered with polyurethane glue to which the tile is mounted.
4. Between the tiles leave the same gaps of the minimum possible width, during operation also control its level. The protruding glue is removed by a spatula.

Seamless rubber coating for playgrounds

Among the high-quality modern materials it is worth using a seamless coating, which is considered the most durable and durable. Like all other types of rubber facing, it is resistant to mechanical stress and weather factors, as well as to many chemicals.

Seamless rubber coating for sites, unlike analogs, it turns out almost perfectly smooth. There are no gaps on its surface to which dirt or water can fall. Such a flooring is easy to install, all works can be made independently. Coating care also does not represent difficulties, since it is very easy to remove any dirt with a smooth surface. Another advantage is that it is convenient to apply liquid rubber on any basis, regardless of the area and configuration, there is no need to calculate the desired number of parts, adjust the dimensions.

Seamless coating can be painted in any, even the brightest colors, which is very relevant for playgrounds. There is nothing complicated in the laying, the whole process consists of a minimum number of operations. Initially, the working base is equalized and purified from dust and contamination, after which it can be processed to applying material. The flooded floor is frozen quickly, and the surface will be ready for operation literally after 1-3 days depending on the intended load.

Recommendations for applying seamless rubber coating:

1. Such a floor is best pouring to a concrete, asphalt or wooden base.
2. The surface must be previously aligned and cleaned. Special attention is worth paying oil pollution.
3. The ambient temperature during laying should exceed 6 ° C.
4. Before applying rubber, the surface is ground and leave for a day.
5. If the coating is mounted on the street, the weather must be dry and solar.
6. Components are most convenient to mix in the concrete mixer if you use a large amount of material. All proportions should be strictly observed, information on the number of one or other components in the total solution is indicated by the manufacturer.
7. A layer of rubber when applied should be approximately 8 cm. After pouring the site, it is possible to cover with varnish to ensure the decorative of the coating for a long time.

Rubber coating for sites. Video