Once you have planned the safest location for your new backyard swing set equipment and have selected the most suitable protective surface material for underneath and around the equipment, you are ready to construct. Of course, safety considerations during swing set construction are just as important as during the planning stage. By following the guidelines below as you construct your backyard playground equipment, you will help to ensure the safety of the children who will soon be enjoying what you have built for them.
Use the proper hardware for your playground equipment:
- Use the bolts and screws recommended by the manufacturer of your playground equipment. Lock washers or self-locking nuts are critical for preventing bolts from loosening over time.
- Cap any exposed bolts. Exposed bolts can cause serious cuts or entangle loose clothing.
- Close all S hooks so that openings are less than the thickness of a dime.
- All playground equipment hardware should be able to resist corrosion.
Prevent potential tripping hazards:
- Always follow manufacturer instructions for anchoring your playground equipment to the protective playground surface.
- Watch for exposed anchors, hooks, and bolts, which can cause tripping and other injuries.
- Bury anchors and all other ground-level hazards under the playground surface, or cover them with protective surfacing.
Here are some additional installation guidelines recommended by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):
- All rungs, steps, posts, and railings should be evenly spaced.
- Openings between rungs, steps, posts, and railings should either be smaller than 3 inches wide or larger than 9 inches so children cannot become stuck.
- Guard rails or barriers are needed around any platform over 30 inches above the protective playground surface.
- The entrance area for the slide should not have any gaps or protrusions that could catch or entangle clothing.
- V-shaped angles that open upward and are less than 55-degrees should be filled with a solid barrier (gusset) because these angles can trap a child’s head or neck.
Having the best time possible is a child’s only concern when it comes to backyard playground equipment. With proper planning and implementation of the playground safety guidelines presented in this post and in the two previous posts, you can feel confident that you will have created a play area that is fun and safe.
In my next post on backyard swing set safety, I’ll focus on some important safety tips that parents and caregivers should keep in mind while children are at play on the backyard swing set.
