Playground north of Halifax anchored on webs of steel

Increasingly, playgrounds are being designed with an underlying network of steel. A case in point is the $170,000 Enfield, Elmsdale and District Lions Club’s Elizabeth Ryan Memorial Playground, located in Enfield, Nova Scotia. which is designed by PlayPower LT Canada Inc. to ensure that children with special needs can also benefit.

The first phase of construction began with local contractor Benere Contracting Ltd. creating a gravel bed and drainage. That was followed by the installation of interconnected steel members to which playground equipment was welded by Molnar Welding.

“We’re trying to basically second guess any eventuality we might have with frost heaving,” says Peter Jeffery, the Lions Club member supervising the project. “The steel raft sits on top of the gravel. On top of that we’ll have another nine inches of gravel and then four inches of rubber, which will act as a safety feature and allow parents to push strollers and wheelchairs up to the playground structure.”

The playground was designed by PlayPower LT Canada Inc., with head office in Paris, Ont. The company also supplied the playground equipment.

“About 95 per cent of our playgrounds here are now designed with a sled stringer base to them,” says Scott O’Reilly, PlayPower sales representative for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. “The main reason is frost heaving. While it doesn’t prevent frost heaves, it does prevent damage to the equipment, which will rise and fall with the sled stringers. Under the concrete system, the posts might rise out of the ground and if one got caught on a rock as the posts settled, the decks of the equipment would wind up off kilter.”

The five-inch C-channel stringers are installed in railroad track fashion and cross-braced at intervals. The five-inch equipment posts are welded to the stringers with a one-inch overlap, to allow drainage of any moisture that might collect inside the hollow posts.

The depth of the metal sled depends on the surface being installed. A rubber-surfaced playground might see the sled buried a foot deep, while a pea stone surface would see the sled buried at about half that depth.

“In a way, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot by designing playgrounds this way,” says O’Reilly. “The stringer system doesn’t add to the cost, but makes the customer a lot happier because there are fewer parts that need to be replaced or adjusted.”

Ted Hoogstraten, owner of Hoog’s Installations Ltd. of Brant, Ont. is the PlayPower installation contractor for southern Ontario. The company has specialized in playground installations for 22 years. During the 30-week construction season, the company installs as many as 10 playgrounds per week, largely for municipalities, schools and daycare facilities.

“Increasingly we’re seeing the steel stringer design in playground construction,” says Hoogstraten. “Only the swings and spring toys are built with concrete footings because of the tension that’s placed on the equipment.”

Hoogstraten uses 20-foot stringers welded or cut to length to match playground equipment footings. More complex playgrounds may take a week to complete, while simpler ones take less than a day.

“What sets us apart from other construction contractors is the fact that everyone is happy to see you when you arrive at the park,” says Hoogstraten. “They know what’s coming.”