Our softwood play grade chips are tested to BS EN 1177:2018 standard, offering critical fall height safety at greater than 3m at 100mm, 200mm and 300mm laid depth. With certified safety standards, they provide excellent impact protection while draining freely to stay clean and dry. A 100% natural, eco-friendly alternative to rubber play bark made from sustainable pine.
Perfect for:
Low-maintenance and good for a minimum of 2 years, these 10-30mm pine chips allow you to create a comfortable, springy surface that’s both safe and stylish for your backyard play area.
Price range: £122.00 through £318.00 inc. VAT
Tap a depth to fill it in, or type your own.
Play bark loses 10 to 15% of its depth to settling in the first few weeks.
Please see our full listing for comprehensive specifications, benefits and uses for Softwood Play Grade Chips — as well as links to inspirational garden ideas and do-it-yourself guides. Please see ‘Additional information’ for product safety data. Full report available upon request.
| Standard | BS EN 1177:2018 |
|---|---|
| Tested by | Labosport Ltd |
| Test report | LSUK.21-0107-F1 |
| Material tested | 10-30mm pine chips |
| Critical fall height | >3.00m at 100mm, 200mm and 300mm |
Specifications, Inspirational Ideas & DIY Guides
Why Professionals & Homeowners Choose, Applications, DIY Guides & Inspirational Ideas, Maintenance, Purchasing Tips, FAQs, Related Products
Softwood Play Grade Chips consist of chipped pine, graded 10-30mm, and arrive a pale creamy colour that goes a shade deeper in the rain. Pine rots faster than hardwood, and a raked and topped-up surface gives two to four years of play. That makes this the chip for covering a lot of ground at full depth, or for a swing set the children will outgrow before the chip is spent.
Price is usually what brings people to this chip. Here is what they get for it:
Softwood play chip earns its place wherever a lot of ground needs covering at full depth. It is a poor choice for a border of young plants since fresh conifer chip wants a few months of ageing first.
How to avoid the common pitfalls and get great results first time
Compare the specifications, price and optimal applications for our play chip product range.
The difference is in production and testing, not looks. Only one of them comes certified.
Softwood play chip needs topping up on a shorter cycle than hardwood because pine rots faster. Top up while the shallowest patch still sits well above 100mm; the mark on the frame legs in our garden play areas guide tells you when. Lifting a 10m² swing zone by 50mm takes about 575 litres with settling, or ten 60 litre bags.
Softwood play chip is worked out here at 200mm deep over the whole landing area, plus 15% for the settling loose chip does in its first few weeks.
For odd shapes, the play bark calculator works for chip too. Pine can shift a little in shade from one load to the next, so order the full area in one go. The 60-bag pallet comes on an 18-tonne rigid lorry, so check the road outside can take one; the big bags are dropped kerbside, too. Membrane goes under the chip, so add a heavy duty membrane sheet to the same order.
If you would rather talk your softwood play grade chips order through with a person, ring Outdoor Aggregates on 0330 043 7585. The office is open 7am to 7pm, seven days a week.
| Play area | Litres to order | In big bags | In 60l bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5m² | 1,150L | 1 Jumbo Bag | 20 |
| 10m² | 2,300L | 1 Jumbo Bag and 1 Bulk Bag | 40 |
| 20m² | 4,600L | 2 Jumbo Bags and 1 Bulk Bag | 80 |
| 40m² | 9,200L | 5 Jumbo Bags | 160 |
Softwood play chip is chipped pine wood and pine play bark is the tree's outer bark. They are different materials with the same fall rating. The bark keeps its colour for longer and the chip is the smaller grade.
Softwood play chips are plain pine with no dye, colourant or chemical treatment added, so the colour you see is the wood's own. That is also why they fade in the sun.
Softwood Play Grade Chips have their own BS EN 1177:2018 test report, run on pine woodchips laid 100, 200 and 300mm deep. The rating belongs to this chip rather than the hardwood, and the full report is available on request.
Softwood play chips that have finished under a swing make a decent path, or a mulch spread on top of the soil around established shrubs. Keep them on the surface, because chip dug into a bed takes food from the soil as it rots and make plants hungry and yellow.
A school or public playground can use softwood play chips but the certificate covers only the chip. A public site also needs its installation and inspection signed off by a registered play inspector (RPII) or RoSPA Play Safety.
A fresh delivery of softwood play chips should smell of cut pine. A sour smell like vinegar or bad eggs tells you the chip sat wet and went off.
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