Play Bark vs Normal Bark: Are Both Safe for a Play Area?

Key Takeaways

• Certified play bark is screened, graded pine that has been impact-tested for children’s play areas; normal garden bark is a mulch that is produced differently and never been tested.
• Garden bark is good for beds, paths and general garden play, but under a swing, slide or climbing frame, only lay play bark with BS EN 1177 test certification.
• A membrane under play bark stabilises the base and stops the bark working into the soil, and it matters most where there is no sub-base underneath.
• The 18 to 35mm play bark grade beds down more evenly, suiting younger children. Chunky 30 to 60mm pine nuggets last longer and end in the house less.
• 3m is the highest fall the playground equipment standard allows – our play bark range is certified to a critical fall height greater than 3m at just 100mm deep.

I once turned up to a job where the owner had ordered a load of cheap wood chips off Gumtree for exactly this job. First thing I asked was where the chips had come from: a tree company running prunings through a chipper once, or recycled pallets? Both cause splinters big time, and pallet chip can leach hazardous toxins into the environment – not ideal for kids. As we raked through it, we found nails in there, so I guessed it was pallets. The whole lot had to go to the tip. Order certified material from someone reputable and it is generally very good stuff. Get a load on the cheap and you are gambling on what is in it.

Garden bark from a proper supplier is a different animal from Gumtree chip, to be fair to it. But whether it belongs in a play area has a real answer, and it is worth it to get it right.

What Is the Difference Between Play Bark and Normal Bark?

Play bark is pine bark screened, graded and impact-tested for play surfaces; normal garden bark is decorative mulch, tested for nothing. That is the whole difference, and it is bigger than it sounds.

Both start in the same place. Garden bark is graded loosely and sold, so a batch can legitimately carry mixed species, fines and dust, shavings of white timber, and in the coloured products a dye. Play bark goes through a tighter screen: one species, pine, held to a narrow size band, with the white wood separated out. Our Deluxe Pine Play runs at under 1% white wood, which is the kind of figure that only exists because somebody measured it.

Can You Use Normal Garden Bark for a Play Area?

Garden bark is fine underfoot, but under anything a child can fall from, certified play bark is the only bark I will lay. A mud kitchen corner, a path to the play area, general running about: ordinary decorative bark does that job well and saves you money doing it.

The line is fall height. A private garden is not legally bound by playground standards, but physics doesn’t care about regulations. BS EN 1176 and BS EN 1177 exist because falls from height onto a hard or thin surface breaks bones and heads, and the rule that comes out of them is short enough to memorise: the surface’s rated fall height must meet or beat the highest point a child can fall from. Think a swing at the top of its arc, or the highest platform of a climbing frame, not the slide that comes off it.

Garden bark has no rated fall height. Not because it failed the test. Because nobody ever runs it. You can lay it 300mm deep under a climbing frame and it may well perform, but “may well” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and it is your child underneath it.

How Deep Does Play Bark Need to Be?

Play bark needs at least 100mm of depth, and at that depth ours is certified to a critical fall height greater than 3m. Critical fall height (the greatest height from which a fall onto that surface, at that depth, stays within the tested head-injury tolerance) is the number the whole decision turns on. And 3m matters for a specific reason: it is the maximum fall height BS EN 1176-1 permits on compliant play equipment. So whatever you buy and wherever you buy it, check for the certificate and determine the depths from that.

Labosport tested our bark at 100mm, 200mm and 300mm, dropped from the full 3m at every depth, and it passed every time. There is no compliant swing, slide or climbing frame it is not rated for, even at the minimum depth. Ours reports of March 2021, available on request.
So why lay more than 100mm? Margin. In the lab the bark was fresh, dry, evenly spread and uncompacted. In a garden it gets trodden down where feet land, kicked out from under the swing and the slide exit, and it rots from beneath. What protects a child is the depth under them the day they fall. The deeper you lay, the more of that abuse the surface can absorb before it matters.

I always advise clients to lay over the minimum target, partly because bark settles 10 to 15% in the first few weeks (I would order 20% over as standard, 25-30% on a deep play surface), and partly for future top-ups. The play bark calculator works the quantities out for your area and depth, and has settings that allow for extra. Then, just rake it back level as it needs it, because raking restores the depth where it has thinned, and top up when raking stops getting you there.

PRO TIP: Marking the depth on the legs of the frame is a handy trick used in commercial playgrounds that almost nobody knows about. Add a simple band of paint, a strip of tape or a good scratch at 100mm, or wherever you have set your depth, on every post standing in the bark. When the bark covers the mark, you are fine. When the mark shows, rake. When raking will not bury it again, order more. Two minutes with a tape measure on the day you lay it, and a judgement call becomes a glance from the kitchen window.

What Goes Under Play Bark?

Play bark sits best on a weed membrane over firmed, levelled ground: the membrane stabilises the base and keeps the bark out of the soil. This matters most where there is no sub-base installed, which is common in a home play area. Bark laid on bare earth works its way in, and the bottom layer sits wet and rots quickly. Oh, and if the spot you have in mind holds water after rain, sort the drainage first or build the surface up and retain it. Bark on ground that does not drain is a goner inside a couple of seasons.

Which Play Bark Should You Buy?

The 18 to 35mm play bark grade is the one for smaller children: kinder underfoot, kinder on palms. The chunky 30 to 60mm pine nuggets win on longevity and mess, breaking down slower and not hitching a ride indoors on socks. Our play bark range compares them side by side. Our play chip does the same job and carries the same certification, at 10 to 30mm. The play chip range covers where it wins. Bark will generally last a lot longer and look nicer after a year or so – worth keeping in mind.

Next Steps

We stock certified play bark in both grades, in bulk bags, year round, along with play chip and the rest of the play surfaces range. Measure your area, pick your depth, and our play bark calculator will give you an accurate estimate of how much you need. If the job is odd-shaped or you are not sure which grade, get in touch and we can try to work it through.

Have you laid a surface under play equipment at home? Which bark did you go with, and how has it lasted? Tell us in the comments below.

FAQs

Does play bark rot?

Play bark does rot down like any bark, and a play surface typically wants topping up every couple of years to hold its depth. The chunky nugget grade lasts longer, and bark on waterlogged ground rots fastest of all.

Why is play bark so expensive compared with garden bark?

Play bark costs more than garden bark because screening, grading and impact testing cost money. You are paying for the certificate, and for the absence of nails, splinters and mysterious ingredients.

Does play bark track into the house?

Play bark tracks less than most loose fills, and the 30 to 60mm nuggets barely travel at all. The finer grades stick to socks and fleeces, so if traipsing indoors is an issue, go bigger.

Is play bark ok for dogs?

Play bark is safe around dogs, being untreated pine with no dyes or additives. A pup that chews everything will chew bark too, so watch a determined swallower, and pick the area over as you would a lawn.

Do mushrooms in play bark mean it has gone off?

Mushrooms and white mould threads in play bark are normal decomposition, not contamination. Rake the surface through on a dry day and they mostly disappear; the bark underneath is just doing what wood does.