Playground Flooring?

[KristinsHomeCC]

My insurance company came out to take pictures for yearly inspection. The local company I go through and deal with sent me a letter saying they want me to "evenly surface" the ground.

I run a small child care with 4 children and my son. I really do NOT want to spend a ton of money on a rental home. My play area outside of the concrete area I have is about 280 sq ft. Right now I have grassy/dirt area and I have absolutely no idea what's wrong with it. My son is 3 in January and he LOVES to dig in the dirt, make mud, etc.

What do I do? Any suggestions?

[Josiegirl]

Evenly surface? Such as you have holes dug and they're afraid a child might trip? Where do they come up with this stuff?? It's no worse than leaving a toy truck in the backyard and somebody trips on it. And kids won't see that truck any easier than they'd see a hole. Is there a way you can block off an area just for digging and even out the rest? What's the rest of the ground covered with, dirt, grass? Throw dirt into the holes.

Sorry, not much help. But it's always amazing to me what we have to accommodate to make people happy.

[DaveA]

Did they give you specifics as what they want done? I'd hate to give suggestions then have them say "Nope- we wanted this instead!" If you're not sure what you want done I would call or email them and ask for clarification.

As for cheap/nonpermanent digging solutions: the plastic kiddie pools make good sandboxes.

[daycarediva]

Did they give you specifics as what they want done? I'd hate to give suggestions then have them say "Nope- we wanted this instead!" If you're not sure what you want done I would call or email them and ask for clarification.

As for cheap/nonpermanent digging solutions: the plastic kiddie pools make good sandboxes.

Yup.

If you have to gate off the dirt/digging area due to holes, I would use a superyard.

[KristinsHomeCC]

well, I touched base with my insurance company I deal with directly. She was huffing and puffing at the ridiculousness of what they are asking, because its a daycare..and kids like to play in DIRT! She said they arent sending anyone out to take the pic, I will have to take it. SO, her advice was to "find a way to cover it, snap the pic and then we're done with it". Initially I thought, sweet..nice and easy. Now my thought process has switched over to, what the heck am I going to TEMPORARILY cover it with for a photo!?

[laundrymom]

well, I touched base with my insurance company I deal with directly. She was huffing and puffing at the ridiculousness of what they are asking, because its a daycare..and kids like to play in DIRT! She said they arent sending anyone out to take the pic, I will have to take it. SO, her advice was to "find a way to cover it, snap the pic and then we're done with it". Initially I thought, sweet..nice and easy. Now my thought process has switched over to, what the heck am I going to TEMPORARILY cover it with for a photo!?

Picnic table and kiddie pool used as a ball pit.

[KristinsHomeCC]

I have to cover the full 280 sq ft :confused:

[Pestle]

Is it because the grass isn't thick enough? Would they accept it if you promised to re-seed it once it's not the dead of winter?

What exactly do they want you to cover it with?

[Controlled Chaos]

I ended up buying 4 pieces of astroturf from Home depot to cover patches of dirt where the grass had worn down. It was $20 per piece (5ft x 8ft I believe). I can roll it up when not using it and shift it to wherever the grass is thin at any given time.

[Pandaluver21]

You're not even allowed to have play equipment on grass here...
Pea gravel, mulch, or sand...