DIY Network

Curb Upheaval: How to Install a Natural Playground Install a natural playground with Fibar – an engineered product used for playgrounds. From "Sweat Equity" episode DSEQ-111

Get the kids to jump on the Fibar to help compress it!

A nature-inspired place for the kids to play is a unique and tasteful idea. With seven tons of rock, an innovative Fibar play surface and a little help from host Amy Matthews, the kids will have a boulder field in no time, and an added benefit, this playground will look great long after the kids are grown.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G

Materials:

boulders
Bobcat
Trex decking material for a border
trees
Fibar drain system
Fibar

Safety Alert:

• Before you dig, call 811. The Common Ground Alliance has set up a national public service number, 811, connecting you with your local utilities marking organization. Make the call two days before starting an outdoor project.

How to Install a Natural Playground:

• Jason teaches Doug how to use a Bobcat to excavate the playground, digging out any roots and stumps and leveling the ground (figure A).

• Doug handpicks four boulders and has them delivered to the house. He and Jason help arrange them in the play area (figure B).

• Jason bends Trex decking material in an oval around the playground. This will give the play area a border and keep the Fibar material inside and acts as a kid-friendly edger. He secures the boards together with screws (figure C).

• Jason helps Doug and Jeanette plant some shade trees for the kids to play under (figure D).

• With the border in place, Jason lays down the Fibar drainage system. This will keep the Fibar draining properly (figure E).

• Jeanette and Doug choose a Fibar play surface. It’s a lasting material that becomes more shock absorbent over time. Amy, Jeanette and Jason load wheelbarrows and fill the play area with Fibar (figure F).

• Doug spreads the Fibar evenly with a rake (figure G). Finally comes the best part; the kids jump on the Fibar to compress it!

RESOURCES :
Bobcat of the Rockies
Website: www.bobcatoftherockies.com

GUESTS :
Jason Yocum, ASLA
Landscape Architect
SunStone Design LLC
Denver, CO
Phone: 720-273-8488
E-mail: sunstonedesign@att.net

Cathy Weissberg
Fibar Systems
Website: www.fibar.com