Playground Surfacing Critical Fall Height
According to European Standards EN 1177 (in the UK known as BS EN 1177) all Safety flooring is required for equipment with a critical fall height higher than 0.6m.
However, even for these areas under 0.6m, we will always advise that some protective surfacing should be laid. On the other hand, the maximal fall height on a playground is 3m, meaning that free height of a fall from any place on a playground should not exceed 3m.
In a nutshell, Critical Fall Height (CFH) is the distance from the highest piece of climbable equipment (3m max) to the surface floor. Once we know this we are able to calculate the depth of the base course required to insure any fall minimises injury, allowing children to play in the safest possible environments.
Loose fill materials
For loose-fill materials the critical fall height has been determined by EN 1177 standard.
Due to the nature of loose-fill materials material loss has to be taken into account such as use from play and impact as well as wind and weather.
Because of these factors, loose materials have to be replenished occasionally. Another condition is that the minimal depth of the loose fill material is 30 cm.