Wetpour
Seamless poured EPDM rubber. Prone to perimeter shrinkage, cracking and wear under swings and gateways — all repairable in place.
Wetpour repairs →BS EN 1177 · critical fall height
Safety surfacing
Wetpour, resin-bound rubber and rubber mulch — repaired, topped up and overlaid to restore compliant fall protection, usually without full replacement.
Safety surfacing is not cosmetic. It exists to deliver a critical fall height under BS EN 1177 — the height a child can fall from without a serious head injury. When surfacing shrinks, thins, cracks or compacts, that protection degrades, and the site quietly stops complying long before anyone notices.
The good news is that most surfacing problems are localised and repairable. If the base beneath is sound, a targeted repair or an overlay restores compliance at a fraction of the cost of a full replacement — and we will tell you plainly which of those two situations you are in.
The three surfaces we work with
Rubber mulch
Bonded recycled rubber with a natural bark look. Low maintenance, blends into landscaped settings, and takes top-ups readily.
Rubber mulch →
Resin bound
Permeable resin-bound surfacing for paths and transition areas around play spaces — repairs, patching and edge work.
Resin bound →The problems we're usually called about
Perimeter shrinkage
Wetpour expands and contracts with the seasons and eventually pulls away from the edging, opening a gap between surface and kerb. It's the single most common wetpour defect and a clear trip hazard on any inspection report.
Worn bays and thin spots
Under swings, at slide exits and through gateways, the surface wears thinnest exactly where fall protection matters most. Thinning below the rated depth means the critical fall height no longer holds.
Cracking and splitting
Cracks let water into the base, and Cornish winters do the rest — freeze-thaw widens them and the damage spreads. Caught early it's a small repair; left alone it becomes a replacement.
Weed growth and fraying
Weeds push through joints and edges, breaking the surface apart from below. Fraying edges on mulch and bonded surfaces spread quickly once started.
Repair, overlay or replace — the honest answer
- Repair — localised damage, sound base. Cut out, re-lay, done in a day. Much the cheapest option and the right one most of the time.
- Overlay — widespread surface wear but a sound base. A new wear layer bonded over the existing surface, restoring depth and appearance.
- Replace — a failed or contaminated base, or surfacing at the end of its life. More expensive, and we will say so plainly rather than sell you a repair that will not last.
Questions
Frequently asked
Do we need to replace the whole surface?
Usually not. Localised damage — a shrunken perimeter, a worn swing bay, a cracked section — can normally be repaired or overlaid at a fraction of the cost of full replacement, provided the base underneath is sound. We will tell you honestly which situation you are in.
What is critical fall height and why does it matter?
Critical fall height is the maximum height a child can fall onto a surface without a serious head injury, tested under BS EN 1177. Every piece of equipment has a free height of fall, and the surfacing beneath it has to be rated for at least that. Worn, thinned or compacted surfacing loses that rating — which is when a site stops complying.
How long does a repair take?
Most localised repairs are a day or less on site. Wetpour needs dry conditions and a cure period before use — typically 24 hours — so we schedule around the weather and, for schools and parks, around your opening times.
Can you match our existing colour?
We match as closely as the material allows, but be aware that existing surfacing will have faded, so a perfect match is rarely possible. Many clients deliberately choose a contrasting band or a graphic shape, which looks intentional rather than patched.