Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances

Outdoor amenities like tennis courts, golf courses, Playground parts and pools are valuable assets for any HOA, but they require a significant commitment when it comes to maintenance and upkeep. With summer on the way, the weather is warming up and people are taking to the outdoors. Now is the time to get outside and check out your equipment to make sure all is in good working order, winter wear-and-tear repaired, and worn-out or obsolete items are replaced or upgraded.

Perfect playground parts
Each year, thousands of children are injured on the playground. We’re not just talking skinned knees and bruised elbows either. Children can get burned from hot playground surfaces, choked from catching loose clothing on playground equipment and injured from loose playground parts. The National Program for Playground Safety declared April 19th to April 25th National Playground Safety Week and suggests that homeowners, associations and towns use this time to inspect and repair safety equipment.

Andrew Oliver of Superior Play Systems in Bear, Delaware (with additional offices in Mount Laurel, New Jersey) suggests that associations take this one step further and check over playground equipment on a continuous basis.


“The main times for residential playgrounds are [every] six to eight months, at the change of the seasons from cold to warm and then again before the cold,” says Oliver. “The redwood and red/cedar systems we sell are designed to be re-tightened periodically, and the lumber holds its shape to reduce the amount of wear and tear over the years.”

In order to have your playground up and running for your association’s little tykes, do a visual inspection of the system. Look for any cracks, sharp points, loose parts or protruding bolts, and gaps that may need to be repaired. Cracks and sharp points can catch and cut or scratch the skin. Loose parts can become a serious hazard—a child may use a climbing rope only for it to loosen and send the child plummeting to the ground below. Gaps can catch a child’s head or leg—a very dangerous situation, especially if the child is wearing an outfit with a string that can become a choking hazard.

It’s also important to make sure the playground has adequate landing protection—nothing is worse than having a child fall from the swings and land on a hard surface such as concrete or asphalt, causing potentially serious injuries. If the winter snow and ice has scattered the gravel, sand, or wood chips, or damaged the landing surface, it’s time to give it a once over.

Wintertime can take its toll on playground systems too. “Cracks in wood are due to the wood contracting and expanding with the weather changes, and they should be checked to see how deep they are,” says Oliver. “Look over any area that is showing cracks—if they go further than halfway into the beam, the beam should be marked down and the warranty department contacted for a replacement.”

Speaking of warranties, remember that even if your playground shows signs that it’s in need of replacement parts, check directly with the company first to see if the parts are still covered. Many playground systems come with a lifetime warranty on their parts. “The Rainbow Play Systems have a lifetime warranty on the lumber and the parts can be ordered for replacements,” said Oliver. “The warranty does cover the parts, but not the replacement of them. Associations can replace the parts themselves, or we have a standard service rate that we can offer to replace the pieces.” http://www.kinplay.com/