Landscape Lawn Installation, Gillingham

Bredhurst Primary School in Gillingham, Kent, called in the Artificial Lawn Company team to tackle their play area.

Lawn Installation in Gillingham

Before we arrived, it was nothing short of being a complete and utter mess and simply not fit for purpose, not least due to the presence of a climbing frame without any underlay protecting children from potential falls.

Our Landscape Lawn was selected as the solution of choice. With the high amount of traffic the play area sees during the school day, the Landscape Lawn will stand the test of time while blending in with other green areas in the school grounds.

As you can see from the pictures, the end result was a beautiful, safe and naturally appearing play area, which also means that teachers don’t have to worry about children traipsing mud through the school. A good result for all parties!

Landscape Lawn Installation in Gillingham, Kent

The Problem

This area was a complete mess and was unusable for over half of the year due to how quickly it got muddy, and because it was a big mound with an uneven surface.
The climbing frame in the middle of the play area was of particular concern as there was no underlay, making it dangerous and not fit for purpose.
The school struggled to grow grass in this area due to the kids using it every day for extended periods of time.

The Solution

Landscape Lawn was perfect for this area because it is highly durable, stands up to high footfall and is also realistic in appearance, allowing it to fit in with the other green areas of the school.
We strongly recommended, despite the extra costs involved, a reduction in the level of the areas. Not only would this make the lawn last longer, but it would also improve the life of the installation and the aesthetic of the area.
As they wanted to keep the climbing frame in the area, we also opted for our 35mm Grassflex underlay, which provides a critical fall height of 1.5m, making it safe for the children to use and prevent injuries in general.

The Method

We followed our standard installation process, whereby our team removed and disposed of the existing grass before continuing to:

The Process

The first step in this case was to use a small digger to remove the eight tons of extra soil to reduce the level. It was a complete mess (as usual in school play areas) as we found lots of tarmac, concrete, old posts etc… which made it difficult and time consuming, leaving little wonder why the turf struggled to grow beforehand! Our normal 25mm granite base was then added with our Grassflex tiles on top.
Standard installation from here on except the addition of extra sand infill to help keep the grass upright and add extra shock absorbance. In this case, we also avoided the use of the nails in most areas and used glue to fix the grass down.

The Result

The end result was the school gained a year-round natural looking play area for the children to enjoy. They were very appreciative of the reduction of muddy shoes and clothing!

The addition of the shock pad under the grass also greatly improved its usability, giving the teachers piece of mind as well as making it legal and complying with health and safety law.

If you have a play area that could benefit from the introduction of an artificial lawn, or any other outside space for that matter, please get in touch with Artificial Lawn Company today for more information.