If you use woodchips under your swingset..

[maestramommy]

Do you have to replace/replenish it every so often? If so, how often, and is it very expensive? We are getting our back and side yard landscaped, and at first we were going to get it seeded for grass. Then today I thought, why not just lay woodchips/bark mulch instead? It's just the part of the yard that we will probably fence in for the kids and dog anyway, and won't be all that visible from the street. That way, Dh doesn't have to mow, and we won't care if the moles burrow (they trash our front lawn every winter), so we wont have to reseed.

Are there any special downsides to doing this?

[kep]

Splinters?

[JBaxter]

We just left the grass. Kids throw mulch ...well mine do any way

[maestramommy]

We just left the grass. Kids throw mulch ...well mine do any way

Well see, we won't have anything except dirt. The entire lot is a mass of tree stumps and it's not level. We are having them pull out everything, and level it. Then we have to do something with it. Grass was the first option, but if we seed, then it'll be WEEKS before we can even use it. By then summer will be over:rolleye0014: We have tons of mulch in the front yard, and I don't think it's ever been a problem that I can recall. With the older ones anyway:p

[JBaxter]

OH in that case yes level it and mulch it. I forgot you have wooded lot. Im guessing you would add some every other year ish?

[mikala]

We have grass but I'd like to upgrade to another material sometime for a few reasons, mostly durability and fall protection. Our grass gets torn up under the swings and is always a little bare there. It also takes a little longer to mow and string trim around the structure. I've also read that grass isn't as good for shock absorption during falls as a lot of other materials like wood chips, pea gravel, rubber, etc.

Wood chips are generally pretty cheap and some municipalities even give the lower quality stuff away for free after they process yard waste.

This article has more info on the various types of ground cover and pros and cons of each.
http://www.backyardcity.com/Articles/Playing-It-Safe-Part2.htm

[smilequeen]

We have wood chips under our swingset right now and I feel like we need to add a little every year. When we had the rubber mulch we never added to it. I don't remember the cost but the rubber mulch was more expensive. I would still want grass in the rest of the yard though...better for the kids to play baseball/soccer/run in the sprinkler and better for the dogs.

[liz]

Is is just for a swingset or playset? We added wood mulch chips to our playset when we built it about 5 years ago. We have not added any more mulch since then. We found (somewhere online) some info online that had recommendations for how much mulch (how many inches deep) you should put under the playset. Very little maintenance for us.

[maestramommy]

Is is just for a swingset or playset? We added wood mulch chips to our playset when we built it about 5 years ago. We have not added any more mulch since then. We found (somewhere online) some info online that had recommendations for how much mulch (how many inches deep) you should put under the playset. Very little maintenance for us.

No this would be for the entire lot.

[maestramommy]

We have grass but I'd like to upgrade to another material sometime for a few reasons, mostly durability and fall protection. Our grass gets torn up under the swings and is always a little bare there. It also takes a little longer to mow and string trim around the structure. I've also read that grass isn't as good for shock absorption during falls as a lot of other materials like wood chips, pea gravel, rubber, etc.

Wood chips are generally pretty cheap and some municipalities even give the lower quality stuff away for free after they process yard waste.

This article has more info on the various types of ground cover and pros and cons of each.
http://www.backyardcity.com/Articles/Playing-It-Safe-Part2.htm

Thank you!