Putting up a playset in your backyard is an exciting process, but before you go out and purchase one, you need to consider where it is going to go in your backyard and how much space you will need.
So how do you know where to put a playset in the yard? There are a number of factors to consider when deciding where to put your playset including the flatness of the ground, the visibility from your home, the space needed around a playset and several other circumstances.
Before you put up a playset, you will want to make sure it is in the right location because you don’t want to have to move it after it has been built. Continue reading to learn all of the things you need to look out for when determining where to put up your playset.
Related: How Long Do Playsets Last?
Enough Space
It is surprising how much space a playset requires. Your children and their friends will be climbing, jumping, and running all over and around the playset. For safety and for fun, you will need to be sure that the location you put your playset in will allow for all of this.
Enough Open Space
Many people like to tuck their playsets into the corners of their yards or along the fence so that their yard can remain open for play and other fun, but playsets require more space than you might realize.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that a playset has at least 6 feet of clear space on all sides. They also recommend that this area be covered in 9 inches of a material that helps prevent injuries from falls like mulch, rubber mulch, pea gravel, or sand.
According to the CPSC, the swing set requires even more open space in front of it and behind it. To find out how much space is needed by the swings, you multiply the height of the swing beam by two. The number you get is how much space you will need in the front and in the back of the swings.
This means that if your swing beam is 7 feet high, there should be 14 feet of open space in front of the swings and 14 feet of open space behind the swings. Even a small playset can require a 30 foot by 30 foot space dedicated to it.
Look out for fencing, utility poles, garden beds, decks, trees, bushes, large rocks, and areas that are asphalt or concrete. Depending on the size of your yard and what kind of landscaping you have in place, the space needed for your playset could limit the options.
Overhead Space
Don’t forget to look up! When your playset is built, it is going to be tall especially if you purchased a playset that is meant for older kids. Be sure the location that you pick does not have any tree branches or utility wires in the way of the higher parts of the playset.
Room to Grow
If you’re buying a small playset, you may want to plan for room to expand it. Small playsets are great for younger children, but as your children get older, a small playset may not hold the same appeal.
In addition, if your family is still growing, you may want to leave space to add on extra swing bays or a second tower so that everyone has room to play together.
Solid, Flat Ground
One of the most important factors to consider when deciding where to place your playset is the ground that they playset will sit upon. The ground should be level, firm, dry, and not prone to gathering standing water.
Flatness
The playset will need to sit on level ground to prevent it from falling over while your children are playing on it or in a storm. Even if you are having your playset professionally installed, you may need to level the ground first.
Most installers of playsets will only handle minimal leveling, and some will not handle any leveling at all. I have also seen “professional” installation of playsets on unlevel ground that were clearly unsafe. Be sure the professional you hire knows their playsets.
There are very few perfectly level yards in this world. In fact, a properly graded yard is intentionally sloped. If your yard was ever professionally graded it will like slope away from the house by at least 2 or 3 inches every 10 feet.
This means at the high end of your yard, you could easily be digging into the ground around 6 inches.
Many families choose to put up their playset in the flattest part of their yard in order to save themselves some extra work in the form of digging and to save themselves some time.
Wetness
Wet ground can cause a whole bundle of problems for a playset. Ground that is frequently wet or marshy is not stable enough to hold up a playset properly. The heavy playset could sink into the ground or compress it, and the playset could become unlevel and unsafe.
It is also impossible to anchor a playset to the ground using ground anchors if the ground is soggy. The anchors will not hold the playset in place if the ground is not firm enough.
Finally, a moist environment is not a friendly one for wood. Moist ground will cause the wood of the playset that touches the ground to rot more rapidly than dry ground. Board will deteriorate and need to be replaced far faster than if the playset was in a drier environment.
Soft Ground
Like wet ground, soft soil is not firm enough to hold the weight to the playset consistently. It can cause the playset to sink and become unlevel. In addition, ground anchoring will not work if your soil is too soft.
If your whole yard has soft soil, you can still put up your playset, but it will require that you anchor the playset with concrete footers. This process is not difficult, but it does take more time and more energy.
Ground Material
After reading all of this, a nice dry and flat concrete patio may sound like the perfect location for a playset, but these kinds of hard materials can be very dangerous in a fall.
In fact, even grass is not the safest material to have under your playset. Many families opt to cover the ground in mulch, rubber mulch, pea gravel, or sand because it prevents injuries from falls better than grass.
If you must install the playset over a concrete slab, you will definitely want to cover the area in a safer ground covering after you put the playset up. Most ground covering can be purchased in bulk at reasonable prices.
Convenient and Safe
A playset can be a big investment, and you will want your family to get the most use out of it before they outgrow it. There are a couple of things you can do to make sure that your family gets the most use out of their playset.
Visibility
A playset provides hours of convenient entertainment for children across a wide variety of ages. Optimize the convenience of the playset by keeping it visible. Ideally, you should be able to see your playset from any location in your home where you would be while your children are playing.
Obviously, you won’t be able to see if from everywhere in your home, but if you do the dishes while the kids play outside, you might want to be able to look up without drying your hands and see that the kids are playing happily.
Even if your children are too young to play outside alone right now, eventually they will be mature enough, and many parents use this time to get housework done or to enjoy a moment of quiet while they drink their coffee.
Being able to see your playset while you’re drinking that coffee will give you peace of mind.
In addition, the more visible the playset is, the more your kids will play on it. Out of sight can really be out of mind. If the playset is tucked away out of sight, they may not think to play on it. Get the most out of your investment and make it a part of everyday play by keeping it visible.
Shade
If you have images of your children spending sunny summer days playing on their playset, you’re not alone, but if you want your children to use the playset in the summer, you’re going to want to try to find some shade for it to prevent your children from overheating during their vigorous play.
Many playset manufacturers make their playsets and slides with materials that will stay cool even in full sun, but some do not take as much care. Parts of your playset may become uncomfortably warm or downright scorching under a full sun.
Shade will help keep the level of heat on and around the playset tolerable.
Avoid Insects
Nothing can ruin a fun day outside as fast as a bee sting or a giant spider building its new home under the roof of your child’s playset. Choosing the right location can help prevent insects from making the playset their home.
Insects Nests
While scouting out the location for your playset, check the ground for ant hills and nearby trees for wasps’ nests. If you see any signs of insect activity, it doesn’t mean you need to choose a different location, but it will be easier to handle the insects now before they get into the playset.
Food Sources
Try to put your playset away from any sources of food for insects. Keep the playset away from your garbage cans or even vegetable gardens. If you put your playset right next to your flower garden, you are definitely going to have bees visiting your playset.
Water Sources
Insects need water just as much as they need food. Avoid placing your playset near water sources to cut down on insect activity near the playset. Common sources of water are ponds, streams, puddles, leaky faucets, and garden water features like bird baths.
Water sources especially attract pesky mosquitoes as they lay their eggs in standing water.
If the location you are most excited about for your playset is near a water source, especially a stagnant water source, you may be able to fill or move it away.
Utilities
The location of your home’s utilities is often overlooked when talking about playset placement, but if you have the option to avoid your utilities when building a playset, it is best to avoid them.
Underground Utilities
Chances are you don’t know where your utility lines run, at least not precisely. When selecting the location for your playset, you may want to avoid the utilities that run underground.
In most cases, the playset will not cause damage to any of these things, but if they need repairs or upgrades, you will have to move the playset to get the job done. Moving a playset is not an impossible task, but it also isn’t the way most of us want to spend a weekend.
In addition, if you need to dig into the earth to level your yard or install concrete footers, you will want to make sure you don’t hit any of the utility lines running to your home.
Septic
Whether or not it is advisable to put a playset on any part of your septic system will depend on your particular system and your local health department regulations. Before building a playset near your septic system, talk with your local health department. Many have specific regulations concerning septic systems that help keep you and the community safe.
In most cases, building a playset on the leach field or draining field of your septic system is not a problem. A playset is not typically heavy enough to cause damage to the system.
The issues start when you begin to think about ground cover. A leach field requires a certain amount of air exchange to function. Laying plastic or landscape fabric and mulch over a leach field prevent air exchange, and it is not good for the system.
And the last thing you want is your playset to be sitting over an inefficient septic system.
Additionally, it is not recommended that you dig in the earth near a leach field. Not all leach fields are buried all that deep in the ground. If you need to level your yard to install the playset, you could damage your system.
Powerlines
If possible, you may want to avoid placing a playset underneath any overhead utilities like powerlines. Not only do you need to be sure you have enough overhead clearance for your playset, but you also don’t want those lines coming down on your playset during a storm.
Sprinklers
If your yard has a sprinkling system, you will want to avoid placing the playset in direct line of the sprinklers. Constantly being bombarded by water will cause water damage to the wood and will also cause it to rot more rapidly.
When you are creating a level place for your playset to stand, you will also want to be careful not to damage any parts of your sprinkler system.
Appearance
Picking a location based solely on appearance is not practical, but it is worth thinking about when selecting your playsets location.
Position
A playset can be put in any position behind your home. You can place it perpendicular to the house, horizontally, or kiddy corner it, as long as there is enough space on all sides for the play area.
Hidden
Many families don’t mind having their playset visible from the road, but there are some that prefer it to be hidden from view. This depends on what kind of curb appeal style you are going for with your home.
Cleaning
You will want to be able to clean your playset at least every year before you seal it, and probably more than that if there are any spills on it. Make sure that your hose can reach your playset by keeping the playset near your spigot or by having a long hose.
The hose will also come in handy if you see a spider or other insect on the playset, and you don’t want to get too close to it. You can simply wash them away with hose, and hope it is enough to keep them from coming back.
What if I Can’t Find the Perfect Spot?
Chances are you will not find the perfect location for your playset, and you will have to make some sacrifices. Maybe you don’t have any shade in your yard to put the playset under or there is a pond in your backyard that draws mosquitoes like nothing else.
That’s okay! The location of your playset doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect for your kids to enjoy it. Make the best of what you have, and your kids will be enjoying that playset for years to come.