# Rubber mulch for play area?



## Whiteshepherds

Has anyone used or seen this rubber mulch for playgrounds? We're building an area for the dogs to run (agility and fetch) and it looks like it might be the perfect solution to mud and saving the lawn. 

Rubber Backyard Playground Mulch & Recycled Rubber Playground Surfacing at Rubber Mulch Products in Connecticut

The woman I spoke with said we don't want the landscape mulch, but she thought the playground grade would be great for dogs. She's sending us a sample but in the meantime I wondered if anyone has seen or used it?


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## shannonrae

I would be afraid they would eat it . . . obstructions are no fun! :/


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## Catu

shannonrae said:


> I would be afraid they would eat it . . . obstructions are no fun! :/


The same tought crossed my mind only reading the title. You can watch them like a hawk and still have an accident in half second.


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## Whiteshepherds

shannonrae said:


> I would be afraid they would eat it . . . obstructions are no fun! :/


The woman did mention that, it's one of the reasons she's sending a sample so I can see if they have any interest in it. 

When they were younger they both tried to eat their share of sticks, stones etc. etc. but neither one of them does this anymore. I'm hoping they just take a few sniffs and walk away. (fingers crossed)


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## Catu

My 3 years old is what I would consider "safe" too. She earned to sleep uncrated since she was 1,5 years old. Last night she shredded to pieces my waist bag because it happened to have a couple grain of kibbles in a pocket. Even bird's poo can make that rubber too dangerous to my taste, even for the safest dog.


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## Whiteshepherds

Catu said:


> * Even bird's poo can make that rubber too dangerous to my taste, even* for the safest dog.


Haven't even thought about them licking it and getting the pieces stuck on their tongues and then swallowing it. _sigh_

Any other ideas for a running surface that might work outside?


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## GSD_Xander

There's an indoor dog park up in Portland - I haven't been to it but their web site has good pictures and they use a fake grass type material. 

Maybe something like that would work? I was surprised at how "real" it looked on the pictures - not like the astroturf I remember. 

The playground down the street uses a type of wood chips that are nice - they don't cause splinters and they're not like mulch that you would use in a flower bed. I am pretty sure they're not bark but just - wood of some type. Those might pose the same issue as the rubber chips.

There is also gravel - it comes in a lot of sizes - or even sand. You could do a mix of something like that.


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## wildo

Bumping this really old thread...

Whiteshepherds- did you ever follow through on the rubber stuff? I've been considering the equestrian version of the product- similar to this: SureFoot Arena Rubber Mulch for a small (3648 sqft) agility area in my back mud- errr.. yard.


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## NancyJ

I bought a product that I am really liking myself. It is cypress playground chips. For a flat play area. It dries quickly and does not hold moisture nearly as much as shredded mulch) My dogs RUN over it multiple times a day when I play fetch. It is about $35 a yard and I bought 10 yards for a 1000 SF area. I have heard the rubber can get really hot.

This is not a dog pen where the dogs are housed but it is doing a marvelous job at keeping mud OUT OF MY HOUSE.


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## Zoeys mom

We took the pea gravel route for our 2 who had destroyed our grass and created a swamp. It's been 2 years now almost and so far so good. We have no mud, picking up poo is easy, and it doesn't seem to hurt their feets. The size of the stone is tiny enough to pass if eaten but big enough to make accidental eating unlikely. Probably wouldn't train on it but just to run out and potty type area works well


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## wildo

jocoyn said:


> I bought a product that I am really liking myself. It is cypress playground chips. For a flat play area. It dries quickly and does not hold moisture nearly as much as shredded mulch) My dogs RUN over it multiple times a day when I play fetch. It is about $35 a yard and I bought 10 yards for a 1000 SF area. I have heard the rubber can get really hot.
> 
> This is not a dog pen where the dogs are housed but it is doing a marvelous job at keeping mud OUT OF MY HOUSE.


Thanks for this! In fact, I just found something similar here: Friendly Stone mulch For Dogs



> Also, we run our dogs on a field of loam and cedar mulch at a agility field I go to...Never had a cut paw, in fact, it is ideal running turf...


I actually was searching around to see if mulch was acceptable for agility surfaces, and that's when I found this thread. The rubber would cost around $1139 while cedar mulch @ $29/ cubic yard would be only $641. It's nice to know others have had success with mulch.

That said- the rubber is guaranteed for life. Jocoyn- how often do you have to replace the mulch?


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## NancyJ

I just got it a few weeks ...So I don't know but cypress is one of the longer lasting materials so time will tell. Ecologically the rubber mulch may be a win in that it is recycling a landfill material.

we went back and forth as pea gravel was another option but it is very heavy and if you are "done with it" you have a major mess to clean up where mulch just kind of composts.

I think your calculation of $641 is low. You are basing it on a 2inch thickness. I would go 4 inches for sure because a running dog can kick up a lot and with 4 inches my dirt does not get exposed after a play session and I have to rake once a week to tidy.

Unless you have a solid surface dirt, and leaves, etc WILL get into the gravel, mulch, rubber stuff etc and cleaning is a challenge. Just the nature of the beast I think. The rubber is intriguing.....perhaps a future consideration.......But I really had heard that it gets hot and sticky in the summertime and we have a lot of that.


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## wildo

Good information. Man, if I need to put in 4" of the mulch- I'm already at the price of the rubber. Of course the rubber doesn't take into account the 4" of compacted stone recommended as a base. The heat shouldn't be too big of a deal since my backyard is almost entirely shade. The rubber would almost never see direct sunlight. Hmm... choices. I do agree the mulch seems like the best way to go in the short term- but if I have to pay that much $$$ every two or three years- then the rubber might just pay for itself on the first iteration.


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## jprice103

Zoeys mom said:


> We took the pea gravel route for our 2 who had destroyed our grass and created a swamp. It's been 2 years now almost and so far so good. We have no mud, picking up poo is easy, and it doesn't seem to hurt their feets. The size of the stone is tiny enough to pass if eaten but big enough to make accidental eating unlikely. Probably wouldn't train on it but just to run out and potty type area works well


That is what we were thinking for our backyard mud pit. We have given up on growing grass and were thinking of alternatives. Glad to hear that it is a viable solution!!! My biggest concern is the resale value of our house. We are hoping to move in 3 years, and don't know how many people want a gravel back yard!


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## Whiteshepherds

wildo said:


> Whiteshepherds- did you ever follow through on the rubber stuff? I've been considering the equestrian version of the product- similar to this: SureFoot Arena Rubber Mulch for a small (3648 sqft) agility area in my back mud- errr.. yard.


The samples we got had tiny pieces of wire in them and that was the playground grade.


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## wildo

Wow- that's surprising!! I have no idea what route I'm going to go at this point, but I'll be sure to request a sample before I make any move! I know the one I linked to did say this on their FAQ page:



> *Is there any steel content in Surefoot?*
> 
> No. Surefoot 1/2 inch chips are smaller than most others. The smaller the chips, the less likely they are to contain embedded steel wire. To ensure that all wire is removed, Surefoot chips pass through 4 unique, state of the art magnets during the manufacturing process. This extra attention literally ensures no steel content. In fact, Surefoot is guaranteed to be 99.9% steel-free.


*[EDIT]*- Yes, I did catch their grammatical mistake. "...literally ensures no steel content- acceptable to be .1% steel."


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## Jax08

I would not do rubber for a personal area. They will chew on it, they can't guarantee that there isn't other materials than rubber in it. Rubber mulch works good in horse arena's but they dont' get a chance to try and eat it. If your dogs chew on rubber kongs, it's a good chance they could take a liking to the rubber mulch.


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## NancyJ

If you are going to put down gravel you probably want to put down a layer of crusher run under the gravel.


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## wildo

Jax08- do you have documentation of that? I'd like to think that a shredded tire (even treated) looks/smells/tastes a lot different than really any rubber-like chew toy. I mean- sure, it could happen. But I just can't imagine any dog running on a rubber surface scooping up loads of rubber shavings as they run along... Like I said- not saying you're wrong- just saying it doesn't seem reasonable to me. BTW- did you recently add your signature? Oddly, I don't recall seeing it before.


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## jprice103

jocoyn said:


> If you are going to put down gravel you probably want to put down a layer of crusher run under the gravel.


What is crusher run?


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## NancyJ

Crusher run is a mix of varying sizes of small gravel and crushed gravel to sand size that they use for driveway bases etc. It compacts down to form a base for other materials. It is very cheap.


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## jprice103

Ok...thanks. Just willing to do anything to end the tracks of mud in the house!!!


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## wildo

jocoyn said:


> Crusher run is a mix of varying sizes of small gravel and crushed gravel to sand size that they use for driveway bases etc. It compacts down to form a base for other materials. It is very cheap.


Probably akin to "stone dust" though with more aggregate.


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## wildo

Wow! I got a price quote back from the rubber place. 64' x 56' x 2" deep, delivered:



> Your area of 3,648 sq. ft. at 2" deep
> requires 8.5 tons of rubber.
> 
> The total cost is $2,830.00 including delivery charge. Delivery will be via
> one ton supersacks on pallets.


Ouch.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom

We put rubber mulch in one of your front yard shrub beds,expensive and didnt last.


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## wildo

It didn't last in a shrub bed? Did the bed see any traffic? That's surprising.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom

WE put it about 8 inches deep. It just kept settling and by the next year late spring there really wasnt anything left. Traffic was what is normal for landscape around the house.


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## NancyJ

Rubber mulch is heavy so it migrates down into the dirt. You need to put a base under it from what I have been told. 2 inches is not a lot either.


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## wildo

Yep- I had read that it needs to go over a base of compacted stone and that 2" was recommended for horse arenas.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom

jocoyn said:


> Rubber mulch is heavy so it migrates down into the dirt. You need to put a base under it from what I have been told. 2 inches is not a lot either.


Explains why it didnt work. We had it in 8 inches deep.Probably plastic or other landscape fabric would have worked.


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