Question

My husband and I are split on whether it’s better to have traditional wood mulch or grass underneath our new play set. Does anyone have any experience with either? Thanks!  

Answer 1

The grass will eventually look crappy.  

Answer 2

When we were growing up we always had grass but my dad really hated mowing around it.  

Answer 3

We put ours on grass. The grass underneath the fort area is gone and there are patches gone under the 2 swings, everything else is fine.  

Comments

@beaton same. But I'm tired of the small mud patch under the swings now. I'm considering options

Answer 4

If you do mulch you might have to make an edge with timbers or something, or the mulch will all end up in the grass!  

Answer 5

We did rubber mulch

Answer 6

I second rubber mulch. It’s been really great for us!  

Answer 7

My hub put rubber mulch under the playset- it’s awesome!  

Answer 8

Rubber mulch.  

Answer 9

We literally just put swing set up today with the wood barrier. Landscaping company is laying “playground mulch” tomorrow. They recommended it to us and said it’s basically regular mulch but with bigger wood pieces and less dirt.  

Comments

@aeschines what company installed your playset?  

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@gumbotil10 my husband and my dad lol Took them about 5 hours.  

Answer 10

We did mulch! When we looked at rubber mulch it's was crazy expensive.  

Answer 11

We have grass. I hate it!  

Answer 12

We have a Woodplay. When we bought ours from Woodland Play Sets, they specifically told us not to use mulch, because it will eventually rot away the wood at the bottom of the play set. They said grass is the best option.  

Answer 13

Grass under it sucks I hate mowing day !  

Answer 14

We have rubber mulch in the playhouse under the slide and grass everywhere else.  

Answer 15

I had to put in a wood barrier and level off the yard and then did mulch. Make sure you put a weed barrier down before mulch or you will have tons of weeds, like I do. I think the mulch is annoying because it has to be replaced a lot but I can see how mowing around it would also be annoying.  

Comments

@bellina mowing around it is the bane of my existence! . Every week I curse that play set.  

Answer 16

Not grass. It’ll just die and become a mud pit. I’d recommend rubber mulch. It’s more expensive up front but lasts a long time and is softer and safer for kids to play on.  

Comments

@broken42 absolutely!  

Answer 17

We have rubber mulch- love it!  

Answer 18

We have grass BUT we put this type of rubber mat under the traffic areas (swings, base of slide, etc). The grass grows through (it’s hard to even tell they’re there now) but it isn’t muddy. They are low enough that I just mow right over them.  

Comments

@locklear this is amazing

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Kate, it’s not perfect, but SO much better than it would be! And a heck of a lot cheaper than mulch.  

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@locklear seriously, it’s a great fix, hoping to get a year or two out of the set so this will work great

Answer 19

We did rubber mulch. It’s nicer to walk and run around on.  

Answer 20

We have grass. Yes, it died under the fort and under swings, but I was unwilling to mulch such a big portion of our yard - I don’t have the type of yard where that would work.  

Comments

We’ve had ours for four years - it’s not a mud pit - but our soil is very hard. It does get muddy after a big rain / snow, there’s no denying that. It’s definitely not a perfect situation, but I don’t mind it for now.  

Answer 21

We have Mulch under all play areas

Answer 22

I say mulch way better!  

Answer 23

We have been having the same discussion here. We have had grass under it for the last four years.