When customers first enquire about installing outdoor gym equipment for their park or school grounds, they often ask for clarification on surfacing requirements in order to comply with current safety standard EN16630.
There are a variety of options for safety surfacing, and we offer all of them, but it is important to note that most are expensive and will therefore add significant cost to your overall project.
So firstly, we’d like to clarify that in most cases safety surfacing is not needed, it is purely added for aesthetics. In fact, the only time it is required, is when the gym equipment is over a certain height and most of the Fresh Air Fitness range falls well below this height.
28th January 2025
In the standard for outdoor gym equipment EN16630, it talks about ‘Critical Fall Height’ and it is this measurement that determines the need for safety surfacing. If the critical fall height is greater than 2.5m, you’ll need to have special surfacing in place. However, the safety standard also states that if an adult (more than 1.4m tall) is hanging from a piece of equipment to use it correctly, e.g. bars for pull ups, traversing a horizontal ladder etc. you can subtract 1m from the overall critical fall height and this new measurement will identify if surfacing is needed. In this instance, anything 1.5m or more in height will still require surfacing.
The critical fall height does also change depending on what the gym is being installed into. If the installation is going into grass the critical fall height is 1.5m, from the highest hanging point, meaning equipment 1.5m or more will require safety surfacing. Whereas many other harder surfaces, e.g. tarmac, the critical fall height it is 1m.
To avoid any confusion or compliance issues and to ensure safe use, we have designed all our equipment to ensure safety surfacing is not needed. You can fit our equipment into almost any surface without any need for safety surfacing, if the ground is nice and level.
However, there is one exception – our ever popular Big Rig, incorporating eight separate workout stations and multiple pull up bars for a full-body workout.
The Big Rig has been designed to allow calisthenics workouts, and as such high ladders and pull up bars are required to provide variety of workout and to challenge even the most regular gym goer.
Even the Big Rig, with its hanging height of 1.4m, can be installed into grass, without the need for safety surfacing, however, it will need safety surfacing if installed into concrete or tarmac. Talk to our experts today and we’ll discuss your project and requirements.
Taller than 2.5m?
Finally, it’s important to note that some outdoor gym equipment providers do sell equipment higher than 2.5 meters, and this type of equipment not only requires safety surfacing, but the surfacing must be impact-absorbing, at least 200mm thick.
For children, the rules are similar to those outlined above for adults, although the 1m doesn’t need to be subtracted from hanging equipment. The greatest distance a child could fall should not exceed 3m.
That means you our entire range can go onto tarmac or grass quite happily, since it’s all well under 3m in height.
You may already have a particular surface choice in mind due to the overall look you wish to create. At Fresh Air Fitness, we offer a broad line-up of solutions, including groundworks where this is needed. Completing groundworks while fitting surfacing is always a good idea if the site is in an area that’s prone to flooding.
Read more about our surfacing solutions, they range from rubber mulch to grass tiles, wet pour and tarmac. We offer the full outdoor gym service from design through to installation, ensuring that you have the equipment on the right surface, at the right height, in the right place.
Fresh Air Fitness are the UK’s leading providers of outdoor gym equipment. Our exercise products are used in many settings across the country, from parks to schools, residential settings, prisons and motorway service areas.
Get in touch with us to see what we could do for your community. With safety and quality constantly front of mind, we comply with all relevant standards and are always happy to discuss issues such as height regulations and surfacing types with our customers so that they make the best and safest choices for their outdoor gyms.
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