Basics of Playground Equipment Repair

When you own or manage a playground, playground equipment repair becomes inevitable, especially if your facility experiences high traffic. A well-used playground will incur wear and tear, regardless of your equipment's brand. Even the highest quality playground equipment needs to be repaired at some point. It is important that this gets done before accidents occur. So, along with playground equipment repair, you also need to be vigilant about doing playground inspections.

There are basics to playground equipment repair that you can follow when you want immediate fixes. Of course, it is still ideal that you get a professional team to do inspections and repairs for you.

First here is to get inspections done by a certified playground inspector. This person has the expertise in spotting problem areas, especially those that may not be so obvious to untrained eyes. This person should do your comprehensive and operation inspections. It's ok if you or your staff does the weekly routine inspections, as long as you've consulted with your certified inspector about the items to watch out for.

Before anything, remember that when it comes to your users' safety, it is always better to replace equipment, instead of just doing repairs. This is especially true for extensive damage, such as rusting and disintegrating parts.

Then, for immediate playground equipment repair, have these tools ready: sandpaper, hammer, crescent wrench, screwdriver, nails, concrete repair kit, paint, replacement playground parts, nuts, bolts and screws.

When you've inspected for problem areas, the first thing to do is replace damaged or missing parts. It is best to source out replacement parts from authorized dealers. While you can get parts that fit from another sources, this might not always the best for your equipment.

Next, tighten everything that might be loosened with use. This includes all nuts, bolts, screws and fasteners. Nails may be loosened too. For this, use your hammer to put them back in place.

The surface of your playground may also experience some disintegration, like cracks. This can cause kids to trip up and hurt themselves. To repair this, you need an asphalt repair kit. Clean cracks and partially fill them with sand. Fill the rest of the space with the filler paste that comes with your kit. Flatten the surface with a putty knife.

Remember to always check with your certified playground inspector, even when you've done repairs. You need to ensure that your basic playground equipment repair is good enough to endure regular playground usage.