CASE STUDY – Little Oaks Nursery, Malvern, Worcestershire
Little oaks nursery in Malvern is one of Worcestershire’s leading Nursery’s with a total outdoor play area of more than 500m2.
The project was to create a 300m2 area for the children to safely play without the risk of muddy clothes or cuts and grazes from poor terrain.
Consumer Grass set about converting what was essentially a muddy and hazardous area into an amazing and usable space for the children to enjoy for many years to come. The project had various challenges with undulating ground, poor drainage and lots of play equipment with critical fall height to factor in.
“Adam and his team are professional and listened to our needs with regards to what we needed to improve the areas and also Health and Safety requirements during the work being completed, whilst the nurseries were still in operation.”
PHASE 1 – PREPARATION
This involves excavation of the whole area using commercial plant machinery. Various areas being further excavated due to the poor substrate and therefore inadequate drainage.
The ground is levelled ready for the infill.
We then install framework along the perimeter and the whole area is also installed with geotextile membrane.
PHASE 2 – INFILL
Type 1 roadstone is used as the sub-base which covers the entire area. This is a minimum of 100mm but much more in places on this project.
20mm Shock pad is then installed in all of the fall area around the play equipment.
The stone is compacted ready for the next material.
Granite dust covers all of the stone as the last layer before the grass, we work off a thickness of about 20mm throughout. The granite dust is compacted and then we “screed” the entire area so that is remains smooth and the height matches perfectly with the framework.
PHASE 3 – FITTING
At Consumer Grass all of our range of Artificial Grass comes with a comprehensive 10 year warranty. This project was installed with our 30mm variant which we find is the perfect height for Nursery’s and schools.
The joins are bonded with a 2 part polymer for extra strength and the perimeter edges are screwed firmly in place making sure the grass cannot be pulled away by and mischievous children!
The grass is then brushed with a mechanical broom making sure the pile stands up to attention and the install is now ready for use.
“…we were happy with their work and the finished product. The difference their work has made to the children’s outdoor experience is immense. The children now have a safer and more creative environment to explore their outdoor learning.”
