Railroad ties around swingset

[Craig H. Parker]

We have a swingset in the backyard but the ground around it gets too soaked
from the sprinklers. I want to put border the swingset with railroad ties and
then fill it in with wood chips, both as a cushion for when the kids come down
the slide, and to better absorb moisture.

On its face it seems like such a simple thing, but in thinking about how to
fasten the ties to each other, and the ground, it doesn' seem so simple. Any
thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-Craig Parker

[db...@sprynet.com]

I think i would rather have the kids fall on the grass on the earth than
fall on the old rail road ties??? it would be much softer than hitting
this old wood.

[mike]

"Craig H. Parker" <chpa...@home.net> wrote in message
news:DUij7.673425$K5.71...@news1.rdc1.nj.home.com...

drill holes thru the ties, insert concrete rebar cut to 1' longer than
height of tie(s), pound into ground.

[Craig H. Parker]

The idea is that they would fall on the wood chips and the ties would merely
be containing the wood chips and preventing excessive water from building up
due to the sprinklers.

[mchap]

Sorry to interject, but the ties are an annoyance to the kids who must
navigate over them 20 times a day. I have them around my pool and I regret
it. Accidents will happen. Let the grass go dry and cultivate the children
and there play area. Father of two daughters, here.

Craig H. Parker <chpa...@home.net> wrote in message
news:DUij7.673425$K5.71...@news1.rdc1.nj.home.com...

[Joseph Meehan]

In addition to the problem mchap suggested, I might bring up that the
stuff they use to preserve those ties is not nice stuff. It is dirty and un
healthy. Not the kind of stuff you want around kids.

I saw something recently about a study done on what to put around a play
area to reduce injury. I seem to recall being surprised at the results, but
I can't remember what they were.

--
Dia 's Muire duit

Joseph E. Meehan

"Craig H. Parker" <chpa...@home.net> wrote in message
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[Chris]

"Joseph Meehan" <slig...@hotmail.com> wrote in
<mhnj7.37283$Iq4.17...@typhoon.columbus.rr.com>:

There is a relatively new product made of recycled tires. It is supposed
to be very good for playgrounds.

[Bob]

I've been to "climbing rocks" which are surrounded by round gravel about
3/4" diameter. When you land in it, it really gives, absorbing shock.

Bob

"Joseph Meehan" <slig...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mhnj7.37283$Iq4.17...@typhoon.columbus.rr.com...

[NoOneYouKnow]

"Joseph Meehan" <slig...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mhnj7.37283$Iq4.17...@typhoon.columbus.rr.com...

> In addition to the problem mchap suggested, I might bring up that the
> stuff they use to preserve those ties is not nice stuff. It is dirty and
un
> healthy. Not the kind of stuff you want around kids.
>
> I saw something recently about a study done on what to put around a
play
> area to reduce injury. I seem to recall being surprised at the results,
but
> I can't remember what they were.

I remember something as well, from the feds I think, but I can't find it.
Anyway, the suprising thing, to me anyway, that I remember was that *rock*,
specifically pea rock, was actually a better cushioning material than any
sort of wood mulch or sand. Now that I have actually put pea rock in my
kid's play area, I understand why. Compared to the mulch in our landscaping,
it is _much_ softer since it doesn't compact over time, and just sort of
moves out of the way when you land on it, even better than sand does. Also,
the mulch tends to hold water and get kind of gross in the lower layers -
great for the landscaping, but I would't want my kid playing in it.

---JRE---

[NoOneYouKnow]

Here's a link that may be useful:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/325.pdf

---JRE---

"NoOneYouKnow" <NoOneY...@SpammersSuckBigTime.Com> wrote in message
news:3b8e5e12$0$319$6e49...@news.goldengate.net...

[mchap]

PUBLIC PARKS verses BACK YARDS:

The wood chips and railroad ties are the public parks economical way of
building many large playgrounds. In public parks, rocks are cost prohibitive
and could be thrown by bullys in unsupervised areas, so they use the
undesireble wood chips.. And the railroad ties are 50 to 100 ft away,
surrounding an entire play area, instead of near the playground equipment.
Do not look to public parks as a model for your backyard.

ROCKS ARE GOOD:
I agree with the use of round rocks, (River Rock) when it comes to
childrens play area. They mussh out thus giving a soft landing for trips and
falls.

GRASS IS BEST:
Children and adults love the feel of soft grass for running, tumbling,
sitting .

Bob <bobno...@softhome.net> wrote in message
news:KNsj7.20257$MK5.12...@news1.sttln1.wa.home.com...

[siteseer]

Railroad ties are sprayed with creosote to preserve them, which is a
very noxious substance. As your sprinklers will be soaking them, I
can't help but wonder how much of that will leach out of the moistened
wood where the kids can get a bad dose of it. So try to get some pea
gravel (if you've ever walked through that stuff, you know what a good
cushion it'll make) or untreated cedar chips or whatever, just stay
away from railroad ties

There was an article about a bridge built of treated wood in my area.
Here is a portion of the article, from the Times:

LOWELL -- Rhonda Remesnik first noticed the oily, rainbow smears on
the water in Williams Ditch about two years ago, right after the Lake
County Highway Department built a wooden bridge over the waterway near
her home.
The county built the bridge using timber treated with creosote, an
insecticide that protects wood against fungi, termites and shipworms.
Creosote is the most widely used wood preservative in the nation and
is often used on railroad ties and utility poles.
Drinking water containing high levels of creosote or eating food
contaminated with the product can cause a number of health problems,
according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease
Registry, including burning in the mouth and throat, stomach pains,
severe skin irritation, convulsions and problems with the liver and
kidneys.
"When it heats up, the stuff just plops down into the water," Remesnik
said. "I've yelled at the kids here so much, they don't jump into the
water anymore, but I see them fishing here sometimes and it scares me
to death."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists creosote as a probable
human carcinogen. Still, the agency allows the use of creosote in wood
products that can leak the material into waterways.
That doesn't make sense to Remesnik, who fears people and animals may
become ill because of the creosote. The 30-year-old mother started
having health problems more than a year ago and thinks the creosote
may be the culprit.
"I became really sick last year and was in a wheelchair," the
30-year-old mother said. "They believe it is from exposure to dioxins
or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). I have female problems and now it
is in my bladder and intestines."

In a spastic fit of thought on Thu, 30 Aug 2001 04:01:39 GMT,

"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea -- massive,
difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind
boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it."

-Gene Spafford, 1992

[David Rothman]

ive had my swingset surrounded by rr ties and filled with pea gravel for
years with no problems.

to make the ties secure, we used two tiers of them. the lower tier is
anchored to the ground by drilling holes thru them and then driving in about
18# of common copper plumbing pipe. the ties are attached to either with
long metal spikes driven both vertically (to secure the 2 tiers) and toe
nailed (to secure adjacent ties).

also put a layer of that black material (ive forgotten the name) before u
lay down the pea gravel to inhibit weed growth...

"mchap" <mcha...@planetkc.com> wrote in message
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