Commercial Playground FAQ

Our playgrounds last for decades. That’s why we have a lifetime warranty on our support posts and our Bolt-N-Go fastening system. Just one of our Bolt-N-Go inserts can hold 7500 lbs. We are  family owned and operated business and our family name is on every playground we build. We build commercial playgrounds to last by choosing only the most robust materials, rigorously load test each product and design everything to stand the test of time.  Although our playgrounds, freestanding play equipment, stainless slides and swings last decades, we find customers tend to replace playgrounds in general after 15-20 years to keep up with changing playground standards and new play products.

Henderson Recreation has been building commercial playgrounds for generations and designing playgrounds to last for generations. Our Bolt-N-Go direct-drive CNC allocated connection is low profile and super durable. Henderson doesn’t use unsightly clamps or drive pins to prevent clamps from slipping. Each Bolt-N-Go connection can hold 7500 lbs. Our durability is backed by one of the most comprehensive warranties in the commercial playground industry. You can learn more about our warranty here. You can expect your playground to last 20+ years or more with proper maintenance.

Each commercial playground project is different, with so many variables that can affect your playground budget. Henderson Recreation’s Playground Guide can help you establish a realistic budget. Most playground projects, including shipping, site preparation, playground installation, and resilient playground protective surfacing, start at $25,000 then increase from there.  A decent-sized budget for a small community project is $50,000 to $75,000. Large schools with hundreds of children may need a budget above $100,000 or more. To get started, talk to one of our professional playground representatives. They can provide advice based on your goals and budget and provide you with a viable playground solution.

Henderson Recreation and our professional playground dealers know how to work with limited budgets. Our team of knowledgeable playground experts will design solutions exclusively for you. We will not offer you some playground or play equipment from page 20 in a catalog that doesn’t fit your needs. Each playspace is different, requiring one of your skilled professional sales representatives to help you configure the best solution with your limited budget. Everyone wants the best bang for their bucks, and we can help you achieve the most play-value possible that suits your needs, goals, and play space. Give us a call at (800) 265-5462, or contact one of our professional playground dealers on our website.

Definitely! All of our commercial playgrounds are designed to meet ASTM F1487 are ADA compliant. Depending on the play space’s size, your requirements, and site conditions, Henderson Recreation can customize your commercial playground with wheelchair transfer systems, wheelchair ramps, or a combination of both. Your playground will be accessible to accommodate children and people of all ability levels. Contact our playground dealer representative in your area or Henderson Recreation directly to design and choose an inclusive commercial playground.

Annexes in CSA standards are supplementary information and are not part of the playground standard’s prescriptive or required portion. Although not required in most provinces, except Ontario, Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) aims toward accessibility for all Ontarians by 2025. Many large and even some small municipalities have taken the initiative to require compliance with Annex H.

Even though Annex H is supplementary, the language is prescriptive. Prescriptive language such as shall, may, and recommended clarifies for playground manufacturers, inspectors, and installers what clauses apply for accessibility compliance.  Henderson Recreation encourages and supports all forms of inclusive playgrounds and highly recommends all customers to consider Annex H compliant playgrounds and play spaces for all new playground projects. 

Modeled off the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Annex H provides clauses for designing and evaluating accessible play equipment. Annex H uses prescriptive language, like most standards. Annex H sets a minimum accessibility requirement for all newly constructed playgrounds. The goal of Annex H is to ensure children and people of all abilities, including parents or caregivers with accessibility issues, are included when they go to a playground.

Many local businesses, community groups and organizations in your community often give donations for new commercial playground projects.  Tell them about your playground project, show them the 3D renderings and the story or reasons you are raising funds for a new playground. Taking the initiative to ask people to help will often surprise you on how many people do—offering public recognition, plaques, donor names on a sign or play panel will increase their incentive to give.

Yes. Many of our dealers prepare the site, install the playground or play equipment and install the resilient safety surface. They will work with you to find the best play value solutions for you, provide you with conceptual 3D renderings and plan views and guide you through the entire process of purchasing and installing a commercial playground.

Henderson Recreation can help you plan phases based on your budget or other constraints. We can scale the designs to meet your needs and goals—our skilled playground specialists will help you get the best play value for the children.  These specialists will help generate the right solution for you and provide you with all of the numbers, specifications, and visuals that you will need to complete your story for reaching out to donors.

A community build involves bringing people together to assemble the playground equipment under our skilled installation crew’s leadership. A community-built commercial playground is an excellent opportunity for residents to gain a sense of pride and ownership for this new play space in their community. Community builds with volunteers help save on installation costs, and because it is a community project, often, vandalism is significantly reduced.

Yes, Henderson Recreation has built hundreds of stringer/floated playgrounds with no holes or cement. We use a ground network of 5 inch heavy duty “C” channel that interconnects the entire playground into one large welded unit.  If your site has poor digging conditions, contact one of our professional playground representatives to help you customize a design that works perfectly for your play space. 

Henderson Recreation has cooperative purchasing agreements established with HGACBuy and BuyBoard.

Good question. The shipping cost is calculated based on the weight of the playground equipment and the shipping crate’s size, and the shipping location. Shipping costs can differ significantly from product to product. Henderson Recreation or one of our playground dealers can provide you with a shipping quote.

Henderson Recreation ships all our commercial playgrounds and play equipment by common carrier. In most situations, your playground is shipped directly to your playground dealer, contractor, or installer’s yard, where they have the equipment to unload the large skids with a fork truck.

Henderson Recreation can ship the playground directly to your play space site.  The day before or the morning of your playground delivery date, the freight carrier will call you to schedule a delivery time-frame. Most freight carriers give you one free hour to unload your playground equipment. If you are late at the delivery site or take longer than one hour to unload the playground skids, the freight carrier may charge you for the extra time.  You will need to ensure you have a fork truck or other means of unloading the playground skids. A fork truck rated for 5000 lbs (2268 Kg) is highly recommended and will make short work with unloading your playground skids. Note: The truck driver is not required to offload your playground equipment skids and does not have the equipment to help you offload the skids either. Henderson Recreation’s playground skids are extremely heavy, often 3000 lbs plus, and cannot be lifted off by hand. A forklift truck is required to unload your commercial playground skids on site.

You, your playground dealer, playground installer, or contractor must be present for the delivery with the correct equipment required to unload the heavy skids.

Henderson shippers take great care in packaging your playground or play equipment to prevent damage during shipping. However, if on a rare occasion your playground does arrive damaged, Henderson Recreation will be happy to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We strongly recommend you examine your playground’s shipping package and equipment in detail for damages before signing for the delivery. Also, check your piece count and compare it to the piece count listed on the delivery receipt to ensure all your playground products have arrived.  If you notice any products are damaged or something is missing, note it on the driver’s copy of the delivery receipt and call our office at 1-800-265-5462.

Henderson Recreation video records all our playgrounds and other products while they are loaded on to the delivery trucks before shipping to ensure that your product arrives the same way it left our plant.

Playground installation times vary on the commercial playground’s size and site complexity. Professional playground installers often install playgrounds and play equipment in one to five days. Some of our dealers also do site work and install resilient safety surfaces. The surfacing can take another one to three days based on the size and complexity of the installation work required.

Yes, Henderson Recreation can retrofit or add additions to your existing Henderson Playground. Retrofitting can be a more cost-effective solution than replacing the entire playground.  We can help you develop solutions to replace components or add to the playstructure to create something fresh and new. Of course, all new editions will be compliant with the latest ASTM or CSA playground standards. Give us a call, email us, or contact one of our knowledgeable playground dealers to learn more!

There is no best resilient surface. The type of playground resilient or protective surface you use depends on cost, accessibility, maintenance, performance, safety, and fall height requirements. You want to get the best surface for your situation because falling is the number one cause of injuries on the playground. In fact, according to a particular study done by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 79% of all injuries on public playground equipment are the result of falls, primarily unto the underlying surfacing.

The critical fall height measurement of surfacing’s maximum performance shows at what height a surface fails to meet the safety requirement of ASTM F1292.  You can ask your playground surfacing manufacturer for their International Playground Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) Certification with recent impact test results per ASTM F1292.  However, the gold standard for testing your resilient surfacing’s performance, compliance, and safety is to have your surfacing field-tested before opening your playground to the public and have it field-tested yearly.

Playground resilient surfaces fail beyond a certain fall height when the field or lab test yields a peak deceleration of 200 g or a head injury criteria (HIC) of 1000. For example, suppose your maximum fall height on your playground is 9 feet, and your resilient surfacing has a peak deceleration greater than 200g or a HIC greater than 1000. In that case, your resilient surface fails and is not compliant with ASTM F1292. A failing resilient safety surface puts children and users at risk of a severe or life-threatening injury.

All surfaces degrade over time and lose their resiliency. So if your brand new surface is close to 200g or 1000 (HIC), odds are it will not be compliant in a few years or less. If your existing playground resilient safety surface tests with numbers close to 200g and 1000 HIC, then you may need to top up your surface, do some maintenance or have it replaced. Hence, our recommendation to have your resilient surface field checked annually with a device that can accurately measure the g-forces and HIC. The following FAQ’s will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular resilient safety surfaces available for commercial playground equipment.