EVERPLAY - NO Equal

Chemistry, The adhesive forms the bond between the rubber granules.

• The adhesive must remain strong – not allowing bonds to break for 15-25 year.
• The adhesive must resist degradation through exposure to UV light causing loss of flexibility.
• EVERPLAY utilizes a unique polyurethane binder that is UV stable and has been the same formulation since 1985.
• The adhesive is moisture cured and must be insensitive to moisture changes during installation, causing “foaming” and a loss is integrity of the bond.
• The adhesive must cure through a range of humidity without draining down, resulting in loose granules and a failed surface.
• The adhesive must cure through a range of temperatures 0^o to 40^oC (32^o to 105^oFwithout draining down, resulting in loose granules and failed surface.

 Rubber, Every PIP consists of new and recycled rubber.

• New Rubber such as EPDM is defined in ASTM F2157 to include a minimum of 20% and a maximum of 26% of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM).
• Although EPDM itself is stable to ozone & UV, not all EPDM rubber is UV stable for colour. Owners and their designers must assure themselves that the colours they select are stable.
• Recycled rubber can be anything from industrial scrap, belts, hoses, and failed production, to rubber from the fully cured tire rubber that is recycled at end of life.
• Tires from cars and trucks have a history of durability and difficulty to dispose of, therefore the Owner should use this to ensure they have quality rubber.
• Owners should request an attestation from their supplier that all recycled rubber be exclusively from North American car or truck tires.
  

Installation: Weather is a significant factor leading to failures of installed systems.

• Heat is a catalyst causing the surface to cure faster and might affect the finished texture.
• Cold slows the cure and low temperatures 0^o to10^o C (32^o to 50^o F) during the 24 to 48 hour cure time can cause the binder to “sink or drain down” and cause the surface to have loose granules and poor bond in the future resulting in failure.
• Temperature fluctuations of greater than 8C (15F} during the cure time, such as overnight, can result in cracking. These cracks can close during the heat of the day, but the surface looks like shattered glass in the cool morning and evening.
• Accelerating the cure through the application of water in systems such as EVERPLAY will counter the potential for cracking during the cure period.
• Water is a chemical and very necessary to cure the moisture cured binders. Generally, water, available as humidity (at 40-60% RH) is sufficient, but that is not the case with every day of installation. Some climates are extremely dry, while others have rainy seasons with rain every day.
• Lack of humidity will retard the cure time causing the binder to “sink or drain down” which will cause the surface to have loose granules and poor bond in the future resulting in failure manifesting as holes in the wear layer.
• Rain during the installation could accelerate the cure or worse, wash the binder from the rubber granules before they can be bonded to each other. Again, a failure is in the future of the wear layer.
• There are systems, such as EVERPLAY that welcomes water and water is used during the installation process to accelerate the cure and fix the surface quickly.
• Playgrounds are installed out of doors and will be subject to weather events that will cause the accumulation of water. Some PIP binders begin to swell when submerged for longer periods of time causing swelling. Repair of the swelling of the surface is a warrantable item in all instances.

Installation Technique is critical to the success of any Poured-In-Place system

• As pointed out above, the weather conditions at the time of installation and during the cure will affect the outcome of the system. The crew chief must have critical knowledge of how daily and changing weather conditions must be dealt with for their specific system.
• A crew chief must understand relevant standards. Prior to installation of the EVERPLAY, the crew chief ensures that the base material is appropriate and properly compacted, the playground equipment is spaced to meet the layout in CSA Z614, slide exits heights are correct and the fall heights are as anticipated, and the crew has enough materials to ensure compliance with contract documents.
• Poured-In-Place systems are batch systems and must be consistently measured, mixed, placed and finished. This can be boring, but to ensure excellent performance and functional longevity, the first batch to the last batch must be identical. This is where the quality of the crew and pride of workmanship and the art to Poured-In-Place become evident with EVERPLAY.
• Although not top of list for many people, the Health and Safety of the crew is essential to EVERPLAY and the crew chief. It is for this reason that all members of the crew need appropriate training in all aspects of Health and Safety. The Safety Data Sheets for all components will dictate the precautions and PPE that are to be used during all aspects of the installation.

Compliance Standards and contract specifications dictate performance

• Poured-In-Place systems are generally a high capital investment that needs to always comply with impact attenuation. Premature failure to the impact attenuation can render the entire playground to be a failure.
• Poured-In-Place systems are generally selected to ensure accessibility to the play structures. The CSA Z614, Annex H provides physical measurements for compliance. Additional accessibility information, including a suggested 22^o transition from the PIP into EWF can be found is ASTM F2479.
• It is important that warranties include compliance to standards for the entire warranty period. EVERPLAY provides a minimum 5-year warranty, with an option for 10 years and include compliance to all performance requirements. The only exclusions are acts of god, vandalism, and settlements of base.
  

Maintenance: Every system supplier must provide maintenance instructions.

• The EVERPLAY system is designed for easy maintenance or no maintenance. Generally, the only maintenance is to remove debris from the surface by sweeping or blowing. History has demonstrated that the ease of maintenance  EVERPLAY , vs any other system including EWF, making EVERPLAY an exceptional choice.

Repairs: PIP systems are unique and the need for repairs can be a nightmare for the O/O.

• Generally when a PIP surface needs repairs in multiple areas. This could mean the surface has reached its end of life. Site testing will determine the options the O/O has.

• Repairs are a major consideration for many Poured-In-Place systems, with filling of holes and re-topping of worn surfaces. Repairs must comply with original standards and contract documents. Testing after repair is essential.

Test Data: Every system supplier must be able to provide System Test Data.

• A playground system is only worth the investment, if it continues to comply with contract documents and standards for 15 to 20 years.
• The supplier must be able to provide third party test results for ASTM F3351, 3- temperature testing for 4.25m, 4.9 and 5.5m (14’, 16’ and 18’) for g values at approximately <100 and the HIC values at approximately <700. For EVERPLAY  the data is presented here.
• The EVERPLAY ASTM F3351 test data indicates the capability of meeting the needs of emerging playground designs.
• More important than the Laboratory Testing of samples is testing of the installed surface in the field with ASTM F3313. This takes place at the time of installation and for more than 10 years following.
• The EVERPLAY is providing testing for 3 sites, Crosby Park, Mt. Pleasant Park and Big Park. For Crosby and Mt. Pleasant test data at the time of installation and June 2021 are provided to show that in more than a decade, the EVERPLAY changes very little in its impact attenuation performance.
• The Big Park reports for 2021 show results for multiple structures ranging from under 5 to 5-12, swings to spinners to climbers bringing challenge and risk to play after 10 years.
• EVERPLAY test results show significantly better performance than required in the CSA Z614.