Mulch
Benefits of Colored Hardwood Mulch:
Few things beautify a landscape and add more value to your home than accenting your flower and shrub beds with vibrant color-enriched hardwood mulch. Mulch offers several benefits, including, temperature moderation, moisture retention for the soil, as well as a beautiful aesthetic. The most common form of mulch is shredded hardwood or bark mulch. What most people don’t realize is that mulch is a soil additive that replaces organic matter and adds nutrients to the soil. There are many types of mulch, including leaf hummus, and composted material, which provide enormous benefits to the landscape when used appropriately.
Why Use Colored Hardwood Mulch?
The contrasting colors of hard wood mulch, creates a beautiful, natural, and tidy affect. In addition to the beauty, mulches provide a number of other benefits. Mulches are also known to reduce weeds by decreasing the total amount of sun light the soil receives creating reduced seed germination. Mulching new areas usually requires 2" of mulch the first and second years. Then 1" after a good base has been established. These advantages, along with the attractiveness of mulch, have resulted in a variety of mulches available in a wide range of colors.
Summary of the Environmental Benefits of Colored Hardwood Mulch:
- Available in a wide variety of textures and colors to choose from.
- Insulates tender roots from temperature extremes, keeping the soil warm during cold spells and cool during warm spells.
- Conserves soil moisture by reducing water evaporation rates and moisture loss.
- Encourages water infiltration into the soil and reduces runoff.
- Reduces erosion caused by wind and rain.
- Protects against soil compaction by reducing the impact of rain directly on the surface.
- Promotes favorable soil composition for healthy root growth.
Bio-Carpet™ Playground Safety Surfaces
Playgrounds Can Be Dangerous
The Consumer Public Safety Commission reports that a child is seriously injured in a playground accident every two minutes. Many of these injuries lead to legal action against owners and operators involved with the playground. One clearly identified villain of these injuries is the surface upon which the child falls.
The Consumer Public Safety Commission recommends that a fall surface not allow "g forces" to exceed 200. Impacts of about 200 g can cause serious bone, head, and neurological injury.
The following test chart shows that Bio-Carpet's™ performance is far superior to other commonly used playground surface materials.
Legend:
Red = 12 in. Bio-Carpet™
Green = 2 3/8 in. Rubber Mat
Purple = 12 in. Fine Sand
Yellow = 12 in. Coarse Sand
Blue = 12 in. Pea Gravel
Depth based on fall height of 11 ft. Lower fall height of play equipment may require less material depth. Please call for complete ASTM test results.
Bio-Carpet Access™ brings playgrounds into full compliance with ADA and offers physically challenged children access to play areas by way of wheelchairs and walkers.
Technical Data:
Bio-Carpet™ is engineered from 100% natural virgin cypress wood fiber with no chemical additives or contaminants. Cypress is a hardwood species that resists rotting, splintering, and crumbling.
Cypress hardwood will far outlast most other hardwood species.
Different from "mulch," which is primarily tree bark, Bio-Carpet™ is engineered from cypress wood and will not retain moisture or rapidly decompose like cypress mulch.
Bio-Carpet Access™ engineered fibers "lock" together, creating a stable surface during high wind and rain.
Bio-Carpet Access™ is randomly sized, approximately ten times longer than its width.
Sieve Analysis:
Sieve Size
Minimum Passing
3/4 in. - 99%
3/8 in. - 72%
Number 4 - 43%
Number 10 - 16%
Number 60 - 1%
Bio-Carpet™ has been tested as a force attenuation material utilizing the latest ASTM specifications F1292-93 and in accordance with ASTM method F355-86.
These evaluations were made in hot, ambient, and frozen temperatures, wet and dry conditions.
Note: Meeting these stringent requirements does not imply that an injury cannot occur.
Installation:
There is a material depth to fall height relationship to consider, and we would be happy to consult with full test result information to aid in the calculation of depth needed for your particular site.
Maintenance:
Bio-Carpet™ is easy to maintain with periodic raking to level out the high and low spots. Material depth should be checked periodically, and a minimal amount of material should be required to "top off" annually (dependent on traffic.)
Cost:
Bio-Carpet™ is one of the most economical, tested, approved, and insured fall zone materials on the market today. Delivered costs may vary, depending on location.
