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I have a question about the assembly instructions for a Hilltop Playset F29080.

The full instructions can be found here, but I'll quote the important parts.

On the Page 3, when talking about shock absorbing material, it says:

Maintain a minimum depth of 9 inches of loose-fill materials such as wood mulch/chips, engineered wood fiber (EWF), or shredded/recycled rubber mulch for equipment up to 8 feet high ... An initial fill level of 12 inches will compress to about a 9-inch depth of surfacing over time.

On Page 57, the procedure for installing the ground stakes is discussed:

To prevent tipping and avoid potential injury, stakes must be driven 13” into ground.

There are six 13-inch stakes total included with the playset. Four are installed straight down, and two are diagonal.

So if I need an initial fill level of 12 inches (even if it does compress), and the stakes are only 13 inches long, doesn't that mean the straight down stakes would be 12-inches into the loose-fill material and only be 1-inch into the actual ground? And while I didn't work out the trigonometry, it seems like the dialog stakes would be entirely in the loose-fill material, and not in the ground at all.

I feel like I must be misunderstanding something since these two requirements seem to be impossible to satisfy both.

EDIT: If we assume that the 12-inches of loose-fill is to be installed after the stakes are driven into the ground, the functionality of the playset is impacted, in particular the doors and kitchen, which are clearly less than 12 inches from the ground (as seen in the picture on Page 1). In other words you can't "stand" at ground level of the playset as shown.

Tronman
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  • Shouldn't the play set and spikes be installed before adding the loose fill? – JPhi1618 Oct 21 '21 at 13:09
  • The stakes go in first, then you add the fill. Much simpler in my time, no fill to bounce your head on. – crip659 Oct 21 '21 at 13:09
  • I considered that. However, if you look at the picture of the playset on the first page, installing the fill after assembly would impact the functionality of the door, which is clearly less than 12 inches away from the ground. – Tronman Oct 21 '21 at 13:14
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    The use of fill was added by their lawyers, probably not by the designers. Are helmets required also? The stakes must be in solid ground to be useful, fill is not solid. – crip659 Oct 21 '21 at 13:41
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    @Tronman, the fact is, you can't possibly set this structure on top of 12" of loose, shifting mulch. It will set on hard, level ground and the fill will be placed around it - just maybe not in front of the door. – JPhi1618 Oct 21 '21 at 14:08
  • @crip659 NEVER allow children to wear bike or sport helmets when using this play-set. So... no helmets required :-) – JPhi1618 Oct 21 '21 at 14:15
  • I agree the stakes should go into the ground, hence why I was confused. I see what you are saying - that fact is, it just can't be built exactly as described, which is what I suspected in the first first. Thanks for the advice! – Tronman Oct 21 '21 at 14:49
  • If you read the following page, on the placement of the fill, the fill is used under the swing area, the slides, etc. The fill does not have to be at the edge of the building structure. Fill is placed in areas where they have a possibility of falling. Note the location of where the ground stakes will go, leave an 18 " square area for the ground stakes, and feel free to replace the remaining area for your safety fill material. – Programmer66 Oct 21 '21 at 15:37
  • Apparently, lawyers aren't the best technical writers or translators.... – gnicko Oct 21 '21 at 21:12

1 Answers1

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Part #9537 is the "floor joist connector" for connecting the two main wall sections together. It is 1-1/4" x 3", and the door sits above these floor joists with a 3/4" gap. Therefore the door can only clear a max of 3-3/4" above whatever level the play set is sitting on. The "required" 9" of fill will interfere with the door operation, so you have these options as I see it:

  1. Above the door is an awning, then the Tic-Tack-Toe, then the lookout area with a tall railing. You can simply reduce the amount of loose fill in front of the door so that the door will swing, and count on the tall railing to keep kids from falling at this spot.

  2. Do not install the door so there's no need to worry about the door's operation being impeded by the loose fill.

  3. Skip the loose fill entirely. According to page 3 of the instructions: *

You may be interested in using surfacing other than loose-fill materials - like rubber tiles or poured-in-place surfaces.

  1. Contact the manufacturer to see what they recommend.

  2. Install the entire play set on PT 4x4 laid flat on the ground to give an additional 3-1/2" ground clearance (giving additional room for the door to swing - a total of 7-1/4" at the door threshold), then purchase longer lengths of rebar at your local DIY store and use those to get a minimum 12" of stake in the ground at the new, higher elevation of the play set. To get to the full 9" at the door threshold, you could install the whole thing on a 4x6" or, preferably, on a 6x6" (for the added stability), but that may be going a bit far at today's lumber prices. The option is, of course, yours.

  3. Use rubber mat pieces under the door so it's got room to swing, then use loose fill for the rest of the fill. It may be necessary to box in the door swing area to keep the loose stuff from migrating - use a piece of rubber mat, stood on edge and screwed into the horizontal matting as a retaining wall. It should be flexible enough to absorb impact even when vertical, and the screws should be low enough to not cause any damage.

*I will note that the city recently built a playground at a park just outside my office and they installed a poured in place rubber mat surface. I don't know how long it will last before needing to be refurbished, but it's been about 3 years with no obvious signs of wear and tear, and it's incredibly soft and spongy. It's fun to walk on! :)

FreeMan
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  • Thanks for the advice! In your Number 5, what did you mean by "PT"? I would absolutely love to use a poured in place surface, but I haven't even been able to find a company in my area that does it residentially, and even if I did, I suspect it would be cost prohibitive. – Tronman Oct 21 '21 at 16:37
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    "PT" is "pressure treated", @Tronman. I'm usually better at defining abbreviations. Also, I'd agree with you on the likelihood of the poured in place surface being a bit pricey. Rubber mats may also be expensive. I've added an additional option that just occurred to me. – FreeMan Oct 21 '21 at 16:44