Engineered wood fiber cost
$3.50 to $5.50 a square foot
This is the installed price. Source: adventureturf.com.
| Play area | Engineered wood fiber, $3.50 to $5.50 a sq ft |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $3,500 to $5,500 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $8,800 to $13,800 |
Per square foot, the installed engineered wood fiber cost falls between $3.5 and $5.5, and many committees pay an installed price of $4 for each square foot. As a material for playground flooring, engineered wood fiber consists of loose woodchips. The material alone, with no labor to install it, is priced at $1.5 to $3 per square foot.
Other Published Prices for Engineered Wood Fiber
Material made of wood fiber for a typical playground
Price: $1.50 to $3 per sq ft, says fibar.com.
Wood fiber, installed
Price: $4 per sq ft, says adventureturf.com.
Labor for raking 1,000 sq ft over 15 years
Price: $22,500, says adventureturf.com.
Wood chip top-ups every 2 to 3 years
Price: $2,250 to top up 1,000 sq ft, says adventureturf.com.
Playground Budgets by Group Size
Our process for helping a committee plan a full budget starts with the number of children who will play at one time. You can plan on about $1,000 per child for playground equipment, then include the ground under it. Installation runs 25 to 35 percent of what the equipment costs, freight runs about 15 percent, and every child playing at once requires 75 square feet of ground.
| Children and Ground Area | Engineered Wood Fiber Cost | Total Playground Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 15 children on 1,125 sq ft | $3,900 to $6,200 | $24,900 to $28,700 |
| 30 children on 2,250 sq ft | $7,900 to $12,400 | $49,900 to $57,400 |
| 50 children on 3,750 sq ft | $13,100 to $20,600 | $83,100 to $95,600 |
| 80 children on 6,000 sq ft | $21,000 to $33,000 | $133,000 to $153,000 |
Equipment for 15 children at once runs about $15,000, with installation at $3,800 to $5,300 and freight at $2,300. With 30 children, equipment is about $30,000, freight is $4,500, and installation ranges from $7,500 to $10,500 A larger site serving 50 children involves about $50,000 for equipment, $7,500 for freight, and $12,500 to $17,500 for installation, whereas an 80-child site involves about $80,000 for equipment, $12,000 for freight, and $20,000 to $28,000 for installation.
How Much Does Upkeep Cost Over Time?
Of all the surfaces, wood fiber costs the least up front, but your committee should also budget for the care it needs over time. With time, loose-fill surfacing compresses by at least 25 percent; this ground cover is loose pieces, not one solid sheet.
Costs on a 1,000 square foot playground include $2,250 per top-up for woodchip replenishment every 2 to 3 years and $22,500 for raking labor over 15 years
Comparing Other Playground Surfaces
It also helps to compare wood fiber with four other playground surfacing options and see how each one works out for a playground with 30 children playing at once:
- Poured in place rubber: The installed price of this rubber flooring, poured as a solid surface, runs $9 to $18 for each square foot. Ground costs are $20,300 to $40,500 for 30 children, and the total playground ranges from $62,300 to $85,500
- Rubber tiles: Material costs $5 to $8 per square foot for these rubber flooring squares Total playground costs reach $53,300 to $63,000 for 30 children, with ground costs at $11,300 to $18,000
- Rubber mulch: Material costs $6 to $12 per square foot for these loose rubber pieces Total project costs are $55,500 to $72,000 for 30 children, with ground costs at $13,500 to $27,000
- Artificial turf: The material for synthetic grass runs $6 to $20 per square foot. Total project costs reach $55,500 to $90,000 for 30 children, with the ground portion alone ranging from $13,500 to $45,000.
A church, school, preschool, town, nonprofit, or HOA seeking funding can find state programs through our playground grants finder. For written numbers, manufacturers of playground equipment and dealers can give you quotes for equipment, surfacing, and installation at your site via our quote request form.