Playground Floor Tile Thickness for Fall Safety
By Created: July, 2017 - Modified: March, 2021
Related Product: Blue Sky Rubber Playground Tile 90/10 EPDM 2.75 Inch x 2x2 Ft.
But even more importantly, your playground flooring needs to be an appropriate thickness for the playground and the equipment in use in the space. Because playground floor tile thickness often correlates to the flooring’s fall height rating, the flooring thickness really needs to be a top priority when you choose a flooring product.
Playground Safety Matting Thickness Options
At Greatmats, we’ve carefully curated a selection of flooring for playground use that includes thick outdoor play mats, thinner products for areas where reduced impact is expected, and everything in between. As you get started, these safety mats for playgrounds might be just right for your needs.Blue Sky Outdoor Interlocking Tile 2.25 Inch

Blue Sky playground tiles are available in thicknesses from 2.25 to 3.75 inches.
Blue Sky Rubber Playground Tile 2.75 Inch

The interlocking system creates a full surface-to-surface lock for a secure fit. They do require a glue-down installation, but they’re outdoor rated in all climates for long-lasting use. These tiles are ADA compliant when installed with the available ADA ramps.
Bounce Back Playground Tile 1.75-2.5 Inch

These tiles can be installed over a variety of subsurfaces, and they let rainwater flow through the tile surface to avoid pooling. When installed with the available ADA border ramp edging, they create ADA accessibility.
Sterling Playground Tiles

You’ll have your choice of the following Sterling Tile thicknesses and fall height ratings:
- 2.25-inch tile for a 4-foot fall height
- 3.25-inch tile for a 6-foot fall height
- 4.25-inch tile for an 8-foot fall height
- 5-inch tile for a 10-foot fall height
Interlocking Playground Tiles BB

These rubber playground tiles are available in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch thicknesses. The 2.5-inch tile has a 6-foot ASTM fall height rating, and the 3.5-inch tile has a 7- to 8-foot fall height rating.
Max Playground Rubber Tile 2.5 Inch

The 2.5-inch-thick tile offers a 5-foot ASTM fall height rating when it’s fully adhered to a base.
Greatmats Playground Tile Interlock 2.75 Inch

This tile offers a 6-foot ASTM fall height rating.
Determining Appropriate Safety Matting for Playgrounds
If you’re unsure of the specific fall height protection that your playground will use, start by measuring the distance from the ground to the highest playground platform that children will stand on. This is your fall height. Fall heights are often measured in feet, so if your equipment stands 7.5 feet high, round up to 8 feet. If you anticipate adding higher equipment to the playground, you may want to use that equipment’s measurement to determine the desired fall height rating, so the flooring you install now will be suitable for any future modifications you make.Once you understand your playground’s fall height rating needs, you can narrow down your flooring choices by only looking at products that offer an appropriate fall height rating.
For more on this topic please review our Residential Playground Surfaces product page.