Non-Climbable Safety Barriers in Playgrounds

Tensile Webnet mesh is one of the top non-climbable options for barriers around elevated play equipment.

The flexible stainless-steel mesh enables children to enjoy climbing play in maximum safety, and it can also contribute to playground design.

Here’s how.

Addressing falls and climbability

Climbing helps children build confidence and physical strength, develop balance, and enhances their sensory awareness. But the risk of falling always needs to be considered.

Statistics from the AIHW show that falls are the most common type of injury requiring child hospitalisations across all age groups in Australia, accounting for almost 46% of injury cases.

Professionally engineered and tensioned Webnet mesh ensures adequate robustness and resistance to exuberant play. It can be wrapped around structures much like fabric to provide fall protection.

Webnet barriers can be made non-climbable by ensuring the aperture opening is small enough to prevent footholds (usually 40mm or less) and/or by creating them to be full height on a structure.

Barriers can also be made to comply with finger-entrapment standards for playgrounds – that is, with aperture sizes above 25mm.

Durable and aesthetic

Made from 316-grade stainless steel, the mesh is non-corrosive and long-lasting, with minimal requirements for maintenance.

Webnet can be coloured to suit the project or in fact any colour within the RAL spectrum. So, if the playground has bright colours or motifs, the mesh can be coated to match and to enhance the design.

Here are some examples of how Webnet has been used to create non-climbable barriers for kids’ playgrounds.

Inglis Park Playground, Sydney

For this award-winning playground at Randwick, the original equine sales ring was utilised as the base for the climbing structures.

We used 40mm Webnet made from 1.5mm wire rope for the barrier, keeping it within the parameters for non-climbability. The malleability of the mesh ensures it can conform to the geometric shapes of the play equipment, while its transparency allows for clear viewing and prevents it from intruding on the unique design.

Ian Potter Wild Play Garden, Sydney

This barrier project in Centennial Park demonstrates the flexibility of Webnet in that the material wraps around the climbing ‘eel skeleton’ climbing tower.

As for the Inglis Park playground, the Webnet has an aperture opening of 40mm to comply with non-climbability guidelines.

The barrier enables children visiting the park to enjoy explorative and robust play on the elevated equipment in safety.

Wulaba Park Playground, Sydney

The mesh screen installed on this brightly-coloured playground has varied small aperture opening sizes across the structures. This mesh is designed for non-climbability and maximum fall protection, as well as for compliance with finger entrapment rules for kids’ playgrounds.

Call us about non-climbable options for barriers

At Tensile, we have extensive expertise in non-climbable barriers for children’s playgrounds as well as for other elevated structures such as footbridges and atriums.

Get in touch with our team today!