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Bark/wood-chip "lawn" in rental property?

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  • 03-04-2017 7:06pm
    #1
    tooManyChoices
    Closed Accounts Posts: 98 ✭✭


    I've got a small enclosed garden in rental property (edit: I mean I'm the landlord!) - maybe 5x8m.
    Currently it's about 1/3 paving and 2/3 gravel.

    I'm considering taking out the gravel and filling that part with a good layer(10cm) of bark-much/wood-chip.

    Has anyone ever tried this?
    Has anyone lived in a house with it?
    How'd it work?
    Is it ok for kids to play in?
    Does wood-chip work as well as bark-mulch?

    The goal is to make it a little nicer and more child-friendly/safe, while still being low/no maintenance and affordable.


    Also thinking about artificial grass but it seems hard to justify the cost - anyone got experience with it? Is it worth the money for it to be done right and will it hold up in a rental property?

    Cheers


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    #2
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,080 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    I used to live near (and take the kids regularly to) a large playground in the Millenium Park in Blanchardstown that has wood chip down everywhere. It's been a few years since I was there regularly. So from an impact safety perspective it's a good idea.

    But it will rot and possibly grow fungus.

    You're not proposing to do this without landlord permission, right?


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    #3
    tooManyChoices
    Closed Accounts Posts: 98 ✭✭tooManyChoices


    1. Good to know, sound like it would be perfect from that point of view.

    2. Hadn't thought about fungus - I'll have to look into that.

    3. I'm the landlord! I phrased that one badly, in fairness.


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    #4
    JuliusCaesar
    Registered Users Posts: 4,882 ✭✭✭JuliusCaesar


    I haven't had it myself, but friends have and were disappointed at how the wood chips shrank and needed topping up every now and again. If you have kids running around on it, it'll disappear even faster! :D


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    #5
    PixelTrawler
    Registered Users Posts: 2,299 ✭✭✭PixelTrawler


    You will create a giant cat litter box... and its hard to stop them if they take a liking to the new facilities.


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    #6
    Ms Doubtfire1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,422 ✭✭✭Ms Doubtfire1


    Yes agree with Pixel - cats LOVE that stuff.I have a good few cats and they love the wooden litter box filler. From a hygienic point of view I would very much advise against it.


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    #7
    Gravelly
    Registered Users Posts: 4,119 ✭✭✭Gravelly


    I tried it on a small section of garden where kids had the grass killed off playing on it. In the summer it's not too bad, as it at least stays fairly dry, though it has two drawbacks: 1) it gets everywhere, especially as it sticks in the threads of runners. and 2) there's a tendency for kids to get splinters in their hands (and everywhere else) from the wood chip.
    In the winter (like 9 months of the year here) it's a disaster, as it rots from underneath, turning into a smelly, slippery mess.

    Astroturf is great though pricey, but I recently saw a house where they'd replaced a section of lawn with a cheap carpet-like astroturf substitute, bought from a carpet warehouse in Dublin I believe, that looked like it worked well.


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