Playground Inspections
An RPII playground inspection is an independent, expert check of your equipment and surfacing against BS EN 1176, giving you a clear, risk-rated report and evidence of your duty of care.
View playground inspections
Request a Repair
Request a Playground Repair
Spotted a broken swing, a trip hazard or a damaged gate? A playground repair puts it right quickly, so the area stays open, safe and ready for pupils to use.
What Is a Playground Repair?
A playground repair is a reactive fix that Commercial Play carries out against a specific fault to BS EN 1176 and BS EN 1177, whether that fault is worn safety surfacing, a broken or seized swing bearing, a split wet pour patch, damaged fencing or a gate that no longer latches. We repair any make of equipment, of almost any age, whether or not we installed it. A reactive repair differs from planned maintenance in that it responds to a reported defect rather than a scheduled service round.
Getting a single fault put right quickly matters more than tidiness. One trip hazard or seized moving part can force you to fence off a zone or close a whole area, so a fast repair keeps the playground open and keeps pupils safe while the space is in use.
How Does a Playground Repair Work, From Reported Fault to Fixed?
A Commercial Play playground repair starts the moment you report the fault with a location and a photo or two, which lets us triage it, bring the right parts and quote accurately without a wasted survey visit. We work to a risk-rated response: a severe hazard should be made safe within 24 hours, a high-risk fault repaired within roughly 7 to 14 days, and a minor defect scheduled inside 30 to 90 days, matching the tiers UK duty-holders already follow.
If the fault is dangerous, take the item or area out of use straight away, cordon it off and tell us it is urgent. We advise on making it safe in the meantime, book the repair in, then complete it to standard, photograph it on completion and send you the record for your files. Faults often surface at your playground inspection, and larger patterns of wear point towards a playground refurbishment instead.
Who Are Playground Repairs For, and What Faults Do We Fix?
Playground repairs are for schools, nurseries, academies, parish councils and any duty-holder responsible for a play area under BS EN 1176, and we fix the four fault families that make up most call-outs: safety surfacing, equipment, fencing and gates. Worn or split wet pour, seized or broken swing bearings, damaged chains and seats, loose or bent fence panels and gates that will not latch are the everyday jobs.
Because we repair any make and any installer's equipment, you are not tied back to the original supplier for a spare or a fix. Where a part is discontinued we source a suitable alternative or a sympathetic replacement, then bed it into the existing safety surfacing and frame so the repair holds. Faults flagged against the standards at an EN 1176 and EN 1177 inspection route straight through to us.
How Much Does a Playground Repair Cost?
A playground repair costs from around 100 pounds for a minor fix up to roughly 2,000 pounds for a larger job, with most equipment repairs sitting in a 500 to 2,000 pounds band and small component swaps far lower. As indicative guides to confirm at survey: a full swing service pack (hangers, bushes, chains, shackles and seat) runs to about 100 pounds, a fence panel or bracket repair around 80 to 150 pounds, a gate repair 100 to 400 pounds, and a specialist bearing such as a roundabout unit near 495 pounds.
Safety-surface repairs are priced by area and depth: a wet pour patch repair typically costs 250 to 1,500 pounds depending on size, thickness and colour match. Your final figure is driven by the part, the labour, whether the item is discontinued and the site access. We give you a clear quote before we start, so tell us what you have found and we will price the exact fault.
| Repair type | What it covers | Indicative cost | Typical response tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swing components | Hangers, bushes, chains, shackles, seat | Around £100 | High risk, within 7 to 14 days |
| Fence panel or bracket | Loose, bent or damaged fencing | £80 to £150 | Moderate, within 7 to 28 days |
| Gate repair | Latch, hinge or frame no longer securing | £100 to £400 | High risk, within 7 to 14 days |
| Specialist bearing | Roundabout or moving-part bearing | Around £495 | High risk, within 7 to 14 days |
| Wet pour patch | Split or worn safety surfacing | £250 to £1,500 | Moderate to high by Critical Fall Height |
Indicative UK market ranges to confirm against your own pricing at survey. Every repair is quoted against the actual fault before we start.
What Standards Apply to a Playground Repair?
A Commercial Play playground repair is carried out to BS EN 1176 for the equipment and BS EN 1177 for the impact-absorbing surfacing, the same two standards the area was built and inspected against. Equipment repairs restore structural strength, guarding and safe distances around moving parts under BS EN 1176, while any surfacing patch must return the Critical Fall Height of the original surface so the repair still protects the fall height above it.
A wet pour or rubber mulch patch is judged the same way as a new surface: it passes only when a BS EN 1177 headform drop test returns a Head Injury Criterion below 1000 and a Gmax below 200g. We photograph the completed repair against these standards and, where you want it signed off, can arrange independent RPII or RoSPA verification so the record stands up to an inspector. See how the two standards work together on our EN 1176 and EN 1177 page.
How Quickly Can Commercial Play Respond to a Playground Repair?
Commercial Play triages every reported fault by risk and aims to make a severe hazard safe within 24 hours, following the response tiers UK duty-holders work to: high-risk faults repaired within roughly 7 to 14 days, moderate defects within 7 to 28 days and minor issues scheduled inside 30 to 90 days. Telling us a fault is urgent and sending a photo moves it up the queue and lets us bring the right part first time.
Response speed depends on the part, its availability and whether it is discontinued, so a stock swing bush is quicker than a specialist bearing that has to be sourced. In most cases we isolate the single faulty item rather than close the whole space, work around your school day, and reopen the area the moment the repair passes its BS EN 1176 or BS EN 1177 check.
How Long Does a Playground Repair Last?
A properly completed playground repair lasts as long as the surrounding equipment or surface it restores, so a swing bearing or chain renewed to BS EN 1176 gives years of further service and a wet pour patch bonded to the correct Critical Fall Height matches the 8 to 12 year life of the surface around it. We fit like-for-like or better parts so the repair is not the next thing to fail.
Where a component keeps failing, or several faults cluster on one ageing item, a repair is a short-term fix and we will say so honestly rather than keep patching. At that point resurfacing a worn area or a wider playground refurbishment often costs less over its life than repeat call-outs, and we will cost both routes so you can choose.
What Are the Benefits of a Playground Repair?
A playground repair keeps your area open and compliant by fixing a single BS EN 1176 or BS EN 1177 fault fast, rather than fencing off a whole zone until a full replacement is funded. It restores the Critical Fall Height, the moving part or the boundary that failed, gives you a photographed completion record for your duty-of-care file, and does it at a fraction of the cost of a rebuild.
Because we repair any make, any installer, you keep sound equipment in service instead of scrapping a whole unit for one worn component, which is kinder on budgets and on waste. We advise on making a dangerous fault safe before we even arrive, quote clearly before we start, and leave the area clean and ready, so a small issue is dealt with before it spreads into a bigger, more expensive one.
Why Choose Commercial Play for a Playground Repair?
Commercial Play designs, installs, inspects and repairs playgrounds in-house across England and Wales, so the team that knows BS EN 1176 and BS EN 1177 is the team that puts your fault right, on any make of equipment and whoever installed it. We triage urgent safety faults first, bring the correct part, and finish every repair to standard with a photographed record for your files.
Because we fit and repair all four safety surfaces and every equipment family, our advice follows your site rather than one product we happen to sell, and we will tell you honestly when a repair is the right call and when a refurbishment costs less over time. Found a fault at your inspection? Request a repair and we will price the exact job and get it booked in.
FAQs
Request a Repair: common questions
How quickly can you repair a playground fault?
We triage by risk: a severe hazard we aim to make safe within 24 hours, a high-risk fault we target for repair within roughly 7 to 14 days, and a minor defect we schedule inside 30 to 90 days, matching the tiers UK duty-holders follow. Tell us it is urgent and send a photo, and we advise on making the area safe in the meantime.
Can you repair equipment you did not install?
Yes. We repair equipment of almost any make and age to BS EN 1176, regardless of who originally installed it. Where a part is no longer available we source a suitable alternative or a sympathetic replacement rather than force a full unit change.
How much does a playground repair cost?
Indicatively, most equipment repairs sit between 500 and 2,000 pounds, with small component swaps far lower: a full swing service pack around 100 pounds, a fence panel repair 80 to 150 pounds, a gate 100 to 400 pounds, and a wet pour patch 250 to 1,500 pounds by area and depth. Every repair is quoted against the actual fault before we start.
What should we do with a dangerous fault before you arrive?
Take the affected equipment or area out of use straight away, fence or cordon it off, and keep pupils clear. Then report it to us as urgent with a photo so we can advise on making it safe and get the repair booked in as fast as possible.
Do we have to close the whole playground for a repair?
Usually not. In most cases we isolate the single faulty item or a small area so the rest of the playground stays in use, and we work around your school day to keep disruption to a minimum. The zone reopens once the repair passes its BS EN 1176 or BS EN 1177 check.
Which standards do you repair to?
Equipment repairs are carried out to BS EN 1176 and surfacing repairs to BS EN 1177. A wet pour or rubber mulch patch must return the original Critical Fall Height and, tested with a headform drop, pass a Head Injury Criterion below 1000 and a Gmax below 200g, exactly as a new surface would.
Can you repair worn or split safety surfacing?
Yes. We patch and bond wet pour and rubber mulch to match the surrounding colour and, more importantly, to restore the Critical Fall Height the area needs. A wet pour patch typically costs 250 to 1,500 pounds depending on size, thickness and colour match, confirmed on survey.
How long will a repair last before it needs doing again?
A repair completed with like-for-like or better parts lasts as long as the equipment or surface around it, so a renewed bearing gives years of further use and a bonded wet pour patch matches the 8 to 12 year life of the surface. Where a component keeps failing, we will say so and cost a refurbishment instead.
Can you sign off the repair for our inspection records?
Yes. We photograph every completed repair against BS EN 1176 or BS EN 1177 and send you the record for your duty-of-care file, and where you want it independently verified we can arrange an RPII or RoSPA check so it stands up to an auditor.
The rest of the range
More repairs & maintenance options
Part of our full repairs & maintenance range, explore the other surfaces below.
Playground Refurbishment
A playground refurbishment refreshes a tired area, resurfacing, re-marking, re-coating and replacing selected equipment, to transform how it looks and plays for a fraction of a full rebuild.
View playground refurbishmentEN 1176 & EN 1177
BS EN 1176 and BS EN 1177 are the British and European standards for playground safety: one covers the equipment, the other the impact-absorbing surfacing and the fall heights it must protect against.
View en 1176 & en 1177Thinking about request a repair?
Book a free site visit and we'll measure up, recommend the right surface and send a clear, fixed quote.