Should a school playground be asphalt or concrete?

Use asphalt for big open play areas and concrete where the surface has to hold an exact shape. A lot of school grounds end up with both, each in the place it suits.

The choice turns on how the area is used, how fast it has to reopen and what will sit on top of it.

Flexible and rigid

Asphalt is a flexible pavement. It moves a little with the ground beneath it, and a crack or a worn patch can be cut out and relaid without touching the rest of the area.

Concrete is rigid and strong, and it holds its shape for a long time. Because it cannot flex, it is laid with joints that control where it cracks, and those joints stay part of the surface for good.

Time on site

Asphalt is laid hot, rolled and ready for students once it has cooled. That speed counts when the work has to fit inside a school holiday or a weekend.

Concrete needs formwork and reinforcement before the pour, and then it needs time to cure before it carries much load or takes a coating. Those curing days have to sit in the programme from the start.

Heat and wear

Dark asphalt gets hot in full summer sun and softens a little. A heavy point load, like a bench leg or the foot of a piece of equipment, can press into it on a hot day, so fixed items are best set on concrete footings or pads.

Concrete stays hard in the heat and keeps a clean edge. That is why it suits kerbs, steps and the borders around garden beds and play equipment.

The case for concrete

Steps, ramps and anything that carries a structure belong in concrete. A multi-use sports court at a school is typically built on a new concrete base, then finished with acrylic surfacing, line marking and fixed sports equipment, as set out in how a multi-use sports court is built.

At Coogee Public School, Monument delivered an amphitheatre and sports court, a large concrete structure built with high precision and designed to last.

The case for asphalt

Large playgrounds and paths that have to reopen fast suit asphalt. Monument has resurfaced asphalt at Athelstane Public School in Arncliffe during term, and at Beresford Road Public School in Greystanes and Ebenezer Public School.

The old surface is removed and replaced, often along with drainage, sub-base, line marking and equipment work. Each step is described in how asphalt resurfacing is done on a live school playground.

The base

Neither surface lasts on a poor base. A pavement fails from the bottom up when the ground below it moves or holds water, and a new surface laid over a failed base repeats the same failure. What determines how long a sports court lasts explains why.

Markings

Both surfaces take line markings and play markings, but each needs a paint made for it. The products and the curing times are covered in line marking and play markings.

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