Surfacing

Action Play Systems

Borders, ramps and safety surfacing

APS supplies playground borders, wear mats, ADA ramps and safety surfacing — the unglamorous layer that decides whether a playground passes inspection.

Company profile

Who Action Play Systems is

Headquarters: Cornelius, North Carolina
Model: Wholesale through dealers only
Patents: US Patent #716,113 and D732,357
Border size: 52" long × 4" wide, 8" or 12" high

Product lines

Patented playground borders
ADA ramps and transitions
Wear mats
Commercial structures, swings and climbers

What that means for your project

The patented border carries a built-in surfacing-level gauge, so an inspector — or a maintenance crew — can see at a glance whether the loose-fill depth still meets the structure's critical fall height.

APS sells wholesale only, through installers like us, and competes on lead time and service rather than catalog breadth.

Borders, wear mats and ADA transitions are the unglamorous layer that decides whether a playground passes inspection; we spec them at design time, not after the punch list.

Manufacturer specs and catalog

In detail

What Action Play Systems builds

Post and Deck Structures

Action Play Systems builds its play structures around a post-and-deck platform, the standard architecture used across the commercial playground industry for combining climbers, slides, decks, and roof elements into a single connected system tailored to a site's age range and footprint.

APS publishes installation guides for each configuration, specifying footing layouts, use-zone dimensions, and clearances that must meet ASTM F1487 and CPSC playground safety guidelines, along with local code review before any structure goes in the ground.

For New England buyers, the post-and-deck format matters because it lets a school or town phase a purchase over budget cycles, adding decks and events to an existing post layout in later years without redoing footings, which is a real advantage under municipal capital-plan constraints.

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Action Play Systems — Post and Deck Structures

Playground Border System

APS's patented playground border (US Patent 716,113 and D732,357) is a 52-inch-long, 4-inch-wide edging unit available in 8-inch or 12-inch heights, with each section covering four lineal feet of containment around a loose-fill safety surface such as engineered wood fiber or rubber mulch.

The border includes a built-in surfacing gauge so maintenance staff can see at a glance whether fall-surfacing depth has dropped below the level needed for ASTM F1292 impact attenuation, rather than guessing or measuring by hand.

In Maine and New Hampshire, freeze-thaw heaving and spring rain routinely displace loose-fill surfacing; a border that visibly flags low depth gives thinly staffed public works and facilities crews an easy inspection point to stay in compliance without a dedicated surfacing consultant.

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Action Play Systems — Playground Border System

ADA Access Ramps

APS manufactures modular ADA transfer and half ramps designed to connect an accessible route to the use zone of a play structure, sized and detailed in the company's published install guides so a ramp run can be matched to deck height and site grading.

Installation instructions direct dealers to keep ramps off hard surfacing, coordinate slope and landing dimensions with the surrounding fall-surface material, and verify placement against local accessibility code before pouring footings or setting borders.

Most Maine and New Hampshire municipal and school playground grants now require a documented accessible route as a condition of funding, so a ramp system with clear, code-referenced installation documentation simplifies the compliance paperwork that grant administrators ask to see.

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GaGa Ball Pits

APS offers prefabricated GaGa pit border kits in three diameters, 15, 20, and 26 feet, giving buyers a defined footprint (roughly 171 to over 300 square feet) for the fast-growing playground game without custom carpentry on site.

Install guides call for checking configurations against local code and spacing the structure for safe traffic flow, with the octagonal or round border kit forming the containment wall while the interior is filled with the same surfacing used elsewhere on the playground.

GaGa pits have become one of the most requested low-cost, high-use additions at New England schools and rec departments because they pack a lot of active play into a small, budget-friendly footprint that's easy to justify in a tight capital request.

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Dealer-Built Support Network

APS sells exclusively through a nationwide network of independent playground dealers and installers rather than direct to owners, positioning itself as a manufacturer that backs its dealer partners with catalogs, installation documentation, and dealer-only technical support.

The company maintains published, model-specific install guides (borders, ramps, GaGa pits, and full play systems) that a certified installer follows step by step to keep footings, clearances, and hardware consistent with the design that was reviewed for code compliance.

That dealer-driven model is why working with a regional installer like Pine State matters in New England: someone local translates the manufacturer's national specs into a plan that accounts for frost depth, ledge, and seasonal installation windows unique to Maine and New Hampshire sites.

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Action Play Systems — Dealer-Built Support Network

Built to last

Premium materials

The specific alloys, coatings and components Action Play Systems uses — the details that decide how equipment holds up to New England winters.

Patented playground border panels at 52" long x 4" wide in 8" and 12" heights (US Patents 716,113 and D732,357).
Border system doubles as a surfacing depth gauge so loose-fill stays at spec.
GaGa pit kits use the same panel material in 15, 20 and 26 ft diameters.
Panels are engineered to flex rather than splinter, unlike timber or plastic landscape edging.