What Are The Problems with Inground Trampolines?
Inground trampolines are extremely popular, but there can be issues as we explore below.
The potential issues with inground trampolines are drainage, digging the pit, levelling the ground around the hole, project costs including hiring a mini-digger to dig the hole, disposing of the soil, keeping wildlife out of the hole, weeds growing out of the hole, kids crawling into the hole.
The Main Problems with Inground Trampolines
1. You Have to Dig A Hole
[Maybe Someone Can Dig It For You?]
If you don't dig a hole when the kids jump on the trampoline they will hit the ground so you have to dig a hole for jumpmat clearance. Typically, it will be a bowl-shaped hole three-feet deep in the centre. See above.
If you are purchasing a small inground trampoline, perhaps 6 foot round or 9x6ft rectangular then the hole will be quite small, and it may be possible to dig this by hand, depending how soft or hard that you soil is. But even a small hole will still take a few hours as you need to dig to 3-feet depth in the centre.
However, a larger trampoline will need a larger hole, and once you go over 10 feet we would recommend hiring a min-digger, as this will make the task much more manageable.
2. Disposing of the Soil
[Could You Create A Garden Feature With The Soil?]
The earth that you dig out will have to go somewhere, so if you don't need the soil yourself or have a neighbour who needs some soil, then this is something that you will need to figure out.
Now if you live in the countryside, disposing of a little soil may not present much of an issue but on the other hand if you live in a terrace in Dublin or one of the larger cities then this is probably something that you want to consider in advance.
Where will the soil that you remove go to, and how will it get there?
3. Project Cost
With most regular above ground trampolines, the trampoline will arrive and once assembly begins, you will usually have a completed project within a few hours.
Typically, above ground trampolines can be self-assembled and no more costs will be incurred. However with an inground or flatground trampoline, purchasing the trampoline may be only the beginning of your outlays.
With an inground trampoline installation, the costs that you may need to consider are -
1. hiring someone to dig the hole
It will depend how large the hole needs to be but many customers will hire someone to dig the trampoline hole,
2. hiring a mini-digger
With larger trampolines these will often be difficult to dig by hand, and so you may wish to hire a mini-digger to dig the hole quickly and acurately.
Additionally, you may also need someone to drive the mini-digger.
3. paying to dispose of the soil
This will largely depend on where you live and may not be essential.
4. paying to install drainage
Most customers will not need a drainage system, but if you feel that because your ground is wet that this is something that you should consider, please see our trampoline drainage guide below.
4. Drainage Considerations
As a general rule most homeowners will not need drainage, and a simple soakaway will be more than sufficient, but to explore this question in more detail, please see our drainage guide here.
5. Will The Trampoline Hole Attract Wildlife?
The trampoline and trampoline hole usually do not attract wildlife, although there are videos on youtube that show sheep, deer, dogs and foxes having a bounce, however we would still recommend ensuring that kids do not leave food, sweet wrappers, drinks and so on around the trampoline as that could create the risk of unwanted visitors, especially at night.
6. Will Weeds And Grass Grow Out of The Trampoline Hole?
The trampoline jumpmat is black and a very low amount of light will permeate below the trampoline meaning that weeds will be unlikely to grow.
However, weed membranes are available from your local hardware store to purchase that will cover the ground underneath the trampoline entirely, and they are designed for that specific purpose.
7. You Now Have A Large Hole In Your Garden
Yes, we know that the hole can be filled and the patch reseeded when the kids grow up and no longer play on the trampoline, but we're just pointing that out.
Not only only will there be a hole to dig, but there will also be one to fill at some point in the future.
It will also mean that moving the trampoline will not be so simple as you will once again have a new hole to dig and you will want to refill the old one.
8. Installation Time
As you may not be doing the installation yourself there can be the consideration of how much time the project will take.
Sometimes people can wait a few weeks or longer on an available installer who can do the job to the correct standard.
Final Thoughts
To wrap it up inground trampolines are fantastic and are really popular because of the wow factor and the safety benefits, for example not having to climb down a ladder to get out, but for the sake of completeness and to address the questions that people do have before they purchase, we wanted to write this article.
We hope that it helps you with your decision of whether to buy an inground or a regular above ground trampoline.
For queries or assistance please phone 01 960 1641.