Chimes School

Location: Baltimore, MD
Surface System Used: PlayBound™ Poured-in-Place
Completion: March 2025 

OVERVIEW

The Chimes School in Baltimore, MD., offers an 11-month educational program to students with intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, and autism. Students can obtain a diploma (K-8) or certificate (K-12). When it was time to install new surfacing in the school’s outdoor play area, Chimes selected PlayBound Poured-in-Place™. 

KEY CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

The Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF) serves students with disabilities and represents more than 70 nonpublic schools throughout the state of Maryland. The Chimes School in Baltimore City opened its doors in 1947. Today this special education facility provides a full continuum of support for students between the ages of 5 and 21. 

Just like any school, Chimes offers a safe and accessible outdoor space, where children can play. With safety in mind, the school selected 1,650-square-feet of PlayBound Poured-in-Place playground surfacing.

PlayBound Poured-in-Place is a 2-layer system, consisting of a basemat that is comprised of 100 percent post-consumer recycled Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) and polyurethane, and a top surface made of recycled post-industrial Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber or TPV Granule and aromatic or aliphatic urethane binder. The thickness – between 1 ¾-inch to 5 ½ inches – of this surface can be modified on site to meet varying critical fall height ratings. PlayBound is also ADA compliant per ASTM F-1951 for playground surface accessibility.

Because the rubber and urethane components are mixed and applied on site, facilities can have custom colors, logos, games, and/or geometric shapes permanently incorporated into the surface. The graphics in the playground at Chimes include a variety of shapes, colors, letters, and numbers, which are ideal for promoting learning and fun through interactive, safe play. 

Surface America partnered with local businesses to complete this project. Sparks@Play provided the landscape structures and play equipment, and Playsafe Surfacing performed the installation. The result is a welcoming, ADA-compliant play space where students of all abilities can play safely and inclusively.