safety surfacing — Blog — Life Floor

safety surfacing

2023 MAKE A SPLASH! GRANT CONTEST NEED-BASED WINNER INSTALLATION: John Anderson Park

In 2023, we hosted our fourth annual Make a SPLASH! Grant Contest to award two deserving organizations in the United States an all-expenses-paid splash pad surface. One award was for a facility that exemplified inclusive design principles and the other was need-based for a deserving community that met specific benchmark criteria.

We received an incredible number of thoughtful applications and out of so many deserving entries, one of the entries we received stood out.

Today, we’re proud to showcase the Need-Based Award winner’s installation: John Anderson Park Splash Pad in Grandview, Missouri.

When asked what winning this grant would mean to their community, Jared Elbert said,

This would mean so much to the community. Grandview, MO, part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, is a minority majority community with a population of nearly 27,000. This is a very strong, tight knit community that is growing but also one with challenges. The median income of Grandview is $48,000/year which means free amenities such as splash pads and playgrounds are of upmost importance. John Anderson park and its splash pad are crucial to youths access to free and safe recreation opportunities.

It can be challenging to maintain the original excitement of a 14 year old splash park. In winning this grant it would allow the community to enhance safety, aesthetics, and bring excitement back to Grandview’s only free splash park. It would increase the quality of life for residents, mean the world to the neighborhoods within walking distance, as well as the community and visitors.
— Jared Elbert, Parks & Recreation Director

Before: Broom Finish Stained Concrete

After: Life Floor

It would significantly upgrade the safety of the site for guest by switching from concrete to the safer Life Floor, while also reducing liability concerns from a staff perspective. Guests will have a greater piece of mind when allowing their children to utilize the splash park and socialize. It would enhance the beautification and experience by bringing eye catching color and patterns to the park.
— Jared Elbert, Parks & Recreation Director

Existing Waterplay spray features from their High Seas Collection laid the groundwork for this immersive experience complete with a sailing ship, whale tail, and palm tree. Four sound sprays are interspersed throughout the amenity where children can activate and listen to different sounds including a whale, dolphin, penguin and seagull. Dynamic ground sprays encourage motion throughout the entire area and our tiles now weave between their features with a treasure hunt surface game designed to excite and inspire imagination.

Our 2023 entrants chose from 6 pre-designed themes that would be tailored to fit their project scope. The city of Grandview chose the Treasure Hunt option which features a bright triangle gradient Pattern in a custom color palette of Bluebird, Turquoise, Seafoam, and Mojave. A mix of Sea Life, Marine, and Treasure Hunt Inlays can be seen across the splash pad in both neutral and complementing colors.

Designed and Copyrighted by Life Floor Studio.

We can’t wait to hear the stories of how this project will continue to uplift and transform the way families play at John Anderson Park in Grandview, Missouri. Thank you to the city of Grandview for entering our contest and for trusting us to surface your community’s splash pad!

Keep an eye out for our project showcase highlighting our Inclusive Design Award winner coming soon!


About the Make a SPLASH! Grant Contest

The Make a SPLASH! Grant Contest is one of our team’s favorite annual events. We love giving back to our communities across the United States and seeing the difference our surfaces make. Through this grant contest, our goal is to uplift communities across the country each year with beautiful and accessible splash pad surfaces that enhance positive memories for years to come.


THE 5TH ANNUAL MAKE A SPLASH! GRANT CONTEST IS
OPEN FOR ENTRIES

Don’t miss these two opportunities to win free Life Floor surfacing for your splash pad!

Life Floor's Top 13 projects of 2023

2023 was filled with incredible projects ranging in complexity, size, and theme. Collaboration and excellence from some of our top partners, installers, and customers made all of these facilities possible. To celebrate 2023 as we enter into our 13th year in business, we’ve chosen to highlight these 13 installations that stood out among the hundreds of projects installed across the year.


MOST UNIQUE GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre

Location: Northcote, Victoria, Australia
Install Date: August 2023
Area: 3,281 sq ft (355 m²)
Main Colors: Seafoam, Limelight, Lilypad, Sandbar
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Architect: Warren and Mahoney Architects
Partner: Waterplay
Installer: Mauer Construction Tiling

With a unique palette and layout of colored bands, the creative approach for the flooring design of this project was a highlight for our team.


FIRST AQUAFORMS12 SPLASH PAD

Island Waterpark at Showboat Resort

Location: Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
Install Date: June 2023
Area: 13,308 sq ft (1,236 m²)
Main Colors: Gobi, Sandstone, Aviator, Bluebird, Sunshine
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designers: WhiteWater + Martin Aquatic Design and Engineering
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

Island Waterpark at Showboat Resort received a 2023 Leading Edge Award from WWA and was the host facility for WhiteWater’s new AquaForms12 structure which won the 2023 IAAPA Brass Ring Award for Best New Product under $2 Million.


MOST ACCESSIBLE AQUATIC AMENITIES

Camp Barnabas

Location: Purdy, Missouri, USA
Install Date: June 2023
Area: 2,983 sq ft (277 m²) across 3 areas
Main Colors: Ocean, Kingfisher (discontinued), Iceberg, Turquoise, Aqua, Ivory, Heron, Evergreen, Olive, and Limelight
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Specifier: Sunbelt Pools
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Baynum Solutions
Photo Credit:
Splashtacular, LLC.

Given the facility’s mission, Camp Barnabas stands out as a project designed to create even more accessible aquatics for all guests. This facility received a 2023 Leading Edge Award from WWA.


best interactive theming

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Dallas/Fort Worth, Pirate Beach

Location: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Install Date: June 2023
Area: 3,900 sq ft (363 m²)
Main Colors: Bluebird, Aviator, Aqua, Sandbar
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

With islands, LEGO features, and themed structures on site, this splash pad really stood out for its pirate theming.


Most Uniquely Themed Facility

Studio City Water Park

Location: Estrada do Istmo, Cotai, Macau, China
Install Date: April 2023
Area: 5,479 sq ft (509 m²)
Main Colors: Gobi, Mojave, Sandbar, Tiki
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: WhiteWater and WTI

This flowing curve design is custom cut from Life Floor tiles and provides subtle visual paths leading from one attraction to the next. These custom elements perfectly tailor to Studio City’s space travel theme. The combination of WTI's design and engineering, WhiteWater’s industry-leading features, and the comfort, safety, and durability of Life Floor’s surfacing creates a world-class indoor facility at the Studio City Water Park.

Studio City Water Park received a 2023 Leading Edge Award from WWA and was named a 2023 Dream Design by Aquatics International.


MOST PLAY VALUE OPPORTUNITIES

Forest Park Aquatic Center

Location: Forest Park, Illinois, USA
Install Date: January 2023
Area: 3,268 sq ft (304 m²)
Main Colors: Aviator, Pomegranate, Goldfish, Sunshine, Limelight, Ocean, Sandbar
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: Hitchcock Design Group (Naperville)
Drains: Daldorado
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces
Photography Credit: The Park District of Forest Park and Bridget Deatrick with Hitchcock Design Group

Designed as a giant game board, Forest Park Aquatic Center brought play value to a large scale at their splash pad.


BEST ZERO-DEPTH ENTRY POOL THEME

Camp Margaritaville, Northgate Property

Location: Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, USA
Install Date: June 2023
Area: 3,900 sq ft (363 m²)
Main Colors: Turquoise, Seafoam, Aqua, Sandstone, Gobi
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces
Partner:
Daldorado Drains
Fixture Manufacturer and Photo Credit:
InterActive Play

With a beach-themed triangle gradient and integrated Daldorado DALlux drains, Camp Margaritaville brought the tropics to this zero-depth entry pool.


FIRST LIFE FLOOR PROJECT IN CROATIA

Maistra Rovinj Croatia Resort

Location: Rovinj, Croatia
Install Date: May 2023
Area: 1,034 sq ft (96 m²)
Main Colors: Ocean, Bluebird, Aqua
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Amica

Bright diagonals of blue really make this splash pad pop at our first installation in Croatia.


NEWEST CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP

Carnival Jubilee Waterworks

Location: Carnival Cruise Ship
Install Date: December 2023
Area: 5,324 ft² (495 m²)
Main Colors: Ocean, Aviator, Iceberg
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: WhiteWater + Carnival Cruise Line
Installer: FMC Design

Life Floor surfaces every ship in the Carnival Fleet so the installation on Jubilee in several areas, including Waterworks shown above, is exciting to see.


2022 MAKE A SPLASH! GRANT CONTEST WINNER

Rotary Splash Island at Sammy Haggard Park

Location: Danielsville, Georgia, USA
Install Date: March 2023
Area: 2,055 sq ft (191 m²)
Main Colors: Ocean, Bluebird, Aviator, Turquoise, Seafoam
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

In 2022, we co-hosted our third annual Make a SPLASH! Grant Contest with Inside Edge Safety Surfaces to award a municipality or non-profit organization in the United States with an all-expenses-paid splash pad surface. Our intent with this contest is to uplift communities across the country each year with beautiful splash pad surfacing designs that add increased safety for residents. Our 2022 winner, Rotary Splash Island at Sammy Haggard Park, was installed in March 2023.


FACILITY MOST FULLY SURFACED WITH LIFE FLOOR

Rapid River Lodge

Location: Baxter, Minnesota, USA
Install Date: January 2023
Area: 9,408 sq ft (874 m²)
Main Colors: Gobi, Sandstone, Sandbar, Iceberg, Pomegranate, Lilypad, Iris, Sepia
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: Waterplay
Partner: Waterplay
Installer: Fischer Brothers, LLC

With Life Floor surfacing the pool deck, stairs, zero-depth entry, and pool coping, almost all of Rapid River Lodge is covered with our tiles! We always love to see such a comprehensive safety surface approach.


FIRST LIFE FLOOR PROJECT IN EGYPT

Marassi Water World

Location: El Dabaa, Matrouh Governorate, Egypt
Install Date: May 2023
Area: 6,426 sq ft (597 m²)
Main Colors: Lilypad, Limelight, Sandbar, Porcelain, Iceberg, Aviator, and Bluebird
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: WhiteWater
Installer: Raymond Sport, LLC

Island and beach theming designed by WhiteWater added an immersive backdrop to their interactive AquaPlay structure on this expansive splash pad.


MOST CREATIVE USE OF PIXEL THEMING IN A DESIGN

Imperial Meadows Park

Location: Coalhurst, Alberta, Canada
Install Date: May 2023
Area: 3,367 sq ft (313 m²)
Main Colors: Evergreen, Lilypad, Ocean, Turquoise, Iceberg, Bluebird, Iris, Platypus, Goldfish, Ivory, Sunshine Transition Strips
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Prairie Surfaces

A vibrant color palette of square tiles brought a bright design to this splash pad in Canada.


Thank you to all of our partners and customers for making these projects possible. We look forward to all of the unique installations to come in 2024!

Waterslide Tower Restoration and Refresh in Spencer, Iowa

In January of 2022, the City of Spencer, Iowa contacted Fischer Brothers about replacing the failed fiberglass steps on their waterslide tower at the Spencer City Aquatic Center. An inspection in February revealed that the tower’s fiberglass steps and landings had deteriorated to the point where there was an immediate need for repair. The once-white surfaces were stained after years of use, most of the previous surfacing product was worn smooth, and cracks had developed in the fiberglass.

The stairs and decks were originally made with a fiberglass exterior and a balsa wood coring interior. Cracks in the fiberglass had allowed water to rot the balsa wood coring from many harsh Midwestern seasons. The saturated coring would freeze each winter and thaw every spring, incrementally delaminating the fiberglass from its internal coring.

Before: Cracks in the Fiberglass

This project provided a great opportunity for Fischer Brothers and Life Floor to partner in solving this city’s slide tower issues. In August, Fischer Brothers sent a crew to tackle the project. They began by identifying all the structural problem areas and started work. Large portions of fiberglass were completely rebuilt using synthetic coring instead of balsa wood and more than 20 gallons of resin were used to repair the landings and stairs. Every square inch of the fiberglass was either rebuilt or sanded down to remove the old surface texture and create a smooth and stable surface for the installation of Life Floor safety surfacing.

Rotted Balsa Wood Core

New Fiberglass Restoration

Life Floor Safety Surfacing

Life Floor was the preferred choice for this WhiteWater and Fischer Brothers project in the City of Spencer, Iowa since the safety surfacing not only provides increased slip-resistance and cushioning, but also refreshes the visual appeal of the whole tower. The city chose to use Iceberg and River Rock colors in Life Floor’s Ripple 2.0 texture for this project. The pale blue Iceberg tiles were used on all the landings and stair treads and the grey River Rock tiles were installed on the step nosings and risers to provide contrasting colors and added safety. The surfacing on the slide tower is now more comfortable for bare feet, and it looks great!


About Fischer Brothers, LLC.

Fischer Brothers, LLC got their start in 2007 restoring waterslides, and eventually moved on to other parts of the waterpark. From waterslide towers, aquatic play structures, spray features and more, Fischer Brothers has led the charge in pioneering innovative solutions for the aquatics restoration industry. Fischer Brothers is currently undergoing the process to become a Certified Life Floor Installer.

WINTERIZE YOUR AQUATIC FACILITY: TIPS FOR MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT

We hope you had a safe and successful summer season! As you winterize your outdoor splash pads and pool decks, take advantage of the checklist below to reflect on how your facility performed during the season and make plans to fix any issues that arise. 

WINTERIZE YOUR AQUATIC FACILITY: TIPS FOR MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT

FILTERS

Be sure to flush the system and clean out the filters one last time before winterization is complete. This helps ensure no debris clogs the system and leaves less chance for microbial growth during fall and spring months before frost sets in. Annual preventative maintenance is critical to catch any issues before they turn into more serious problems. 

WINTERIZE YOUR AQUATIC FACILITY: TIPS FOR MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT

SPRAY FEATURES AND POOLS

Check all moving pieces for worn parts and fix them or order replacements ahead of time to ensure a smooth reopening process. Also be sure to remove and clean all nozzles and spray heads to remove any build-up. Drain all the feature lines and pool bodies so water does not sit in pipes during the winter; this could cause bursting and additional damage.

Each equipment manufacturer has specific instructions for how to winterize your facility’s spray features. We recommend that you follow them closely to ensure no damage is caused by low temperature variations. Always check to be sure your main water and electrical supplies are turned off.

WINTERIZE YOUR AQUATIC FACILITY: TIPS FOR MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT

SURFACING

Some of the top reasons for injuries at aquatic facilities are directly related to surfacing. Review your injury reports and categorize based on type. For example, we would recommend segmenting based on the following top categories:

Slip-and-Falls

These types of injuries are a direct result of having a slippery surface. Common injuries that are caused by this type include bruising, skinned joints, concussions, broken limbs, and abrasions in general caused by a rough or hard surface.

Burns from surface or grating 

These types of injuries result from having a surface in full sun during operation. Metal grates and filtration systems can heat up to dangerous temperatures and cause blistering and burn wounds. Concrete can also reach scalding temperatures especially in apron areas surrounding spray features so be aware of burn-related injuries when reviewing your injury reports.

Impact Injuries from Slides

These types of injuries are typically centralized in the feet since most guests will go down slides feet first. Examples include stubbed or broken toes, foot abrasions, and sprained ankles. If guests slide down head first, concussions are not uncommon and drowning incidents may occur. Installing slide landing pads at slide bottoms can help reduce or virtually eliminate the number of injuries related to slide exits by increasing impact absorption and decreasing exit speed with a slip-resistant surface.

Contamination

These types of injuries are related to water-borne pathogens or contaminants that lead to illnesses. Cryptosporidium (commonly known as Crypto) is a major concern for aquatic facilities and taking necessary precautions when cleaning surfaces is critical. The Model Aquatic Health Code is a good reference.

Once you’ve identified the top injury categories at your facility, you can begin to address your top pain points. Many of these injuries can be lessened or prevented by choosing an independent, third-party tested safety surface from NSF/ANSI/CAN 50.

WINTERIZE YOUR AQUATIC FACILITY: TIPS FOR MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT

DESIGN

While design can be more subjective, be sure to consider your guest experience from an overarching standpoint both physically and visually. 

Physically, how do guests from a wide range of abilities and ages interact with your facility? Are sinks in restrooms placed at a height accessible to people riding wheelchairs or Little People? Does your facility have ADA approved ramps integrated all the way from the parking lot to the features?

Visually, consider the current theme and appearance of your facility in all interactive areas. Ensure there are no broken or missing elements, and critically evaluate the experience guests will have at the location. Additionally, consider new opportunities to enhance theming or different types of play. Depending on your target market and average age of guests, add patterns or imagery to your pool deck or splash pad surface to engage and encourage play. If budget allows, add new aquatic features that expand play options to a wider range of different ages and abilities. Find opportunities to increase play value and encourage risky play

WINTERIZE YOUR AQUATIC FACILITY: TIPS FOR MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT

For more information on retrofitting your facility with Life Floor or specifying Life Floor on a new build, please contact us here or send us an email at solutions@lifefloor.com

Looking to budget Life Floor into the cost of your project? Reach out to our team to request our Budget Guide or a complimentary quote.


Please Note: This article is intended to supplement winterization procedures, but should not be considered a comprehensive guide. For complete instructions, please refer to your operation manuals provided by product manufacturers.

ARE WE BUBBLE WRAPPING KIDS WITH SAFETY SURFACING IN AQUATICS?

Many adults today remember childhoods full of hot metal slides baking in the sun, sky-high monkey bars with rough concrete beneath them, and swings that soared above a seemingly endless expanse of worn grass. Today, you look around at playgrounds and see brightly colored plastic slides surrounded by sand, complex multi-level play structures with spongy surfaces waiting below, and zip lines with impact absorbing platforms on either side.

Photo Credit: Click Americana, Vintage and Retro Memories | 1900’s

Photo Credit: Click Americana, Vintage and Retro Memories | 1900’s

Photo Credit: Landscape Structures | 2017

Photo Credit: Landscape Structures | 2017

Seeing all of these cushioned corners and safety rails, the question lurks at the back of our minds, “Are we bubble wrapping kids?”

Now contrast that playful imagery of modern playgrounds with abrasive, injury-prone concrete surfaces that coat many splash pads and pool decks still today.

ARE WE BUBBLE WRAPPING KIDS WITH SAFETY SURFACING IN AQUATICS?

Consider the playground example: for decades playgrounds had no safety surfacing and as a result kids were injured often. Then wood chips, rubberized surfaces, sand, and other cushioned materials were introduced in an effort to promote play while mitigating injuries. The result was an environment that promotes play, reduces liability, and limits the number of serious play-related injuries.

Splash pads are essentially playgrounds with water, so why wouldn’t we treat them the same way?

When water is combined with concrete surfacing on splash pads, hydroplaning occurs and results in slip and fall accidents. These accidents typically involve concussions, road rash, and other major play-halting injuries due to the unsafe risks associated with concrete surfacing.

TYPES OF RISK

You may ask, “But isn’t it good for kids to learn how to handle risk and learn how to fall properly?”

We completely agree that learning how to fall is important, but injuries that halt play because of a concussion or broken limb are not acceptable. These injuries are avoidable, costly, and can have lasting negative implications. Simply put, there’s bad risk and there’s good risk. 

Bad risk is also known as a hazard and involves things that can cause harm to an individual such as sharp edges, hot surfaces, and hard impacts (1). This kind of risk does not allow for children to grow and learn positively - it often causes aversion to the source and triggers fear responses. Young toddlers are inherently clumsy and do not yet have full motor control of their limbs. When this clumsiness is paired with their inability to reason and determine dangerous situations, injuries can feel more terrifying and out-of-control. Often, when a child is injured they tend to associate the injury with their surroundings instead of the specific thing that hurt them which causes aversion to an environment (2).

Good risk is often associated with what we call ‘risky play.’ Risky play can appear in many different forms based on age, motor skills, and ability. Some types of risky play include (3): 

  • Play with High Speed

  • Rough and Tumble Play

  • Play Near Dangerous Elements (Water)

Splash pads that feature concrete surfacing inhibit children from engaging in some of these types of risky play. When a surface is slip-resistant and cushioned instead, the opportunities for engaging a greater range of activities and types of risky play are more available. Children are able to run, hop, crawl, cartwheel, tumble, and move freely around a zone of water play in more ways than if safety surfacing wasn’t included on the splash pad. 

Risky Play adds Play Value

Like we said, kids are inherently clumsy and they will trip over their own feet and fall. However, when they do fall, our mission at Life Floor is to ensure they get right back up and continue imagining, learning, and creating their own world of risky play instead of getting injured and ending their day of family fun. 

NSF International agrees that splash pads need safety surfacing. In 2019 they passed NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50:26 outlining criteria for safety surfacing products which include slip-resistance and cushioning. They recognize that similar safety parameters are needed in comparison to dry playgrounds.

We don’t want kids to feel averse to aquatic facilities especially as they're first introduced to aquatics and water; we want to enable them to positively play, explore, and learn through these new experiences. 

NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50:26

SO TO ANSWER THE BURNING QUESTION:

No, we aren’t bubble wrapping kids with safety surfacing. We’re enabling risky play and we’re helping them avoid unnecessary hazards until they’re old enough to understand them. 

Let’s let them explore, run, jump, and play freely instead of telling them to walk slow and mind the slippery concrete in an effort to try and stay safe.

If you would like to continue the conversation, please email us at solutions@lifefloor.com to share your ideas.



Sources:

1. Ken Kutska | Executive Director of the International Playground Safety Institute | Past president of NRPA | Chair of the ASTM F15.29 Subcommittee for performance requirements for public play equipment.

2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201609/21-common-reactions-trauma

3. Source: Sandsetter, Ellen Beate Hansen (2009): "Characteristics of Risky Play". Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning. 9:1, 3-21.

SETTING A SAFER PRECEDENT FOR CANADA: YMCA OF GREATER MONCTON

Recently, NSF International expanded Standard 50 to extend across Canada, which includes recommendations for surfacing in aquatic play areas under NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 (formerly NSF/ANSI 50:26).

YMCA OF GREATER MONCTON

With its recent Life Floor installation, the YMCA of Greater Moncton, NB is one of the first aquatic facilities in Canada to recognize the importance of having NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 certified safety surfacing. The facility is a combination of an indoor splash pad with a zero-depth entry and a playground. Because of this unique configuration, the staff sought out a product that was able to transition seamlessly from wet to dry applications while maintaining their commitment to safety. To accomplish this, they selected Life Floor to be installed.

Having seen Life Floor at a major trade show, we knew it was the product we wanted to install in our new facility.
— Scott Munro, Vice President of Facilities
YMCA OF GREATER MONCTON

A custom beach-inspired design was chosen to complement the existing tropical theming. Life Floor’s foam-rubber tiles were able to create the perfect transition the YMCA needed between the wet and dry play areas, especially since splash pads are essentially wet playgrounds. The cushioned and impact-absorbing surfacing allows children to run, jump, and play without limits - never needing to stop and put on shoes or change the way they play from one area to the next. As a result, the fully immersive experience enhances imaginative play. 

The YMCA of Greater Moncton is skipping ahead of their competition by creating a facility full of imagination, play, and fun. They have created a holistic experience to provide their members with the perfect beach day right in their community’s backyard.

We thank the YMCA of Greater Moncton for their commitment to safety and for being one of the first in Canada to adopt NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 safety surfacing standards for the benefit of their members. We look forward to the future as more Canadian facilities follow their example and recognize the importance of this safety standard as an integral part of their business.




To learn more about the official code in your region or state, check out this free resource.


If you’d like to specify or install NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 surfacing for an aquatic play area in Canada, please contact our Canadian Partner, Paul-Émile Beaudry at pebeaudry@polyvalens.ca to assist you in both English and French.

For U.S. clients and all other inquiries, please contact us directly via our online contact form or send us an email at solutions@lifefloor.com

French Translation

Le YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB crée un précédent sécuritaire en milieu aquatique au Canada.

Récemment, NSF International a étendu la norme Standard 50 partout au Canada, incluant des recommandations pour les surfaces de jeu aquatiques sous l’appellation NSF/ANSI/CAN 50,26 (précédemment nommée NSF/ANSI 50:26).

Avec ses récentes installations de Life Floor, le YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB est l’un des premiers centres d’installation aquatique à reconnaître l’importance d’avoir une surface sécuritaire certifiée NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26. En effet, l’établissement se compose d’un mix de  deux (2) aires de jeux, l’une étant une surface mouillée (indoor splash pad) plane et l’autre étant une aire de jeux sèche. À cause de cette configuration spéciale, les employés ont recherché un produit qui permettrait la transition en toute transparence, de la surface mouillée à la surface sèche pour leurs activités tout en gardant un engagement de sécurité irréprochable. Un seul choix leur permettait de tout rallier : Life Floor.

Après avoir vu Life Floor lors d'un grand salon, nous avons sû que c’était le produit que nous voulions pour nos installations !  —Scott Munro, Vice Président du YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB

Au niveau du design,  le thème tropical dans l’aire de jeu d’eau et le thème plage dans l’aire de jeu sèche sont en parfaite harmonie pour s’adapter au thème pré-existant. Et maintenant, les enfants peuvent donc courir, sauter, culbuter et jouer sans limites sur une surface conforme aux nouveaux standards. Les surfaces coussinées  et absorbant tout impact permettent aux enfants de jouer sans s’arrêter pour mettre leurs chaussures ou changer leur façon de jouer d’un endroit à l’autre. Comme résultat, l’expérience devient totalement immersive et renforce leur jeu imaginatif.

Le YMCA du Grand Moncton devient donc un chef de file en adoptant des installations pleines d’imagination, de jeu et de plaisir ! Ils ont créé une expérience holistique en offrant à leurs membres une journée de plage parfaite en plein dans leur cour !

Nous remercions le YMCA du Grand Moncton de leur engagement pour la sécurité de leurs membres et d’être les premiers au Canada à appliquer la norme NSF/ANSI/CAN 50.26. Nous espérons que plusieurs autres organismes, centres aquatiques  et municipalités suivront l’exemple du YMCA et reconnaîtront l’importance de l’application de cette recommandation comme faisant partie de leur politique d’opération .

Si vous désirez de plus amples informations sur les tuiles Life Floor, communiquez avec Polyvalens Inc, notre distributeur au Canada.

Pairing Luxury with Fun at ULTIQA Beach Haven on Broadbeach Resort

ULTIQA Beach Haven on Broadbeach Resort

Located on the Gold Coast in Australia is ULTIQA Beach Haven on Broadbeach Resort. A recent refurbishment of this unique outdoor swimming pool included Life Floor to improve comfort and underfoot safety on the pool island deck, stair step, and wading pool floor at this popular family resort. 

ULTIQA Beach Haven on Broadbeach Resort
Guests are loving the Life Floor tiles especially the safe texture for the little ones in the wading section. The colourful design of the Life Floor tiles on the pool island is inviting and provides a safe area for children to enjoy.
— Pam McIntyre, Resort Manager, ULTIQA Beach Haven on Broadbeach Resort

Featuring a wavy pattern in Life Floor’s High Tide Color Theme, this slip-resistant safety surfacing enables guests to run, jump, and play without fear of slipping and falling on the island platform. One of the top concerns for many facilities is related to slip-and-fall injuries and increased liability, so choosing Life Floor is not only a beautiful choice, but also a decision that can help mitigate risk. Due to Life Floor’s NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50 Certification, facility operators can be assured that Life Floor provides an industry-leading safety surfacing option to improve guest experience. Through feedback from families, this resort has experienced a positive increase in overall user happiness that contributes to an immersive and inclusive experience for all ages.

ULTIQA Beach Haven on Broadbeach Resort
ULTIQA Beach Haven on Broadbeach Resort

Thank you to ULTIQA Hotels and Resorts for the opportunity to make your pool deck safer and more beautiful with Life Floor. We look forward to continuing to serve you and your guests.

Vibrantly Themed Splash Pads Featured at Perfect Day® at CocoCay®

We’re proud to be featured at two beautiful splash pads that can be enjoyed whenever passengers spend a Perfect Day® at CocoCay® courtesy of Royal Caribbean. Guests can cool off, run and play, or relax on the sidelines at both Splashaway Bay designed by Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering or at Captain Jill’s Galleon designed by the Life Floor Studio. These two projects at CocoCay are quintessential examples of Life Floor’s custom cutting technology and our ability to match any aquatic feature’s theming. 

Splashaway Bay has a vibrant and whimsical underwater theme with bright inlays and shapes that match the graphic design of the play structure panels on the splash pad. This engaging design enhances play value by inspiring kids and families to create a variety of games hopping from color to color and shape to shape. The pairing of the surface design with this splash pad’s play structures and water features has easily made Splashaway Bay one of many focal points on the island. As a result, it has received recognition across the aquatics industry, including being named a 2019 AI Dream Design.

Perfect Day® at CocoCay®

Image Credit: Royal Caribbean

At Captain Jill’s Galleon, Life Floor surrounds a pirate vessel in a wavy pattern designed to mimic the water and shore beneath the massive hull. Sandy “islands” feature water cannons for water play at the surface level. As children venture down porthole slides and engage with the splash features, they can easily imagine sailing the high seas with the vast expanse of the ocean surrounding the island on the horizon.

Perfect Day® at CocoCay®

Image Credit: Royal Caribbean

Thank you to Royal Caribbean, Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering, WhiteWater West, and Inside Edge for collaborating with us to make the splash pads at this dream getaway a reality!

Transforming Safety and Design at Hills Swimming

Hills Swimming Swim School

Hills Swimming has been a long-time community favorite swimming school in Kenthurst, New South Wales, Australia. Prior to Life Floor, owners Julie and Deny Zancanaro tried to minimize slip-and-fall incidents with large interlocking rubber mats that were difficult to clean and maintain. The Zancanaros were frustrated with the mats not being an adequate solution around the pool deck and decided to do some research into a safer alternative surface. 

Before - Interlocking Foam Mats at Hills Swimming Swim School

Before - Interlocking Foam Mats

Hills Swimming Swim School

After - Life Floor

After considerable research, they decided to purchase Life Floor’s Ripple 2.0 tiles for their pool deck. Two colors were recommended, Bluebird and Aviator, from Life Floor's High Tide theme to complement the existing colors of the facility. The tiles were laid in a bold zig-zag arrangement across the pool deck that also included metric depth markers.

Hills Swimming Swim School
We are absolutely delighted with the transformation Life Floor has made to our centre. It looks great, it’s keeping everyone so much safer as they move around the wet pool deck, and it’s a lot easier to clean than the rubber mats we had.
— Julie Zancanaro, Owner, Hills Swimming

Thank you to Julie and Deny Zancanaro at Hills Swimming for choosing Life Floor to make your swim school’s pool deck safer and more beautiful for your students!


Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

Splashaway Bay at CocoCay. Photo credit: Royal Caribbean

Did you know that despite being manufactured primarily as geometric tiles, Life Floor can be custom cut into any shape imaginable? From curvy designs to themed imagery and from games to giant logos, we’ve done it! Read more to learn about some of these popular design options that stray from our standard offerings to offer a more customized experience. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

For theming opportunities, we’ve cut anything from life-sized surfboards to giant paw prints and sandy islands into our floors. 

Captain Jill’s Galleon at CocoCay. Photo credit: Royal Caribbean

Captain Jill’s Galleon at CocoCay.
Photo credit: Royal Caribbean

ULTIQA Beach Haven Resort, Australia

Beach Haven, Australia

Curvy or circular designs are a popular choice for customers looking for a more organic look. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

For added play value at the surface level, we’ve created games to add to the guest experience for our customers as well. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

One of our most popular requests is to add elements of branding to surfaces - from giant logos to inlays that represent the facilities where they’re installed. 

As you can see, the opportunities and options are truly endless!


So how do we do it? 

The process varies by project. In some cases, like in the instance of giant circles, organic shapes can be hand cut on site by a skilled installation team. Large swooping curves can often be achieved this way as well.

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Westfield Diagram

In other cases, projects come factory cut with labeled parts and diagrams to streamline the install process on site and to ensure design accuracy. 


Why don’t all customers take this approach? 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

These designs are all amazing and we love that we’re able to create them! Unfortunately, some of these examples are out of budget for some customers. When dealing with curvy or custom designs, more material is needed to account for the amount of scrap created when trimming our square tiles to create these shapes. Installation costs are a bit higher as well due to the attention to detail needed to get the designs installed properly. 


Is there a more budget-friendly way to custom cut designs? 

Of course! In some cases, customers have opted for a repeatable inlay that can be cut from a single tile to help brand or theme their space. A great example of this is the maple leaf inlay we created for the Maple Grove Community Center

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

In other cases, a custom design only covers a small portion of a project while the rest of the design sticks with some of our more budget-friendly design options like our preferred colors or standard tile shapes. At the Courtyard by Marriott Anaheim, a few custom inlays and activities were interspersed throughout our simple pattern of square tiles in our High Tide theme

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

Another great way to incorporate a curved design is to limit the amount of tiles that need to be trimmed into a custom shape. At the splash pad at the Australia Zoo, only the perimeter of the “pond” needed to be cut while all other tiles could be installed as full square pieces.

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

While these projects all take a little extra effort during the design, manufacturing, and installation processes, we always love the results! Have an idea in mind that you’d like to explore with our team? Reach out to us and we’ll do our best to make it a reality!

Our Top 5 Life Floor Design Tips

While our Studio Team is happy to create design renderings for our clients, many customers and partnering designers have expressed interest in creating their own flooring designs. For anyone looking to get started with their own Life Floor projects, we’ve put together five of our top design tips to help guide the process! 


Include Three or More Colors in Designs 

We’ve found that designs containing three or more colors look best after installation. As an added benefit, they minimize visibility of debris or regular wear over time. This concept is similar to how complex carpet designs are applied in high traffic areas like casinos. An intricate or varied pattern will hide most imperfections. In contrast, any debris or marking on a solid field of color will be very apparent. We know it’s impossible to keep pool decks and splash pads absolutely spotless all day so this technique helps aquatic facilities continue to look their best. Multi-color designs also enhance spaces where they’re installed by creating vibrant and interesting patterns at the surface level. These designs are vast improvements to drab fields of grey concrete! They lend themselves to great theming opportunities as well.


Design within Project Budgets

While the sky's the limit for some customers, most are looking to stick within a specific budget. With a wide range of design and pricing needs in mind, we’ve created a variety of shape and color options to accommodate an array of project types.  

Our tiles are available in four shapes - squares, triangles, rectangles, and hexagons. Our square tiles are the most cost-effective option both in terms of material and installation costs. Triangles and rectangles have very similar material costs (since they’re just half squares). It’s important to note that they are slightly more expensive to install since more pieces are involved and the designs are typically a bit more complex. Of all of our shapes, hexagons are the most expensive.

Beyond these standard tile shapes, we can also custom cut our tiles into just about anything - curves, logos, games, images, you name it! These unique designs look great but use more material, require more factory preparation, and take more time to install so they’re generally the most expensive. 

Choosing an area as an accent piece can also enhance facilities within budget. This focal point can add visual interest to an entire project while also keeping the overall cost lower by using a simpler design throughout.

There are many ways to mix and match our tile shapes and colors to achieve a great project look. Hopefully these basics help inform some of the best opportunities to create some stellar designs that are also affordable at any price point!


Use a Staggered Grid for Tile Layouts

Staggered Grid

Standard (Checkerboard) Grid

While most people generally assume that our square tiles are best arranged in a standard (or checkerboard) grid, we actually recommend designing with our tiles on a staggered grid. We’ve found that this layout is ideal for ease of installation and maximum durability over time. Layouts that use standard grids are still a beautiful option; however, we generally recommend designing with them only for smaller applications or for designs that really rely on the checkerboard tile layout for a distinct pattern or look. 


Accent Designs with Theming and Play Options 

Are you looking to add some sea creatures to your splash pad design? No problem! We have several pre-designed thematic inlays, like fish and crabs, that fit within single square tiles. We can also cut larger creatures, whales or dolphins for instance, across several tiles. 

Want to add a game into the surface? We can custom cut nearly anything into Life Floor. Some popular choices have included hopscotch and checkerboards.

For branding opportunities or to include a facility’s logo within a design, we can precision cut all of the parts in advance at our factory. They arrive ready to install to ensure brand accuracy and a smooth installation process on site. A great example of a large-scale logo we’ve created recently was one that we produced for the Fun Spot splash pad in Orlando, FL. The finished product and a diagram showing all of the precut parts are pictured above. 


Take Advantage of Our Online Resources

Did you know that there are helpful resources on the Design Studio page of our website related to creating designs with Life Floor tiles?

For design inspiration, our Portfolio and past Lookbooks are great places to start!

One of the most popular resources we have posted is a chart that shows color equivalents for all of our tile colors. If you design in Adobe Illustrator (like we do), the Hex codes are very helpful to get the colors in your layouts as accurate as possible. 

Our pre-established color palettes and tile patterns have been popular options for our customers. Head to the Themes and Patterns pages to explore these designs. We even have downloadable templates that can be used in Adobe Illustrator for anyone looking to cut and paste these options into their projects. Use one of these as designed or vary it slightly to cater it to your project!

To get started with a scaled tile grid to represent Life Floor in AutoCAD, we have templates that include hatches for both Metric and Imperial designs. 

Looking for technical details to better understand how our tiles integrate during installation? Those are available on our Specs + Resources page as well! 


While the tips above cover our major suggestions, these are only some of the best practices we’ve established over the years! Want to learn more or have questions for our Studio Team? Feel free to email us at design@lifefloor.com. We love partnering with designers and take great joy in seeing what other great projects are dreamed up by other companies around the world!

Interested in our upcoming Designing with Life Floor Guide?

Sign up below to receive access in advance of it going live! 

Designing with Life Floor's Tile Shapes

Did you know that Life Floor comes in four standard shapes? Our tiles were originally manufactured as 24” square tiles, but rectangles, triangles, and hexagons have been developed over the years. With these shapes, our Studio Team and partnering design firms have been able to imagine an endless range of possibilities for aquatic facilities around the world. Through countless different configurations and color combinations, our tiles enable opportunities to create beautiful environments with unparalleled safety benefits. Explore the design options available with our standard shape offerings below!


Squares 

Life Floor Squares
Life Floor Squares
Life Floor Squares
Life Floor Squares

Our square tiles can be arranged in randomized multi-color fields to evoke environmental elements like sand and water. They can also be configured in colorful gradient patterns using a range of tones from our palette. For a more classic design, squares look beautiful when arranged in a checkerboard grid. For a more modern effect, square tiles of the same color can be installed consecutively to form long, rectangular configurations. Some facilities have even opted for a staggered zig-zag pattern. To add even more visual interest, customers often request thematic inlays that fit within a single tile. While the original shape of our tiles may be simple, it is filled with the potential to create both beautiful and cost-effective design solutions!


Triangles 

Life Floor Triangles
Life Floor Triangles
Life Floor Triangles
Life Floor Triangles

Simply by cutting our square tiles diagonally to form right triangles, we’ve created an array of new design opportunities. These tiles have been the most popular choice when creating gradient effects, especially when mimicking coastlines. They’re also an excellent choice for adding accents of color around a facility. For a more geometric approach, mirrored triangles can be arranged to create an even larger pattern. Images like pine trees can even be created in a surface design by combining triangles with our rectangle and square tiles!


Rectangles 

Life Floor Rectangles
Life Floor Rectangles

Our rectangular tiles present the opportunity to design with a popular 1’ x 2’ grid or to create long plank effects by aligning tiles of the same color in a row. They enable designers to create more modern, geometric patterns. Similar to our other shapes, rectangles can be arranged in gradients or they can be used to break up solid fields of color with bright accents. Due to their size, rectangles are a popular choice in smaller spaces like locker rooms. Try varying the rotation of these tiles to achieve a dynamic look. 


Hexagons 

Life Floor Hexagons
Life Floor Hexagons

In 2019, we unveiled the newest addition to our shape collection: the hexagon. Our Studio Team loves how this playful, geometric shape transports visitors to colorful landscapes with intricate and delightful patterning. Our hexagon tiles add immediate visual complexity to any space, without the need for additional design work or custom cutting. They can be used in more natural designs to mimic the look of a sparkling body of water or a varied landscape of grass, dirt, and rocks. Hexagons also lend themselves to radial designs and are perfect for splash pads.


While these shapes encompass our standard options, Life Floor tiles can also be cut into virtually anything! We commonly install curved designs, logos, custom shapes, and inlays. Is there a new standard shape you’d like to see us offer? Let us know in the comments section below!  

Flooring Design Themes for Aquatic Facilities

When designing with Life Floor, clients are often looking to create or enhance an existing theme at a facility. Since our tiles are specifically engineered for use in aquatic environments, these spaces are often themed around water; however, sometimes new themes are imagined as well! We love the creativity that goes into envisioning these spaces. Check out some of our favorites that have been installed as well as some ideas for themed splash pads that haven’t been built yet! 


Under the Sea 

Our blue tones and sea creature inlays are most often featured in spaces that have an underwater theme. Some spaces are more whimsical with octopus tentacles and others are more abstract using a triangle gradient or randomized squares. Curvy waves are also a popular choice for clients looking to emulate an under the sea look. 


Into the Wild 

Several facilities with Life Floor installations have a woodsy or wilderness theme. These spaces typically feature earth tones of tans, browns, and greens as well as thematic paw print inlays. The designs that we’ve proposed for these spaces have used a combination of our available shapes including triangles, rectangles, and hexagons.

Wilderness Resort Splash Pad
Concept for a Forest-Themed Splash Pad

Concept for a Forest-Themed Splash Pad

Concept for a Hexagon River Design

Concept for a Hexagon River Design

Lilypad Landing Pad at Great Wolf Lodge

Lilypad Landing Pad at Great Wolf Lodge


Sunny Beachscapes

Adding a beach element to a water-themed splash pad increases visual interest and the opportunity to feature different inlays across the sand and sea. One of our largest beach designs, pictured below at Atlantis the Palm Dubai, features a triangle gradient and a clear progression from land to water and back to land. Other projects with this theme feature a body of water surrounded by sand or, the opposite, an island surrounded by water. Some customers have even opted to add pirate treasure hunt themes to their tropical islands! 

Splash Pad at Atlantis the Palm Dubai
Pirate-Themed Splash Pad at Wyndham Bonnet Creek

Pirate-Themed Splash Pad at Wyndham Bonnet Creek

The Beach Splash Pad in Dubai

The Beach Splash Pad in Dubai


Winter Wonderland 

While these wintery concepts have yet to be installed on a project, we love the idea of a unique frosty theme, especially on a hot summer day! 

Concept for a Winter-Themed Splash Pad

Concept for a Winter-Themed Splash Pad

Concept for a Snowflake Splash Pad

Concept for a Snowflake Splash Pad


Lily Pads 

Some customers have opted for lily pad inspired ideas. These curvy features add visual interest to the splash pads where they’re featured. At a smaller scale, they can inspire children to hop across individual lily pads in a game of leapfrog. 

Florida Aquarium Splash Pad

Florida Aquarium Splash Pad

Lake George RV Park Splash Pad. Image Credit: Martin Aquatic

Lake George RV Park Splash Pad. Image Credit: Martin Aquatic


Bright & Tropical 

Several aquatic facilities have requested vibrant, tropics-inspired themes. Bright pops of color on a surface can dramatically enliven a space and complement surrounding designs and imagery! 

Vidanta Riviera Maya Splash Pad. Photo Credit: WhiteWater West

Vidanta Riviera Maya Splash Pad. Photo Credit: WhiteWater West

Concept for a Bright, Triangle Pattern on a Splash Pad

Concept for a Bright, Triangle Pattern on a Splash Pad

Splashaway Bay at CocoCay. Photo Credit: Royal Caribbean

Splashaway Bay at CocoCay. Photo Credit: Royal Caribbean

Moon Palace Jamaica Splash Pad

Moon Palace Jamaica Splash Pad


Our in-house Studio Team and our design partners loved dreaming up ideas for these designs and themes featured in locations around the world. We welcome all the concepts and ideas our customers want - unique and familiar alike.

What new themes would you like to see featured at aquatic facilities that are surfaced with Life Floor? Let us know in the comments section below! 

National Park and Recreation Month: Featured Installations

Happy National Park and Recreation Month! We’d like to extend a huge thank you to our clients working in Parks and Recreation departments for your continued work on making our communities beautiful, fun, and safe. To celebrate, we’re featuring four municipal aquatic facilities where we’ve installed Life Floor across the country. If you happen to live nearby one of these, be sure to visit when you can!


Tropics Indoor Waterpark + Bamboo Bay - Shoreview Community Center, Shoreview, MN

Tropics Indoor Waterpark + Bamboo Bay - Shoreview Community Center, Shoreview, MN
Tropics Indoor Waterpark + Bamboo Bay - Shoreview Community Center, Shoreview, MN
Tropics Indoor Waterpark + Bamboo Bay - Shoreview Community Center, Shoreview, MN
Tropics Indoor Waterpark + Bamboo Bay - Shoreview Community Center, Shoreview, MN

The city of Shoreview renovated the existing Indoor Tropics Waterpark pool deck in late 2018. They chose Life Floor in sandy shades and a natural Slate texture to reflect the tropical beachside theme of the park. Guests and staff immediately recognized the additional comfort and safety Life Floor provided. Shortly after, the city moved forward with the decision to add Life Floor to the locker rooms. “Adding Life Floor to the locker rooms was something a lot of people noticed right away: ‘Oh great, you got rid of the slippery floor!’” Buck noted once Life Floor had been installed.

The build-out for Bamboo Bay, the multi-level spray structure expansion, was completed a few months after in early 2019. The city again chose Life Floor to cover the entire surrounding deck of the structure and the nearby locker rooms. 


Pleasant Glade Pool Deck and Parr Park Splash Pad - Grapevine, TX

Pleasant Glade Pool Deck and Parr Park Splash Pad - Grapevine, TX
Pleasant Glade Pool Deck and Parr Park Splash Pad - Grapevine, TX
Pleasant Glade Pool Deck and Parr Park Splash Pad - Grapevine, TX
Pleasant Glade Pool Deck and Parr Park Splash Pad - Grapevine, TX
We have really enjoyed Life Floor. It has definitely made our deck that used to be so hot much better to walk on. It’s great.
— Hunter Hardeman, Aquatic Supervisor of Grapevine

The City of Grapevine, TX provides an impressive aquatic program to the surrounding community with both indoor and outdoor facilities to play, exercise, and compete. With an average summer temperature of 96 degrees, the city experiences extremely hot concrete decks that can hit 140 degrees in the afternoon. Grapevine chose Life Floor because of the tile’s unique ability to dissipate heat underfoot. Unlike concrete, Life Floor tiles do not absorb heat, which is why the tiles feel comfortable to walk on in the summer sun. The city also installed Life Floor in the locker room areas to help reduce slip and fall injuries.


Trailhead Park Splash Pad - Winter Haven, FL

Trailhead Park Splash Pad - Winter Haven, FL
Trailhead Park Splash Pad - Winter Haven, FL
Trailhead Park Splash Pad - Winter Haven, FL
Trailhead Park Splash Pad - Winter Haven, FL

The City of Winter Haven, FL built the splash pad at Trailhead Park in 2016. The city opened it originally with a concrete finish for the surface and they’ve resurfaced it about 3-4 times with different products. After experiencing some slip and fall incidents, they tried a rubberized paint with a sand-like substrate in it; however, injuries were still problematic. The committee at Winter Haven ultimately opted for Life Floor, pleased with the fact that Life Floor met all of the requirements they needed to solve while also being certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 50.

Not only does it look awesome but it meets many criteria of fall and slip resistance and we’ve gotten nothing but great feedback from the product and that we did something to address our slip and fall issues.
— Andy Palmer, City of Winter Haven Parks Planning and Strategic Initiatives Manager

Westfield Memorial Pool Complex - Westfield, NJ

Westfield Memorial Pool Complex - Westfield, NJ
Westfield Memorial Pool Complex - Westfield, NJ
Westfield Memorial Pool Complex - Westfield, NJ
We haven’t had a single major incident of people getting hurt on Life Floor, and it’s worth the peace of mind that the kids are safe.
— Heather Re, Aquatics Supervisor Westfield Memorial Pool

After 5 years of enjoying Life Floor, Westfield Memorial Pool decided to redesign their splash pad to create a centerpiece attraction at their aquatic facility. The city’s main objectives were to refresh the space as a way to drive membership sign-ups and to create a beautiful environment where families could share memories on social media. By collaborating with the Life Floor Studio team, the Westfield splash pad now features a vibrant, unique octopus design that guides kids through and around splash features adjacent to the facility’s zero-depth leisure pool. 


Interested in adding Life Floor’s safety surfacing to an aquatic facility at your park? Feel free to contact us!

5 Reasons Why Aquatic Facilities Choose Life Floor’s Predefined Themes and Patterns

While Life Floor can be used to create virtually any pattern or design on a flooring surface, we’ve created a catalog of Themes and Patterns as a starting point for customers looking for design inspiration. These options can match or complement a facility’s overall look while also providing the standard benefits that come with any Life Floor installation. Pairing the safety, comfort, and durability of our tiles with these aesthetically interesting designs has added play value and theming to aquatic facilities across the country and around the world. Here are some of the top reasons why customers have chosen to explore our Themes or Patterns for their projects!    

Multi-Color Designs

All of our Themes, or color palettes, are designed with three or more colors to optimize how Life Floor installations look over time. Our reason for favoring a multi-colored design approach is that monochromatic surfaces, much like single-color carpets, show regular wear or debris much more quickly. Since many of our projects are located outdoors where it’s not uncommon for occasional leaves, twigs, dirt, or grass to make their way onto splash pads, we’ve found that breaking up the field of color makes these surfaces look best for an extended period of time. As an added benefit, installations that use Life Floor Themes often enliven and complement surrounding parks and aquatic spaces with a visually interesting palette and design.

High Tide Theme and 301 Pattern at Synderville Basin Rec Center - Park City, UT

High Tide Theme and 301 Pattern at Synderville Basin Rec Center - Park City, UT

Considerable Cost Savings 

Our Themes showcase combinations of some of our most popular colors. Customers looking to add safety and design often opt to use these color families as starting points for their designs. 

High Tide: Ocean, Bluebird, Aviator

High Tide: Ocean, Bluebird, Aviator [Note: Updated in 2021. See Update Here]

Montauk: Mojave, Gobi, Sandbar

Montauk: Mojave, Gobi, Sandstone

Boulder: Boulevard, River Rock, Foghorn

Boulder: Boulevard, River Rock, Foghorn

Since Life Floor is manufactured as standard 24”x24” tiles, our Square Patterns (301, 401, 501) offer the greatest cost savings by maximizing the full use of the material. Installation time is lowest for these options as well. Our Triangle (302, 402, 502) and Rectangle (305, 405, 505) Patterns offer a combination of full and half tiles, providing an efficient use of material that minimizes waste. Installation time is slightly longer since these Patterns are a bit more complex; however, many of our budget-conscious customers still opt for these designs given the added visual interest they provide. 

Square Pattern (401)

Square Pattern (401)

Triangle Pattern (302)

Triangle Pattern (302)

Rectangle Pattern (505)

Rectangle Pattern (505)

Overall, we’ve found that when municipalities are interested in adding a safety solution to their aquatic facilities or want to upgrade to meet the NSF/ANSI 50 standard for aquatic surfacing, they most commonly opt for the Theme and Pattern options described above. These designs provide all of the benefits of Life Floor at the best prices. 

Reduced Time to Receive a Quote 

Because our Themes and Patterns are pre-established, creating a rendering that fits within the boundaries of a specific project area is a fairly quick process. When compared to the time required to create fully custom designs, this approach fast-tracks the quoting process for customers looking to receive budgetary numbers in a shorter amount of time.

301 Pattern in tan tones (similar to Montauk or Zuma Themes) at Shoreview Community Center - Shoreview, MN

301 Pattern in tan tones (similar to Montauk Theme) at Shoreview Community Center - Shoreview, MN

Design Options that Eliminate the Guesswork 

For customers looking for a basic surfacing solution or who don’t have a specific design in mind, our pre-set Themes and Patterns have been created based on established best practices and provide a variety of looks to accommodate a range of facilities. These designs feature sets of colors that are proven to work well together and layouts that have been historically favored by our customers over time. Having the ability to pick and choose from this catalog of options eliminates most guesswork for many of our customers, especially those that are primarily focused on providing a safety solution at their facilities. 

Boulder Theme in rectangles at Pleasant Glade Pool & Locker Rooms - Grapevine, TX

Boulder Theme in rectangles at Pleasant Glade Pool & Locker Rooms - Grapevine, TX

An Affordable Starting Point for Custom Options

Many of our customers have asked for designs that begin with a Theme and/or Pattern, but are modified in some way to better suit their specific facility’s needs. For instance, some might swap out a color or two from a Theme to shift the color palette in a slightly different direction. Others might choose a preset Pattern, but pair it with a completely custom color palette. Some customers have opted to add inlays, like the ones shown below, to contribute to the play value and theming of their facilities. We’ve also found that some people go with an affordable Theme and Pattern to better balance the cost of a project that requires the addition of a specialty logo or play feature in the surface design. Anything can be customized as needed and our Themes and Patterns serve as a perfect starting point for the conversation! 

High Tide Theme and 302 Pattern with fish inlays at Cootamundra Splash Park - Cootamundra, Australia

High Tide Theme and 302 Pattern with fish inlays at Cootamundra Splash Park - Cootamundra, Australia


Interested in specifying Life Floor on your next project? Check out our standard Themes and Patterns and reach out to us if you’d like to explore a custom design or to get started on your project. Our design services are complementary right now, so we’re happy to help meet the needs of your facility however we can. Thank you for considering Life Floor!