Tag: Picnic Tables

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Designing and Building a Campground

  • Step 1: Perform a comprehensive study on the type of park best suited for the market you have selected and then project the profit and loss for the first five years. This study should also help you make the decision whether to try to purchase a franchise from one of the two franchise campground companies or to operate as an independent.
  • Step 2: Identify the specific parcel of land that you want to develop and then begin to quantify the costs associated with that specific parcel. Just a few questions to ask yourself:
    • Can I get proper zoning?
    • What offsite improvements will be required?
    • How will the sewage be handled?
    • What is the source of water?
    • Are there any unusual environmental requirements?
    • Is there a drainage problem?
    • Is the land level or is the grade too steep to be developed?
    • Can I install cabins or other fixed rental units?
  • Step 3: Develop the specific campground or RV park layout of sites and amenities. If you purchased a franchise, the franchise company will do this for you. If you have elected to be an independent park then you will have to hire someone to design the park.
  • Step 4: After receiving zoning and planning department approval, your local engineer or architect can draw the final plans and solicit bids on the construction of your RV park or campground. Local knowledge people can best handle this step.
  • Step 5: Build the park. But at the same time, even though you will be buried in details, don’t forget that now is the time to finalize all your marketing and business plans for the operation of the park. You will also need to prepare marketing materials like billboard ads, directory ads, rack cards, and many other marketing items.

A Kid Friendly Campsite

With most of your campers being families with children, it is important that your campsites be laid out in a manner that is not only kid friendly but also with safety in the foreground.

First, your campfire will probably be the focal point of the campsite, so for safety, it should be in the center of the open area or as close as possible.

*Tip: By continuing to keep safety in mind, it is important that each of your campsites have a fire ring to form a boundary that will keep little (or adult) toes out of the embers.*

Tents: Ideally, you want the tent entrances to face in the campsite but you want them downwind of the campfire so they don’t get filled with smoke.

Picnic Tables: Another focal point of the campsite that will get plenty of activity, the picnic table should be between the cooking area and the campfire so that kids don’t have to be in and out of that area. The idea is to reduce traffic around the cooking area as much as possible.

Cooking Area: This will be a very active place around meal time so the grill is best placed on the edge of the campsite’s open area. The idea is to have all storage, cooking and clean-up areas consolidated to one segment of the campsite, easily accessible, but not in the major traffic patterns of the campsite that the kids are using.

Most kids enjoy camping and most parents enjoy including their children but if your campsites aren’t set up to accommodate them you could be losing out on business!

ParknPool | Lexington, VA | sales@parknpool.com | 877.777.3700

 

 

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Napping on a Park Bench

NO, THIS IS NOT A GUIDE ON “HOW TO NAP ON A PARK BENCH“!
THIS IS A GUIDE ON “HOW TO PREVENT IT“!

In larger cities, finding individuals sleeping on your park benches may not be out of the ordinary. Fortunately, in the small city of Lexington, VA where our headquarters office is located, this does not present much of a problem. However, in a city not so far away from us, loitering on park benches seems to be causing an issue. The article title reads:

“BENCHES REMOVED FROM PARKS TO KEEP HOMELESS FROM LOITERING”

Now, while that may seem like the best solution…we beg to differ! Removing benches because people are hanging out on them and using them too much doesn’t seem like a problem but perhaps it’s the fact that people are sleeping on them. Every park deserves to have park benches, here is how you can keep them:

1. If you are looking to purchase new benches to replace old ones or are constructing a new park, perhaps your best option to avoid individuals sleeping on your benches and disrupting other people while enjoying the landscape is to purchase shorter benches. While a longer bench will provide more seating and you would need less of them, if you will be placing these benches in an area where homeless people tend to hang out, a shorter bench will make it difficult for a tired wanderer to stretch out.

2. If purchasing new benches is out of your budget then amending your existing ones is certainly an option. By placing a sleep inhibitor on your existing benches, you are putting a piece in the middle of your bench (on the seat) that will interfere with homeless people getting comfortable on your benches. The great thing is that we also have these little accessories for tables and table seats if it’s your picnic tables that are being transformed into a bed at night.

Completely removing all of your benches may not be the best solution. Give us a call at 877.777.3700 and let us help you with other options that will help you keep your benches (and picnic tables)!

ParknPool | Lexington, VA | sales@parknpool.com | 877.777.3700

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Tips for Buying “Green” With Your Government Credit Card

With your government credit card in hand, you have the opportunity to help the environment while buying products that meet your facility’s needs.

Federal agencies are being encouraged to buy products that are made with recycled content, have less packaging, are energy efficient, don’t create hazardous waste, and incorporate other environmentally preferred characteristics.

Buying Products with Recycled Content:

Recycled content products contain “recovered materials” or “post-consumer materials” or both. “Recovered materials” means materials that have been removed or diverted from solid waste – in other words, trash – including solid waste created by manufacturers. “Post-consumer materials” are materials that we discard at home and at work that are separated or diverted for recycling instead of going to a landfill. Whatever your job, you will most likely be asked to purchase products from recycled materials. Employees in facilities and maintenance may be asked to purchase park benches and picnic tables. Both of these products can be made with recycled content.

Buying Products with Reduced Packaging:

Packaging is a significant solid waste problem. Approximately 23.7% of the volume and 19.4% of the weight in materials found in city landfills is attributed to just packaging alone. The amount of trash we generate can be reduced simply by buying products with reduced packaging. Consider buying a larger quantity in a single box rather than smaller quantities in multiple boxes.

There will be many situations where you will need to buy products containing hazardous materials but by avoiding them when possible, we can work together to reduce the amount of unnecessary waste in landfills and support the manufacturing of products using recycled materials.

Give us a call at 877.777.3700 for a list of ParknPool’s products that contain recycled content.

ParknPool | Lexington, VA | sales@parknpool.com | 877.777.3700

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Site Furnishings to Compliment your Style

There are multiple resources for finding the right site furnishings for your public space, let ParknPool be one of them for you!

In areas where municipal officials or hired contractors are charged with maintaining and developing spaces such as parks and public gardens, they not only need to offer attractive site furnishings but also keep an eye on the budget assigned. How the space is furnished can often be the key element leading to financial stability and community satisfaction.

Site amenities should be based on comfort and user friendliness, choosing one piece over another depends on the overall style and design of the space. For example, in some areas movable tables and chairs are more suitable than permanent mounted site amenities. Also, an attractive color can enliven a space and attract people to use it but comfort is an important factor in purchasing a park bench or picnic table.

Materials:

Choosing materials should be based on the application with durability maintenance and product life at top of mind. Common durable materials include steel, aluminum, concrete, recycled plastic, or wood. There are also plastic coated options that provide the added benefit of color to park benches, picnic tables, trash receptacles and playgrounds.

Choosing:

Observing how people use amenities will help in selecting the right kind for your particular area. For example, keep in mind that two-seat benches where there may be only one person sitting at each bench creates a waste of seating. There are also special considerations depending on the environment, such as:

  • Urban Areas – Urban furnishings need to stand up to vandalism.
  • Freezing Areas – Snow load capacity needs to be considered. Drinking fountains need to be shut down.
  • Coastal Areas – Saltwater can affect certain materials.

Themes and Designs:

Certain companies (hint, hint: ParknPool) work very well with their clients to provide them with site amenities and furnishings with a personal touch. Manufacturers can offer custom plaques, add special designs into steel, and provide custom labels for added messaging. Common requests include radius benches to fit specific areas, wall-mounted benches or even benches with a more unique design.

Maintenance:

Maintenance is essential in all public areas. Choosing furniture and amenities that are easy to clean and store will help your maintenance crew. Products that are low maintenance can be a better deal than some of their more expensive counterparts, it all depends on how much time and resources you can devote to the upkeep.

Accessibility:

As in all other public areas, accessibility also needs to be considered in outdoor areas as well. Keep in mind that the ADA recommends measurements for space under tables for wheelchair accessibility but there are no official guidelines for benches. Certain considerations can also be made to accommodate for older or disabled individuals such as height of the armrests and the placing of any seating areas (preferably near walkways and paths).

In the end, when furnishing a park or recreational area, it’s important to provide plenty of places for people to picnic, enjoy the views, rest their feet and throw away their trash!

ParknPool | Lexington, VA | sales@parknpool.com | 877.777.3700

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Designing a Camping or Picnic Area

Common recreation site furnishings found in a camping or picnic area include picnic tables, fire rings and grills.

The best of these furnishings require little-to-no maintenance, have a long lifespan, are easy to clean, and are difficult for vandals to damage. These furnishings also must be convenient, easy to use and safe. It is best to avoid items with protruding objects or sharp corners that could injure users.

Picnic Tables: While many travelers and campers bring their own grill or stove, few actually carry a picnic table. Because of this, it is a good idea to provide picnic tables in campgrounds and on trails where day use is encouraged. Tables are available commercially in wood, metal, concrete, recycled plastic and plastic coated expanded metal. Select table material based on your area’s level of development, climate and amount of vandalism expected.

Grills and Fire Rings: Fire rings are essential at camp sites because they reduce fire hazards and make maintenance easier. Since, in most areas, evening use is not encouraged at picnic arears, fire rings are generally not necessary there. Fire rings with a hinged base so the cooking grate can be tilted back to clean out the ashes are the most preferred type. In addition, many accessible fire rings have an expanded metal barrier around the perimeter to keep campers from leaning against the hot surface. Grills are needed in campgrounds and may be installed at day-use trails. Pedestal styles are designed at a level comfortable for most users, and are also the most common. The best models have a cooking grate that is hinged and can be raised and lowered. Some models include lids to reduce cooking time and to keep food warm. Rotating grills and shelves for utensils are also available.

The most common campsite is the single-party camp site, other options include double-party camp sites, several-party camp sites and group camps. For more information on designing a campsite or picnic area call ParknPool at 877.777.3700 to speak with one of our sales managers.

ParknPool | Lexington, VA | sales@parknpool.com | 877.777.3700