Category: Blog

Running and playing in areas where hard surfaces are in proximity is an injury waiting to happen. Gyms, indoor sports centres, playgrounds and sporting ovals all have hazardous hard surfaces that will cause us serious injuries. Goal posts and fences surrounding a playing field or just a simple brick wall in an indoor sports centre can become a hazard. Like the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. A fit for purpose custom made to order floor or wall pads with a high impact absorbing foam is one way of protecting and help avoid costly injury claims in these activity spaces. Post pads are an excellent way of providing protection for people against crashing into unguarded poles. The post padding wraps around any round or square pole and are secured with Velcro and or press buttons which makes it easy to install and remove.

Post pads are not only perfect safety solution for activity areas but also serve as good safety measures taken in the work place. Prevention of possible injury in a work environment by using custom made safety pads in areas where there is a probability of injury from body impact on a hard surface structure such as a low beam.
Car parking areas is another area where a safety pad or post pad could be utilized to help avoid damage to vehicles from poles. Options as to where these safety pads could be used are endless.

Most child care play areas and playgrounds will have a pole or a hard surface that will need the protection of padding. With any activity involving children, safety is always a concern. It is impossible to completely remove the risk of injury for children, especially on playgrounds, but it is still important to take every necessary precaution to try and minimize the potential for injury.

Post Pads or a Bumper pad are essential in this environment where distracted, fast-moving children play around support posts that extend from playing structures. Fences and walls that sometimes enclose these playing areas can also pose a risk. Post pads and bumper pads can easily be wrapped around support poles, walls or even lay on hard floors. These can be made with easy removable Velcro strips and packed up after play time. The importance of getting a custom made to order pad is that it will be custom designed and have the necessary multiple fixing points to fit to the structure or pole that you would like to protect you child. Off the shelf products may not necessary fit properly and apart from it not giving the desired protection needed, it could look saggy and unsightly.

Child Care and School Playgrounds, Gyms, Sport Facilities, Leisure Centres, Car Parks and Industrial warehousing work spaces are what these custom made safety pads are designed for. Like our custom made quality Sand Pit Covers and Shade Structures we at Selbys Canvas and Shade can custom make the right absorbing safety pad with the correct foam density for each individual specified area in a multi choice of colours and sizes.

Tarps and covers work best when basic care procedures are followed. First you will need to make sure that you choose the right Tarp for the job. We at Selbys Canvas and Shade can custom make the right size tarp to meet your specified needs.

It’s important to keep your Tarps dry after use, they are designed to get wet and the fabric we use to custom make your Tarp is water-repellent and mildew resistant, but you don’t want to create an environment for mildew to fester.  It’s also best to keep your tarps off the floor when not in use, like on a wood pallet.

Depending on the use of your Tarp it can get rather dirty even though the fabrics we use designed to resist dirt and clean easily, it is still important to clean the mud and grime on your tarp if it’s been used to protect your truck load or even to protect your building renovation, caked on grime will eventually shorten your tarp cover’s life span as well as adding unnecessary weight to your tarp. Also, some types of pollutants and chemicals can get stuck on your cover, degrading the tarps coatings and fibers.

With a little care and the right maintenance you can get your tarp looking great before you put it away for the next use. The easy way to approach this is by spreading your tarp on a clean flat surface like a driveway, it’s best to use a biodegradable spray tarp detergent/cleaner. Make sure you get detergent/cleaner that is designed to maintain the water resistance of the tarp fabric. Spray the tarp with the right amount of detergent as per the manufacture instructions on the label, and let it sit for a bit, giving the cleaner some time to do its job and loosen up the caked on dirt and grime. This is where a bit of work is needed by scrubbing the tarp using a long handle broom to help you take off any of the grime that doesn’t want to come off. Take the time to rinse your tarp thoroughly. You don’t want to leave any cleaning residue on it. This will also help you see areas that you may have missed and will let you go back and clean those areas. It is important to let your tarp dry completely before putting it away. Cleaning your tarp on a dry day with some sun and airflow will allow the tarp to dry a lot faster and to make sure your tarp is dried completely. Cleaning and maintaining your tarp on a regular bases or when you finished using it, will give you the longevity that you expect from your investment for many years to come and save you money in the long run.

Sandpits provide many hours of fun for children and allow for lots of different types of activities, I remember when my kids were little and the way their eyes lit up with the saw a sandpit. We humans have always had an affinity with sand whether it’s lying on the beach or building sand castles. It’s not surprising that almost every childcare, primary school or kinder has a sandpit for kids to play in. However as much as it is fun to play in them they have a potential to be harmful to our children if we do not clean and maintained them correctly.

Sandpits also attract animals like possums and vermin in particular cats who are very good at scaling fences. Nice soft sand is appealing for these animals to use as a toilet. This situation can cause infections in children and with a small amount of care they can be kept clean and safe for children to play in.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by exposure/ingestion of undercooked, contaminated meat (humans and animals).  Cats that are fed undercooked, contaminated meat may carry the parasite in their system. Humans may accidentally swallow the parasite through contact with cat faeces by touching or ingesting anything that has come into contact with cat faeces that contain Toxoplasma (e.g., not washing hands after gardening/play or eating soil/sand that have come in contact with the parasite)

Best way is to protect a sand pit with an appropriate custom made sand pit cover that is made to fit the pit exactly to measurement this way it will insure that it is protected from this unwanted intrusion of animals, insects and general debris. Damp sand also attracts insects that can potentially bite or sting our children.

We at Selbys Canvas and Shade are local canvas fabricators that specialise in making custom made Shade Sails and all types of Shade sail fabric products. We will make a custom made sand pit cover from shade cloth that will be perfectly measured and designed to fit the sand pit area.

There are various methods of constructing these covers however the method we use incorporates a galvanized chain inside the hem to keep the edges down and to prevent wind from lifting the cover, if needed in high windy areas we can also custom make various sized sandbags to weigh down the covers.

Sand Pit Covers are a preventative measure, however regular maintenance in keeping the sand pit clean is mandatory. Remove sand contaminated by food or other materials, human or animal faeces, blood or other bodily fluids. Where extensive contamination has occurred, all sand should be replaced.

Kidsafe NSW recommends that the sandpit is inspected daily and regular maintenance occurs. The sand must be raked over daily to remove debris (sun and fresh air are good disinfectants), turned over monthly to aerate the sand and replenished when the sand level drops 100mm below the top edge of the sandpit. As a guideline, it is recommended that the sand is replaced annually or as required.

Shade Sails and structures are designed to create outdoor sheltered areas. You will see them tensioned over school yards, aged care facilities courtyard areas, domestic and commercial swimming pools, car parks, playgrounds, and other outdoor recreation areas. A shade sail is versatile, strong and durable and its main purpose is to provide protection from the sun’s harmful rays.

We Australians are very fortunate to live in a beautiful country that is bathed in sunlight for most of the year, unfortunately where we are positioned geographically we are prone to stronger UV exposure than our neighbour countries to the north, due to our proximity of the thinning ozone layer. With this in mind and the constant warnings initiated by the cancer council we Australians are becoming more aware of the harmful effects of UV rays. We are seeking more ways to provide ourselves, our families and our work environments with a greater level of protection from the harmful effect of the harsh Australian sun.

While the goal is to create shade from the heat, the UV blocking ability of the shade sail fabric is the key to maximize our protection. To maximize UV protection, it is important for a shade sail or structure to have a permanent shape and design to allow for consistent protection from the elements. A shade sail fabric that will sag and stretch over time, and flap in high winds will not provide this protection. The fabric construction will open, making the fabric weaker and allowing more of those harsh sun’s rays to filter through. Another fact that people may or may not be aware is that the color of the shade fabric can vary the UV protection.

We at Selbys Canvas and Shade have 18 years of experience in custom making Shade sails and over this time we have learned that using the right shade cloth to deliver the maximum protection and longevity of time. When installed correctly, a good quality shade sail fabric will not stretch and loosen in high wind areas. There will be no need for the installers to return to re-tension the fabric. Using high quality shade cloth fabric gives us the manufacture the ability to custom make large shade sails and structures that allows our installers the ability to install large spans, and cover large areas that some inferior shade fabric is not able to do. Using the right Shade fabric give us greater flexibility in creating aesthetically pleasing and stylish designs that will give you long lasting protection and performance for your specific requirements.