Play Area Bark - Replace or Top Up

[Dan_1981]

We've got a kids playground in the garden, it'll have been in 5 years this summer.

It's built on a base of Wood Chip which has always been down for the same period of time. It's now getting a bit wet, mulchy and degraded.


Intent is to replace it this year...

Question is should we remove the old bark and start from scratch or is it ok to top up on top of the old stuff.

'The Internet' seems to to be divided on if it's OK to top up or if that'll only speed up the degradation of the new stuff?!

Any views?

[Snow and Rocks]

What's under the bark? Weed membrane?

If it's just soil under there I would just top up but if there's weed matting I might be tempted to take the worst of the old rotten stuff off. Pretty good mulch under hedges or even in flower beds if you have somewhere else in the garden to put it.

[Dan_1981]

Weed membrane under the old stuff.

Nowhere really to redistribute to so it'd be a miniskip job to dispose off.