Trampolines for small Belfast gardens and yards

The housing figures explain it. At the 2021 Census, Belfast had the lowest share of detached homes of any council area in Northern Ireland, at 12.3% of households, and the highest share of flats, at 19.7%. Both figures are in NISRA's Census 2021 bulletin on accommodation.

Terraces are the other half of the story. A housing paper prepared for Belfast City Council's Local Development Plan counted 50,667 terraced homes out of 120,595 in the city in 2011. That is about 42% by our arithmetic.

Nobody publishes a figure for the size of a Belfast garden, so we will not offer one. The plain consequence of the housing mix is enough: a lot of homes here have a small garden or a yard, and for those homes the small sizes are the ones that matter. Measure before you look at anything else.

• Measure the level, clear part only. Not the whole plot. Leave out the slope at the back, the bed along the wall, the shed, the oil tank and the washing line. BERG's manual says a trampoline goes on level ground.
• Note what stands at each edge. A wall, a fence, a hedge, a neighbour's extension. Write down the gap you would have on each of the four sides.
• Look up. BERG asks for 7 metres clear overhead, measured from the ground. Branches, cables and an overhanging roof all count.
• Check the surface. nidirect's trampoline safety advice says to put a trampoline on energy absorbing ground and not on hard surfaces such as concrete, tarmac or hard packed mud without absorbent safety matting. A fully paved yard is a different question from a small lawn.

Now the awkward part. BERG's manual asks for at least 2 metres between the trampoline and trees, fences and any other obstacles. Add 2 metres on each side of even the smallest trampoline and the space you need is far larger than the trampoline. Many terrace yards in Belfast cannot give 2 metres all round. Some cannot give it on any side.

We are not going to tell you that a smaller gap is fine, and we are not going to tell you to ignore the manual. The 2 metres is BERG's guidance for the product it makes. It is for you to weigh against your own garden. What we can do is give you the numbers straight, which is the purpose of the table below.

A round trampoline needs the same room in every direction. That suits a square patch and wastes a long one. A rectangle can lie along the length of a narrow garden and ask less of the width.

Take two models of the same length from the table. The round 330cm wants a clear circle 7.3 m across. The rectangular 330 x 220cm wants 7.3 x 6.2 m: the same length, but over a metre less across. In a garden that is long and thin, that metre can be the difference.

On legs, the two smallest sizes, 200cm and 270cm, are both round. The 200cm wants about 6.0 m across by the same sum. A rectangle does not change the rule: 2 metres applies to the long sides as well as the ends.

One more point for a small space. nidirect advises one child at a time on any garden trampoline, with an adult supervising, and says children should be at least six. A small trampoline is not a reason to relax that.

Sinking the trampoline has a real appeal where space is tight. An InGround has only a low edge above the lawn. A FlatGround sits level with the grass. Neither has legs or a ladder, there is nothing to climb up onto, and from the kitchen window the garden still looks like a garden.

The costs are of a different kind.

• Groundwork. Someone has to dig. We supply and deliver, and we do not install. An independent installer, landscaper or builder does the work and quotes you directly.
• Drainage. BERG's manual requires "adequate drainage" and a check of the ground-water level. In a small garden there is less choice about where the hole goes, so the installer's view of your ground matters all the more. Our guide to wind and ground in Belfast explains why.
• Access. If the only way to the back is through the house or a narrow entry, ask the installer how they would manage that before you agree anything. See who installs a trampoline in Belfast.
• Nets. The two smallest FlatGround models, 200 x 200cm and 330 x 220cm, are sold without a safety net. nidirect's advice is always to use one. The small InGround models are sold with a net or without, as the table shows.

Sinking a trampoline does not shrink the clearance. BERG's 2 metres is about what a child could meet on the way off, and a wall is as hard beside a FlatGround as beside a trampoline on legs.

Sometimes the honest answer is that it does not. If the level, clear space falls well short of what the table asks, we would sooner say so than sell you something to squeeze in. There are two other routes.

A PlayBase Wall, if the yard has the right wall. The BERG PlayBase Wall is a steel frame 1.2m wide that fixes to a load-bearing brick or block wall: a house, a garage or a solid shed. It will not go on a fence, a timber panel or a hollow partition. It has 3 hanging points and takes one or two swing-type accessories at a time, such as a swing seat, gym rings or a trapeze. It starts at €999. BERG's manual sets out the free space it needs, and we check that against your photos. All the frames are on the PlayBase page.

An indoor option. A fitness rebounder is a small indoor trampoline for adult exercise. It is not a child's toy and it is no substitute for a garden trampoline, but if what you want is somewhere to bounce yourself, Rebounders Ireland covers them. For the children, a day out may do the job: see trampoline parks near Belfast and Belfast parks and playgrounds.

The quickest way to an answer is the free garden consultation. Send two or three photos of the garden or yard, the measurements of the level part, and the gap you would have on each side. We will tell you which sizes fit BERG's guidance, which do not, and what each would cost delivered to your door in Belfast.

Book a free garden consultation, or ring 028 3756 8930, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. It costs nothing and you are not committed to anything. We can judge fit from photos. We cannot judge drainage from them: for an in-ground model that needs an installer on site.