North assembly
You cannot just bury a normal trampoline. North build one made to go in the ground.
A standard trampoline dropped in a hole suffocates: the mat has nowhere to push the air, so the bounce goes dead and the buried frame rots. North’s in-ground kit is a bowl-shaped pit, a built-in retaining wall and a vented design, because the flush look everyone wants is a real engineering problem.
The flush look is the whole appeal, and the whole difficulty
North are a Swedish-designed premium brand, and their trampolines are widely loved: owners rave about the bounce, the safety, and the build quality, and gymnasts use them for training. Above ground, an Explorer goes together with a click-together frame in a couple of hours, and the standout is the safety net.
What sets North apart in this category is the in-ground kit. A sunken trampoline sits flush with the lawn, which looks beautiful and removes the fall-off-the-edge hazard, and it is genuinely the thing many buyers want. It is also the thing people most often try to do the wrong way.
Because you cannot simply take an ordinary above-ground trampoline and drop it in a hole. North say so in their own manual, and there is real physics behind it.
Two very different jobs
Above-ground is an afternoon. In-ground is a project.
| Model | Time | People |
|---|---|---|
| Above-ground ExplorerClick-together frame. Owners report solo builds in 90 minutes. | 1.5 to 2 hours | 1 to 2 |
| In-ground, digging by handNorth’s own estimate. The bowl shape is easier by spade. | a weekend | 2+ |
| In-ground, with an excavatorWorth it for the larger sizes. | a day | 2+ |
| Disposing of the spoilA 6 to 8 yard skip, or a grab lorry for big sizes. | plan ahead | — |
| North’s own assembly service (UK)Offered for above-ground models. They quote it. | ~2 hours | them |
At least two adults are needed just to move an assembled North, and lifting one into a pit is a two-to-three person job. The ladder, on above-ground models, is usually a separate purchase.
The in-ground rules, and the ones that apply to both
Do not bury a normal trampoline. North say so outright.
The most important safety and damage point on this page, straight from North’s manual: normal trampolines with high legs should not be buried into the ground to become sunken trampolines. The internet is full of DIY guides to sinking a standard trampoline, and they lead to two problems. First, the mat needs somewhere to push the air it displaces as it stretches, and a standard frame in a tight pit has nowhere for that air to go, so the bounce becomes hard and dead. Second, a frame not designed for burial sits in soil and moisture and corrodes. North’s in-ground kit exists precisely because you need a vented, retained, purpose-built design to do this properly.
The pit is a bowl, not a cylinder, and the bowl is the air
North’s dig spec is specific and it is the key to a good bounce. Dig out about seven inches evenly across the whole hole, then dig an inner hole in the middle, around two feet smaller in diameter than the trampoline, in a bowl shape to the stated depth. That central bowl is the air chamber that lets the mat breathe. Flat-bottom the pit to save digging and you throttle the airflow and lose the bounce you paid a premium for.
Drainage decides whether the buried frame survives
This is where an in-ground trampoline quietly fails years later. A pit with no drainage becomes a pond, and a frame sitting in water rusts where you cannot see it. North note that a simple soak-away is usually enough, but that gardens with heavy clay need alternative drainage. If your soil is clay, sort the drainage properly before the trampoline goes in, because once it is installed the frame is largely inaccessible for inspection.
Attach the springs at 12, 6, 3 and 9 first
North’s own top tip, and it is the same balanced-tension principle every good trampoline shares. Fit the springs at the twelve, six, three and nine o’clock positions first, which pulls the mat evenly toward the frame, and then fill in the rest. Working around the ring in order over-tensions one side and makes the last springs a fight.
The net zips mat-to-base-to-wall, and that is the safety design
North’s enclosure is genuinely well engineered. The vertical mesh walls zip to a foam base, and the foam base zips to the jumping mat, so there is no gap for a child to reach the springs or slip out at the bottom, and the entry door does not rely on a zip. When assembling, make sure each of those zipped connections is fully closed, because the whole safety case depends on that continuous mat-to-net seal.
Check the parts on arrival, and expect spares to be slow
North’s weak point, by owner accounts, is not the product but the after-sale supply. Reviews report missing or poorly finished parts on arrival, and long waits for replacements, sometimes months, which is a real problem if a storm damages a part. The product is premium and mostly excellent, and customer service does tend to resolve things, but slowly. Inspect everything on delivery so that any missing or damaged part is identified before you have dug a hole and committed a weekend.
Before you dig
Decide above-ground or in-ground honestly. In-ground looks better and is a genuine excavation project with drainage and spoil disposal attached.
If in-ground, test your soil. Clay means you must plan drainage, and clay also means digging is harder.
Plan where the spoil goes, a skip or a grab lorry, or reuse it for beds and levelling to save the cost.
Watch North’s assembly and installation videos, which owners say make the build much faster.
And inspect every part on arrival, before any digging, given the spares lead times.
Why in-ground in particular wants a pro
Because the single most common mistake, burying a standard trampoline or digging a flat pit, kills the bounce and rots the frame, and someone who has installed North’s kit knows the bowl and the venting.
Because drainage is what determines whether a buried frame lasts, and clay soil turns a nice weekend project into a rusted trampoline in three years if it is done wrong.
Because lifting an assembled trampoline into a pit and setting it flush and level is a genuine multi-person job.
And because North’s spares can be slow, so getting the install right the first time matters more than usual. Above ground, it is a friendly two-hour build; in ground, it is the kind of job where experience saves you a very expensive redo.
What an installer does
- Steers you away from burying a standard trampoline, and installs North’s purpose-built in-ground kit instead.
- Digs the bowl-shaped pit to spec, so the mat has the airflow it needs for a proper bounce.
- Sorts drainage for your soil type, which is what keeps the buried frame from rusting.
- Fits the retaining wall to the frame, and sets the trampoline flush and level in the pit.
- Tensions the springs from the clock positions, and closes every zipped net-to-mat connection.
- Inspects all parts on arrival, before any digging, given North’s spare-part lead times.
Get it built by someone who has built one before.
Tell us your ZIP and what you bought. Installers near you will quote you directly, and you deal with them, not with us.
Questions people ask
Can I sink my existing trampoline into the ground?
North advise against it, and they are right to. A normal trampoline with high legs is not designed to be buried: the mat has nowhere to push displaced air in a tight pit, so the bounce goes dead, and a frame not built for ground contact corrodes. An in-ground installation needs a purpose-built kit with a vented, bowl-shaped pit and a retaining wall, which is what North’s in-ground range provides.
Why does the pit need to be bowl-shaped?
For airflow. North’s spec is to dig evenly across the whole hole and then a deeper inner bowl in the middle, smaller in diameter than the trampoline. That central void is the air chamber the mat pushes into as it stretches. A flat-bottomed pit chokes that airflow and gives you a hard, disappointing bounce.
Do in-ground trampolines have drainage problems?
They can, and it is the main long-term risk. A pit without drainage collects water, and a submerged frame rusts out of sight. A soak-away is usually enough, but heavy clay soil needs a proper drainage plan sorted before installation, because the frame is largely inaccessible once the trampoline is in.
How long does assembly take?
An above-ground North goes together in about ninety minutes to two hours with its click-together frame. An in-ground installation is a much bigger job: North estimate a weekend digging by hand, or a day with an excavator, plus drainage and disposing of a skip or two of soil.
Is the safety net any good?
Yes, it is one of North’s strengths. The mesh walls zip to a foam base, which zips to the jumping mat, leaving no gap for a child to reach the springs or fall out at the bottom, and the entry door does not rely on a zip. The key during assembly is to close every one of those zipped connections fully.
Installers.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by North Trampoline. North is a trademark of its owner, referred to here only to describe the assembly and installation services that independent installers on this directory provide.