Artificial grass

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Hi

What do you need to do to install artificial grass?

We have 2 dogs and they like dirt and grass.. However my house does not, I also do not need/want the hassle of having to clean them everytime they come in from the garden.
 
Get a contractor in, dont do it yourself! haha.
I had my front garden done, took less than a full day and still looks grand over a year later, wouldnt have dared try to lay it myself as you need to think about flattening the surfaces and drainage etc.
 
Its a compacted sand bed, then the artificial turf is laid over that and more sand brushed into it to weight it down.

nothing a competent DIYer couldn't do. The "turf" can be bought online but I would get quotes myself and see. You can order samples online so you can spec what you want as opposed to getting differing quotes based on different surfaces
 
We laid ours at the front ourselves, results are pretty decent but the area was an awkward slope which certainly made it more challenging. Got a few wrinkles which need to be sorted out but either way it looks better than the patchy weed-ridden gardens the neighbours have (plus ours would be an overgrown mess by now as I hate mowing). We dug out the soil and laid it on compacted sharp sand, not had any drainage issues despite having clay soil.
 
Out of interest those who have gone artificial how does it feel underfoot / maybe sunbathing on it? I think my only experience is years ago when it used to be really spikey.

I enjoy mowing the grass however it seems the rear garden struggles a bit with drainage and as such gets a bit boggy which when having a dog is a nightmare!
 
GinG said:
Out of interest those who have gone artificial how does it feel underfoot / maybe sunbathing on it? I think my only experience is years ago when it used to be really spikey.

I enjoy mowing the grass however it seems the rear garden struggles a bit with drainage and as such gets a bit boggy which when having a dog is a nightmare!
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The newer stuff is definitely more realistic, it is hard wearing so will never feel exactly like the real thing but not overly príckly. It all depends on budget, you can go from butchers window to proper putting green soft grass quality.
This is my front garden, all grass remoed to allow 2 cars to park side by side so only wanted a half moon shape to tidy it. Back garden will be getting done too though as it worked out really well.
20140423_190156.jpg
 
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Depends really, labour isn't awful, a couple of hundred would do it, its the actual grass that costs the lions share iirc.
The guy that did ours, removed all waste from the property and tidied after himself, Ive heard of others who do the job and leave.
 
GinG said:
Out of interest those who have gone artificial how does it feel underfoot / maybe sunbathing on it? I think my only experience is years ago when it used to be really spikey.

I enjoy mowing the grass however it seems the rear garden struggles a bit with drainage and as such gets a bit boggy which when having a dog is a nightmare!
Click to expand...
Mine doesn't feel spiky.
 
A mate has had his back garden done.

They did everything from removing the old turf and soil. Laying a sand layer. New edgings. Lay artificial grass.

Cost him 6k but it's probably a good 100 sqm. Looks great
 
GinG said:
That looks really good brendy, think in the New Year I may start looking at the costs to do the back garden.
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Cheers, The fences have now been painted black etc now so its a little more contrasting and looks better imo. I think the key to making it realistic is leaving it for a while without lifting any debris off (bar obvious large chunks of bark or litter). it helps with its appearance.
 
We had a quote for the back garden (roughly 8m x 12m) which was over 3k :o. Not a chance!

I've heard that dog wee can really stink in the summer if there isn't enough rainfall to wash it away from the artificial grass.
 
Mysterae_ said:
We had a quote for the back garden (roughly 8m x 12m) which was over 3k :o. Not a chance!

I've heard that dog wee can really stink in the summer if there isn't enough rainfall to wash it away from the artificial grass.
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If only there was some mechanism to deal with this situation

I will get my thinking cap on and design something that would allow someone to transport liquid so some sort of long thin connection should I need a constant flow or some sort of container should I need a specific amount at a certain place ;)

Its partly true if you read reports, the reality its probably little different to dry grass thats been soaked in dog wee and left to dry. Maybe a bit more moisture can get stuck in the sand but easily dealt with by a hose down should needs be, and you can in theory use more chemicals to deal with this situation than you can with grass.
 
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