Artificial grass -advice needed

heywhynot

Hi, hoping that you can please help.

We replaced the gravel/decking in our back garden 2 years ago with roll out grass but it never really took-we watered and fed it but believe that a lack of sun and poor drainage didn't help. It's now very patchy and muddy and can't be used (we have a young family).

we are now considering getting artificial grass but have no idea how good this is and how well it wears. Can anyone provide assistance on the items we need to consider when getting artificial grass, how good is it really and is it worth it?

Thanks!

rje66

from a cost point if view work on €60per M2 laid.
it aint cheap, well not half decent stuff.

Sonnenblumen

When it comes to artificial grass, there are many factors to be considered:

- site conditions (damp and shaded vsites where it is not possible or practical to grow a natural lawn would seem to be an ideal area for a synthetic surface. However synthetic grass will also require good drainage conditions (usually provided by excavating soil and replacing with hardcore and a toplayer of compacted sand/grit)
- grade quality, this can vary considerably as so too the price, so you need to be careful and know what is on offer. Apart from grade there are essentially 2 types. One type requires a brush-in material to ensure tufts remain upright. The other type does not require any 'brush-in' typically sand or rubber crumb. I would recommend you select the type requiring no brush-in as this tends to be more expensive and requires a little more maintenance, certainly in family gardens.

- good ground preparation is essential, it is very easy to spoil the finish with poor or inadequate ground preparation. I would also recommend that the grass is securely fixed to a pressure treated timber frame (100x50mm). Again this is often omitted by some contractors labour/cost saving, whilst others will simply peg the perimeter of the grass into unprepared ground!

As the other poster has suggested € 60/sq m would seem to be very competitive for a quality installation using a good quality grade.

At the end of the day, there are plenty of cheap offers, and you'll always get what you pay for.

Ask for a detailed proposal which specifies all aspects of installation and proposed materials. That at least might exclude spoofers/chancers and perhaps a good start?

Done well and with a manufacturers warranty of at least 8 years and often longer, I would be doing my homework to get the job done right by a professional and look forward to enjoying the many benefits and troublefree performance which a synthetic lawn offers.

heywhynot

Thanks for responses. Looks like €60 is what we need to consider per sq m. As the drainage is clearly very poor at the minute, will this be an issue for the future with the synthetic grass or is there something that can be done?

Sonnenblumen

Provision for good drainage is usually included in the ground preparation.