INSTALLING ARTIFICIAL GRASS

Written by Rob Schneider

Australians love their lawns, but between our busy lifestyles and summer water restrictions, can’t always maintain them as well as we would like to. Because of this, artificial grass is becoming a popular alternative to natural turf, both for residential and commercial purposes. The trick to installing artificial grass is choosing the right type of grass for your needs and installing it right.

Types of Artificial Grass

Years ago, there was only one type of artificial grass available. Uniform in colour and height, you could easily spot it as artificial. Today, you would be hard-pressed to spot the difference between a synthetic lawn and a natural one.

There are three basic categories of artificial grass on the market today:

1. ​Ornamental grass is ideal as a garden accent or smaller garden area.
2. Play grass can be used in children’s play areas, as a home putting green or even a backyard footie field.
3. Lawn grass is designed for larger areas.

Within these basic categories, you can choose between a wide selection of grasses. Just as natural turf can be thick and short (as on a putting green) or mown luxuriously long, synthetic grass comes in variety of thicknesses, from 9mm to 40mm pile. It can be straight and thick or have natural looking variations in length, shape and colour. Some popular two-toned longer pile lawn grasses are indistinguishable from natural turf even upon close scrutiny and better quality putting green turfs are used by professional golfers.

Artificial grass can be installed on any reasonably hard surface. You can install it yourself or ask your Bunbury Landscaping Supplies to install it for you. If you choose to go the DIY route, installing synthetic grass on concrete is similar to laying carpet. If you’re installing it in your garden, first you have to prepare the surface. Bunbury Landscaping Supplies will give you full instructions, but basically, ground preparation consists of:

• Spraying weed killer.

• Removing all dead organic material.

• Spreading out a sub-base of crushed rock or a similar material.

• Smoothing and sculpting the surface.

• Compacting the sub-base.

Artificial grass comes in tiles or rolls. Tiles are recommended for small areas only. Rolls come in widths of up to 4metre. Bunbury Landscaping Supplies can help you choose the right width for your application. After two lengths of turf are laid out, they have to be glued together using an adhesive applied to a special joining tape.

If you’re ready for some hard work, you can install a full lawn yourself, but before you do, get quotes for installation. Professional installers have the experience and equipment needed for the job. When they’re done, you’ll have a perfectly manicured, nearly maintenance-free lawn, putting green, or playing field to enjoy for years to come.

Installing Synthetic Turf

Once upon a time, no self-respecting homeowner would have installed synthetic turf. That was a long time ago, though. Today’s synthetic turf is almost indistinguishable from the real thing and can enhance the appearance of your property. it’s also a great environmental choice because we can no longer afford to waste our precious water resources. If installing synthetic turf saves water, is easy to maintain and looks great, too, why wouldn’t you want to install it?

Installing 

The first step towards installing synthetic turf is choosing the turf. Bunbury Landscaping Supplies offer several different types of turf, so get a quote  before choosing your turf. Look at our product brochures to see what our products look like and discuss your needs with us. For example, if you want a natural looking lawn, we can suggest a variety of cuts, colours and piles. If you want a putting green, Bunbury Landscaping Supplies will supply putting green turf designed and tested by experts.

Bunbury Landscaping Supplies also offer installation services. We will be happy to give you both supply and installation quotes. Get quotes for both and then get quotes for any tools, equipment and supplies you will need for DIY installation. Some excavation is required, so for DIY installation, include the cost of Dingo hire in your calculations or be ready for a lot of hot, hard work if you try manually excavating with a shovel and wheelbarrow.

DIY Synthetic Turf Installation

Synthetic turf is designed for DIY installation, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Here is a rough guide to DIY installation:

1. ​First you need to excavate the area to approximately 80 to 100mm below the adjoining surface area.
2. Lay a 75-100mm thick layer of 3mm cracker dust. Bunbury Landscaping Supplies can supply – pick up or delivery.
3. Compact and screen cracker dust to correct levels
4. Install the synthetic grass over the cracker dust. Bunbury Landscaping Supplies can supply all necessary products you need to join lengths of turf together.
5. Install “pinning spikes” around the perimeter to keep the edges from lifting.
6. Spread specially formulated dry sand over the turf to help support the individual blades of synthetic grass.
7. PINNING GRASS RECOMMENDATION Stop shrinkage 400mm outside perimeter, 1mt internally

If you are not installing synthetic grass over a large area and slopes and undulations are not a problem, you may be able to get the job done in a weekend with the help of a Dingo for the heavy work. If you are installing over a larger area or the terrain is difficult, consider letting Bunbury Landscaping Supplies do your installation for you. Properly installed, synthetic turf lasts for years and you will enjoy it long after you have forgotten the cost of installation.