Artificial Grass, anyone got some

Gary Coyle

Gary Coyle

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Looking at getting some artificial grass in the back garden but the choice is overwhelming, i want to do a self install ass the companies on the net who install charge a fortune.

Looking at 20mm grass and i need 60sq mts approx
 
Gary Coyle said:
Looking at getting some artificial grass in the back garden but the choice is overwhelming, i want to do a self install ass the companies on the net who install charge a fortune.

Looking at 20mm grass and i need 60sq mts approx
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I looked into this once and the price was very offputing. Chap I knew had it in his garden and said that it was not quite so maintenance free has he expected. In particular, garden debris (leaves, twigs, withered vegetation etc.) that blew into the garden gets caught up in it and needs brushing out.

House not too far from here had it put in his front garden last summer. The recent high winds blew it out into the street.

I opted to grow a lawn from seed. Not too keen on grass cutting, but I did not fancy brushing plastic grass with a stiff brush either.
 
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Have normal grass. Pay some other bugger to cut it. Two birds felled with one stone :)
 
Have to ask the question, why artifical grass. Yeah, cutting can be a pain but the feel and smell in summer is lovely.
 
Is the artificial grass something to help you give up the real stuff? Like nicotine patches for smokers?
 
OutLore said:
Or just have grass inside the house, then you won't be able to tell the difference - and it will feel like you're camping out all year round (y)
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My folks we're looking at doing a mixture of your post and OP's. Artificial grass in conservatory (some in doors out doors mumbo jumbo)
 
I had a mate who had some. He ripped it up after about a year. I've got some of it in my garage.
He got sick of it looking scruffy and a build up of shall we say silt/dirt brought with rain/wind. then small weeds growing!! :eek:
He said it looked great the first summer, but started looking shabby after a few months. Dog dirt is a bugger to get off too...

Kev.
 
If the dog craps on the normal lawn then it will crap on the fake grass too. At least dog poo on real grass will soak or be dug over.
 
We had "Tiger turf" installed on the yard at school last year and it is brilliant. It is blue with mazes, zebra crossings, targets, letter sounds, numbers, games etc. on it. It is maintained by the company that installed it (They clean and re-sand it each year)

Even after it has been pouring with rain, the tiger turf is almost dry to the touch. When it is frosty and icy the children can still go out as it is non slip. Best of all, if it gets dirty you can just swill it with a bucket of water.

It was expensive, but comparible to having the yard re-tarmaced properly and markings painted on.

Would I have it in the garden? No. My garden is completely decked :D
 
Gary Coyle said:
Looking at getting some artificial grass in the back garden but the choice is overwhelming, i want to do a self install ass the companies on the net who install charge a fortune.

Looking at 20mm grass and i need 60sq mts approx
Click to expand...

As you're in Birstall, have a chat to the guys at Farmac in Pudsey. They sell the Verdegrass artificial turf, e.g.:
http://www.farmac.co.uk/products/view/landscaping-turf-topsoil-bark-compost/verdegrass

Or perhaps you fancy something a bit more, ahem, colourful?:
http://www.farmac.co.uk/products/view/landscaping-turf-topsoil-bark-compost/coloured-groovy-grass
 
Thanks guys, feenster, thats short curly pile which is no good for dog poo, you need a straight 18mm plus for dog poo to be less of a problem
 
Gary Coyle said:
Thanks guys, feenster, thats short curly pile which is no good for dog poo, you need a straight 18mm plus for dog poo to be less of a problem
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Ah, makes sense if you think about it, which if you do, you wish you didn't ;-)
 
Just thought id drag up this thread as i made my choice and installed it over the Easter holiday period.

I eventually chose"Nearly Grass 40mm" which is a blend of 2 colours, light green is twisted/curly and the Darker green is a straight pile, this costs anywhere between £24 - £40 per sq mt but i found the manufacturers are just a mile away from me so spoke to the factory direct and agreed a price of £17.50 per sq mt inclusive of VAT and Delivery

Completed the job in 3 days, first day was to remove the old turf (not required) add a 2inch layer of sharp (4 ton at £40 per ton) sand and wacker plate it down, cover with a weedproof membrane, not strictly required as the grass has its own inbuilt weed control but for 50p a sq mt it was a no brainer, pegs were £10 for 50 from eBay.

I got the factory to cut the grass into 2 seperate 4 x 6.10 mt rolls

Laid the grass (bloody heavy, took me, wife and 2 late teen sons to lift it into place)

Jointed 2 seperate pieces with joint tape and joint compound ("1 per mt for tape and 2 tubes of glue @ £8 each)

Trimmed edges to form borders and dug in block paving on its edge to creage border edges.

New double palisade fence panels fitted. 6ft x 5ft high to apex at £27 each, 8x garden lights in borders £10 in B and Q sale and bushes at top and down right side have 200 solar LED's in them as well

6x Galvanised large planters (not shown) placed in borders between lights, bargain for £10 off eBay

Should have taken some before pics but never thought

Anyway, these were taken the last time the sun came out, about 2 weeks ago, all in all, very happy, best money ive spent

Just to add that the Dog also loves it, hes sat out there all day and hasn't crapped on it once, he now does he business on the gravelled area which is fine by me

cpl2.jpg


cpl3.jpg
 
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Thats a tidy looking job Gary (y)
 
Should have added i got 10 x 25kg bags of 20mm gravel for the borders at £2.50 a bag, all sand and gravel came from a local small builders yard and half price of the big boys, delivered free as its only 2 miles away from me.
 
That's a cracking job, well done.

We've thought about artificial grass or even slubbing over our area of lawn (not that much). I quite like that idea.

What if the dog does decide to christen it though, any issues with it?
 
Cracking Job Gary

Looks very nice and tidy (y)


The old couple across from us had the front garden done about 10 years ago and it still looks good today - they had it "serviced" a few years ago - think it was just checked and low spots were re-sanded, but it looks very good - and they don't have the problems with weeds and moss !!!!
 
wibbly said:
That's a cracking job, well done.

We've thought about artificial grass or even slubbing over our area of lawn (not that much). I quite like that idea.

What if the dog does decide to christen it though, any issues with it?
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No potential problems, its UV stabilised so wont fade, it's acid resistant so dog wee wont damage it, if the dog dumps on ot just pick it up if its a stiff one, if its a softie then just hose it in, the grass has its own drainage built in, beat of all with it being some soft of man made fibre, when the suns out the grass heats up and it lovely to sit on.
 
andyred said:
Cracking Job Gary

Looks very nice and tidy (y)


The old couple across from us had the front garden done about 10 years ago and it still looks good today - they had it "serviced" a few years ago - think it was just checked and low spots were re-sanded, but it looks very good - and they don't have the problems with weeds and moss !!!!
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Its all down to the correct preparation, i was advised to let it settle for 3 month then re sand low spots if needed, i can see lumps and bumps in it after 1 month, supplier says its actually easier just to whacker plate the high spots directly on top of the grass and it will spread the high spots of sand into the low areas,
 
Gary Coyle said:
No potential problems, its UV stabilised so wont fade, it's acid resistant so dog wee wont damage it, if the dog dumps on ot just pick it up if its a stiff one, if its a softie then just hose it in, the grass has its own drainage built in, beat of all with it being some soft of man made fibre, when the suns out the grass heats up and it lovely to sit on.
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Sounds perfect. Thanks for the info :):cool:
 
I have been thinking about going to this kind of solution.
Last summer I bought and laid new turf, since then the dog has had a go at it. The wife forgot to replace the rocks for her water and bits of the grass have died where she wee's on it.

If it does not recover then I might take the plunge.
My lawn is smaller than yours.

Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
Dog did its first dump on the grass this morning, left it to harden in the sun a couple of hours and picked it up in one piece, easy peasy, just need to replace the dog now.
 
DpM said:
The wife forgot to replace the rocks for her water and bits of the grass have died where she wee's on it.
.
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you wife wee's on your lawn ??? - what do you neighbours think of that ? :LOL:
 
Looking at this as I have 3 dogs and it gets very muddy here in Lincolnshire.

If you are still offering a sample I wouldn't mind a quick feel:)
 
PsiFox said:
Looking at this as I have 3 dogs and it gets very muddy here in Lincolnshire.

If you are still offering a sample I wouldn't mind a quick feel:)
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All samples/remaining bits have gone but you can get free samples direct from manufacturers here

http://www.nearlygrass.co.uk/contact.php

i have Nearly Grass 40, anything less than this is not good enough for heavy traffic lawns IMHO
 
Thanks for the link Gary
 
big soft moose said:
you wife wee's on your lawn ??? - what do you neighbours think of that ? :LOL:
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Lol.
Lucky for us the garden is a little secluded.
 
Thanks for sharing this Gary - I had no idea this whole world existed until my wife started getting samples through the post last week. This is very handy as we only live down the road. Good to know about the local suppliers!

Looks awesome!

S
 
We've had an artifical grass lawn for five years now...it's brilliant and lasting very well. One of the best things is that the kids can go out and play as soon as it's stopped raining....we have a dog but he wont **** in his back garden unless it's an absolute emergency....good lad!
 
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