How do I lay Synthetic Grass

If you’re considering putting in a Synthetic grass in the near future, you will no doubt have lots of questions as you research and prepare for what you want.

If you’re considering putting in a Synthetic grass in the near future, you will no doubt have lots of questions as you research and prepare for what you want.

I recently moved into a new house and ended up installing synthetic grass in the back yard and natural grass in the front yard and in the process of doing that I was reminded again how many things there were to think about! Should I do it myself or have a landscaper do it for me? How much will it cost? How will I go about preparing the base, … and on it goes.

At this point, I thought it would be useful to write down a checklist of sorts to help walk you through the process.  I won’t go into heaps of detail here so if you have questions or want more info, the best place to find answers is either on our website, or by calling us on 8298 0555.

Choosing a synthetic grass

The first thing you’re going to need to do is decide which turf you would like to use. When choosing a variety from us, your choice comes down to how you want it to look and feel. All of the types we sell are high quality, Australian made products so it isn’t a matter of choosing between cheaper lower quality and more expensive, higher quality. Your choice comes down to what shade of green you want, how wide you want the blades to be, how thick and lush you want it to be etc.  In other words, the price you pay will depend on things like how tall you want it (ie taller grasses have more yarn so they are more expensive and likewise shorter grasses have less yarn so they are cheaper).  Without trying to make this sound complicated, the best way to decide is to see them on display – most people know which one they want almost instantly, just by looking at the options.  We also offer a service of sending you out free samples. If you would like some samples, give us a call on 8298 0555 or send us an online enquiry

 

Preparing the base

Preparing the base is a critical step. The amount of base prep you need to do will depend on how you plan to use it. If you plan to limit its use to foot traffic only, you can afford to do a light base prep.  A light base prep consists of removing 100mm of topsoil and then replacing that with a 90mm layer of dolomite or paving sand. This should be compacted and screeded ready to lay turf on. If you plan to drive on it or subject it to heavy traffic, then you will need to do a heavy base prep. A heavy base prep involves removing 150mm of topsoil and then replacing that with 120mm layer of quarry rubble which should be levelled then compacted with a vibrating plate. Once this is done, a 10-20mm layer of dolomite or paving sand should be spread across the surface, levelled, compacted and then finally screeded to level.  The final height of the prepared base should be recessed to 10mm below the edge.

Rolling out and joining the turf

Once the base is prepared, the turf can be rolled out. Most turf comes in rolls that are 3.7m wide – just like carpet. This means that you will most likely have off cuts and wastage as you work through how to best make it fit. I would suggest that you bring in or email us a plan of your proposed area. That way we can work out a way of fitting the turf that results in the least amount of off cuts. If your job requires joins, we use and recommend self-adhesive tape. Joining synthetic grass can be tricky and if you’re doing this for the first time, don’t be surprised if you struggle to make the joins invisible. For tips and advice on how to get this as best as you can, give us a call on 8298 0555 or come into our store at Hove.

Pinning and infilling the turf

Once the turf is rolled out and joined, it will need to be pinned down with heavy gauge, galvanised nails. Nails should be hammered in at 2m spacings around the perimeter and along both sides of each join. After this it will need to be infilled with dried sand and then brushed in with a motorised broom. The brooming in process is essential and should be done before and after the infill sand is applied. Motorised brooms can be hired from us or from most hire shops. The amount of infill sand you need will vary between 5kg/m2 and 20kg/m2 depending of what type of turf you choose.

It’s important to note here that while synthetic grass can be undertaken as a DIY project, there are elements that require skill and experience – such as joining and infilling. If you are attempting to install synthetic grass for the first time, the quality and finish that you achieve may not be what you would expect from a qualified tradesman.