We moved into our new build 12 yrs ago. The front grass, about 5m by 5m is crappy turf on an inch of ash, on heavy clay. It was always a poor lawn and is now dead. Wondering about AstroTurf as an alternative to getting it all dug out and relaid. Any ideas on likely cost before I get some quotes ? Glasgow area.

B&Q sometimes have it.
There is a specialist company in edinburgh make it. But they may be more after stadiums than gardens.

Ask them for a quote. They probably have an online calculator that will quote for you.

We just comment on length of grass and sheds if there is a bike in the picture.

Do you sell astroturf?

If so this is an astroturfing astroturf thread. In which case it may explode. 🙂

^^^^err, no, I’m in environmental consultancy…

I just looked at artificial turf down the side of my house where the kids ride. Just removed steps and made a dirt ramp and dirt jump line.
Wanted to lay AstroTurf, can’t.. its far to expensive. Need to address the mud trapsed into the house issue as the wife isn’t best pleased. Real turf is pennies in comparison!

I used some grass mats when I bought a climbing frame/swing set for the kids. Stops the ground getting muddy and gives some protection from falls etc. works really well on pretty boggy bit of the garden.

Think I got it from these guys who also do artificial grass too by the look of it

grass mats

My mate has some fake grass in his back garden, it’s pretty convincing to be fair. It isn’t AstroTurf though, isn’t that for sports?

^^^ not fussed about branding, fake grass is what I’m after. Would need a proper install, as on a slight slope so would need proper fixing in at edges etc. Thanks

I recently looked into this. Its much more expensive, animals still use it as a toilet yet it maintains the odour/mess and you’d need to wash it down. Its also not good at draining and does not in general last as long as they say – and then requires replacement at your cost. I decided against it – you can buy “hard wearing” grass which is a bit tougher and can still be laid as turf.

Kryton you are 100% wrong.

We have had ours down for 3yrs now. Best few £1000’s I have ever spent. Sold the strimmer and lawn mower, painted the fence and never looked back. It was biblical rain over Friday night and Saturday morning but me and my son still managed a few hours of kickaround with the football over the weekend. Daughters friends come around quite regular as they can practise their cartwheels etc without risk of getting hurt or dirty. It even holds the warmth so an average sunny day turns into a hot day as its the equivelant of underfloor heating 🙂

So

1) Animals still crap on it – 3yrs and not one single crap in my garden, even though I have a cat and the neighbours have cats.

2) It needs maintenance – I hoover my ‘fake grass’ once a month. Takes about 15mins

3)It needs sanded every so often and is messy – I bought the more expensive stuff which does not need sanded (EVER) and it looks as good as the day it was laid.

I laid mine myself and tbh I am quite proud of the fact it looks as good now as it ever did. I think the calculations work out at about £20sqm to buy it plus £20sqm to fit it. It is seriously a nice DIY project.

1) Dug up old turf and got rid
2) Bought few tons of pea gravel and tried to compact with wacker plate. Soon realised (After being laughed at by builder friend)this wasn’t going to work
3) Mixed pea gravel with better chunky gravel and used waker plate. Actually i used the waker plate a few times over a period to ensure it was billiard flat.
4) Ordered grass off ebay. They come in 3 & 5m widths so work out what works for you best. I got the best I could which included ‘brown’ bits for realism. We got loads of samples and the wife made the decision and it worked out great.
5) Got a few tons of sharp sand delivered
6) Borrowed 3 iron rods which were 4m length off a customer. These were fantastic for getting a level in the sand. I even managed to put a slight slop towards the drainage channel I put in before my decking.
7) Fitted battons all around our garden again putting a slight slope in for water to drain. As the ground was so compacted I didn’t expect much to drain through the grass although it does have perforated finish to aid this.
8) Only bit I got some help with. Got builder mate to come around and help me cut and lay the grass. TBH he said that a carpet fitter would have laid it in about 30mins it was that easy. We took about 1.5hrs including joints. Used a galvanised staple gun to hold the grass around the battons and bobs yer uncle.

Condiering lifting it up this year. I laid a membrane over the sand but I fancy laying a softer/thicker layer like you put under laminate to give it an even softer feel. Will just be a case of unpicking staples, roll up, lay the stuff then roll back in place.

Stuff is guaranteed for 25yrs. I had 3 lawns laid in the previous 5yrs and was sick of paying for feeds etc.

Hope this helps

very helpful, appreciated

TBH drainage is the most important aspect. Get someone (Carpet fitter) to do the cutting and you almost cant go wrong. Even if you completely mess up the prep work, you just roll it back up and do it again.

We have a 13yr old house and we have the same issues with the ground. Garden to the left just put a load of bushes in and a load of shillies to try to have a workable garden. Big lawn area on the other side. Over the years I laid drainage channels deep under the turf, rotivated etc etc etc. Nothing worked and we all kept getting flooded (Just surface, not actual flooding). My lawn is now a good 2-3″ higher than theirs and hand on heart, they get all my run off to 🙂

Its amazing to be able to go out 10 mins after a downpour and be able to use your lawn.

Iain, here is a link to a thread with a few pics of mine (4.5 x5 m)

great stuff!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/artificial-lawns

don – useful link, cheers