By Many homeowners become frustrated with maintaining their lawns and start to consider the benefits of synthetic turf. After all, there’s no mowing, whipper snipping, weeding or fertilizing needed with an artificial lawn. Maintenance is extremely low and you free up your weekends!
Once you have made your decision to install synthetic turf, however, you need to ask yourself the following five questions.
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How do you find the right turf?
There’s quite a few manufacturers of synthetic turf on the market, so you will need to do your homework. If you know anyone who has artificial turf laid at their property, then ask their opinion of that product. Otherwise an online search for manufacturers and a thorough search for customer reviews should point you in the right direction. It’s worth remembering, however, that a lack of reviews isn’t a big problem, because people tend to write reviews only when they are unhappy with a product, not when they are happy!
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What design of grass do you want?
There are many different synthetic turf designs on the market with the cheaper options usually being poorly designed. These are the artificial lawns that look fake and are badly constructed with low quality yarn and stitching that tends to deteriorate quickly in the elements. Instead, you want to look for a high quality turf that’s designed for the Aussie elements and is durable, long lasting and looks like natural grass. A good fake grass installation company can advise the best type you should choose for your circumstances.
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What type of infill do you need?
Some types of artificial turf require an infill that helps to keep the pile upright (so it doesn’t flatten as you walk on it) whilst also adding ballast to keep the turf in situ. There are different types of infill on the market with the most common being rubber granules. However, these granules can heat up in the sun, so they are not really suitable for backyard applications as the lawn will become very hot in the summer. The grass fibres of more top quality synthetic turfs are designed to remain upright, regardless of foot traffic, so they don’t need an infill.
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Do you have good drainage?
As with natural turf, synthetic turf needs to be installed in areas with good drainage. The top quality synthetic grasses are designed so that rain flows through the turf and into the ground, but this only works if the area has good drainage. What this means is that if you want to install synthetic turf in an area that you know has poor drainage, you will need some type of remediation work before installing your new lawn. This applies to installations at sports facilities, just as much as it does to homeowners.
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Professional or DIY installation?
You might be tempted to install the artificial turf yourself, but if you make a mistake it can ruin the turf and void your warranty. Not only does the ground need to be prepared correctly and the drainage assessed before installation, but the turf needs to be secured properly in place. It’s often best to leave this type of installation to the professionals, because they can do it in half the time and do it right first time!
Once you have answered all five of these questions, you can look forward to a wonderful new and low maintenance lawn at home.
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