Fitting Artificial Grass

Usually, an aggregate sub-base is laid to provide efficient drainage followed by a weed membrane followed by a layer of sand. The sand is then levelled off to provide a flat base on which the artificial turf is laid out. If you have a seam, a joint tape will be laid down between the seams onto which adhesive is spread and then the grass edges are laid over the seam. Additional special fake grass pegs are also used to fix down the edges.  

This will all depend on how you will be using your artificial lawn. For a luxurious looking thick lawn then a 40mm+ lawn will give you a good bouncy feel - but may not be so good if you are planning on leaving lots of heavy items on your lawn. Also if you have pets - dogs, you would want to choose a 30mm height at this will make clearing up after your pooch a little easier whilst still retaining a fantastic looking lawn.

If you looking to provide a play area or add some artificial grass to decking to provide a non-slip topping then a budget, sub 10mm pile would be best

This all depends on your individual installation and the actual grass that is chosen. Grass prices range from the budget end, which looks like green carpet rather than grass, from around £5 per m2 to longer luxury pile grasses which can be £40+ per m2. For a supply and fit of a good mid-range grass can range from around £70 per m2, for small shape installations where they may be much wastage, to £45 per m2 where there is a large uniformed area being installed.

Yes, it can and we've done it several times with s special underlay. We've found that this will mostly be requested on timber decking. There a two main reasons for this firstly once the artificial grass has been fixed to the decking it means that you won't be able to get to your decking to clean it - saving you cleaning chore. Whilst this may seem like a big plus side it does mean that water will have more difficulty in draining away after a downpour. So whilst water will run through the artificial turf it will run onto the decking. If the decking is in a very slight slope to assist water run off this will help. The underlay we use will also help protect your decking If not done properly, you will run the risk of shortening the life of your decking as it will not be treated regularly. 

The other and main reason is that fake grass is fitted onto decking is that it is visually more colourful and you don't have to work about slipping if the surface does get damp - especially if you have not been good at keeping on top of decking maintenance and moss and algae have built up. 

Before applying artificial grass on top of decking we would recommend a final clean and good quality decking treatment is applied first.

The quality in terms of colour fastness, durability and realness has improved dramatically in the last 1o years.  This has progressed to such a level that at first glance it can be very hard to distinguish between real grass and fake grass. 

Most modern grasses are made from polyethylene - this is for the actual grass blade. The base to which it is attached can be made from either  polypropylene, polyethylene or nylon. For all three the process of attaching is very similar to that used for modern carpets, which is why you can now even find artificial for sale in carpet shops. A needle, or rather large sets of needles push the blades through the base to which they are attached. Additional adhesives are also used to keep the blades in place.

With the advances in astroturf manufacturing UV inhibitors are added to the artificial grass and as a result, you should expect your artificial lawn to look good for 15-20 years depending on the intensity and duration of sun exposure.

This again similar to the question about the best artificial grass will come down to a number of factors. Firstly it will depend on where the grass will be going and what it will be butting up to. For artificial lawns surrounding trees, timber sleepers are going to be too rigid and therefore laying of bricks or stone blocks allow circles and curved edges to be used. If this is the style and design of your landscaping you don't want to be compromising on the flow of borders and lawns so this is a popular finish. When you do have long straight edges sleepers are a good option as they allow you to have a slightly raised bed, which helps bring some different levels to a garden. It's not uncommon to use a combination of the two. Part of our service is to talk through the design aspect of your garden and what features you already have so as to complement your garden design as much as possible.