Artificial lawns for gardens that never quite grow, front lawns worn out by parking, and back gardens too shaded or too small to be worth a mower. Dug out, a compacted base laid to a fall, weed membrane down, then the grass rolled out, joined, pinned and sand dressed so it sits flat and rain goes straight through it.
The turf comes off, the ground is dug down and a compacted base of MOT and grit sand goes in with a fall on it. Grass laid straight onto old soil goes soft, dips where people walk and grows weeds up through it inside two summers. Nearly every artificial lawn that looks wrong is a base that was never built.
Rolls are laid the same way round so the whole lawn leans in one direction, joined on tape and adhesive rather than pinned edge to edge, and trimmed to the line before anything is fixed. A join done carefully disappears. A join done quickly is the first thing anybody notices.
Timber, block or resin bonded edging so the grass has something solid to be fixed to and cannot lift or curl at the perimeter. Perforated backing over a free draining base means rain goes straight through, which is also what makes it work with a dog: it rinses off instead of sitting.
Kiln dried sand brushed into the pile to weight the grass down, hold the blades upright and keep it cooler underfoot. It is the last hour of the job and it is the difference between a lawn that looks laid and one that looks like carpet.
A decent grass on a base built properly is generally good for fifteen to twenty years, and most carry a manufacturer guarantee somewhere in that range. What shortens it is never the grass, it is the base underneath and the edges, which is why both are itemised on the written estimate rather than assumed.
In full sun it does get warmer than real grass, much like a patio does, and it cools within minutes once the sun comes off it. Sand dressing and a lighter pile both help. If your garden is in full sun all day and small children are on it barefoot, we will say so and talk through where a real lawn or a shaded section still makes more sense.
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons people ring. The backing is perforated and the base is free draining, so urine goes through rather than sitting on the surface, and there are no bare muddy patches to be walked back into the house. It wants a hose down now and again like any other surface.
A weed membrane goes under the base and the base itself is stone, not soil, so nothing comes up from below. What can happen is windblown seed germinating in the sand dressing on top, and that pulls out by hand. It is a fraction of the work a real lawn asks for.
Not over a lawn. The turf has to come off, or it rots down underneath and the whole thing sinks unevenly within a year. Over sound concrete or paving it can be done with a shockpad, and that is often the right answer for a small yard or a roof terrace. We will tell you which of the two yours is after a look.
Based at New Street in Salisbury and working up to 100 miles out across Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset and Berkshire, so a look at your job is rarely more than a couple of days away.
Send a photo or two through WhatsApp, or ring us, and we will come out and give you a free written estimate.