There has been a significant increase in the number of people who have switched over to artificial grass from natural grass in the last few years. The artificial grass or turf has got several advantages over the natural grass, the noticeable ones are, they are easy to maintain and they helps in water conservation . An interesting fact associated with the artificial grass available in the market is that it is almost indistinguishable from the natural one. However, the installation of artificial turf may not be that much easy as it appears to be, but by keeping certain key points in mind, you can get over all the complications that may arrive in the process of laying down artificial grass. Read on to find out how.
Complexity Level: Moderate
Time required: 2-3 hours for 100 square feet
Resources Required:
1. Synthetic grass
2. Rake
3. Shovel
4. Hoe
5. Utility knife
6. Finely crushed gravel
7. Adhesive
8. Landscape Fabric
9. Seam tape
10. Sharpie pen
11. Sand or rubber infill
12. 6″ landscape spikes
13. White sand
Instructions:
1. Preparation of area:
First of all the area where the fake grass has to be installed is well prepared. All sort of weeds, natural grass and debris are removed from the surface. The surface should be leveled with mechanical roller and ensures that there are no imperfections on the surface. For making the room gravel, 3 inches of top soil is removed with the help of a shovel. This area will be filled by gravel later.
2. Lay down the gravel:
The primary reason of laying the layer is to facilitate the drainage system for the grass. The other added advantage is that this layer of gravel acts as a firm base for the grass. Any low spots observed should be filled up with extra gravel. Water this surface and then finally levele this layer with the help of a mechanical roller.
3. Roll down the artificial grass:
The next step is to roll down the fake grass on the surface. Remember that to leave 5-6 cm of extra grass on the edges for trimming while rolling it for a perfect look. Allow the grass to settle down for 2 hours. Then mark the trimmed areas with the help of a sharpie marker. After that, trim the extra grass with the help of a Stanley knife. Be careful not to leave any space between the walls and the grass. Finally, use seaming tape and glue to make all the joins rigid.
4. Apply the Infill:
An infill prepared with the help of white sand is then applied on the fake grass to give it a natural look. A lawn broom can be used for the purpose of even distribution of the infill. Then finally the grass is watered to set the lawn.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How temporary artificial grass can be installed?
There are 3 methods by which temporary artificial grass can be installed.
1. Roll down the artificial grass and make sure that the surface is even and the grass is cut of right size. Then plant pots and furniture are placed at the edges in order to hold this grass in place.
2. In this method, rolling up of grass is done following the same steps as above but instead of using plant pots and furniture, adhesive glue is used to hold the grass firmly.
3. Again the initial steps are same except the fact that staple gun is used in place of adhesives and glue.
Quick tips:
- Use carpet style knife while cutting the fake grass equal to the size of the area.
- The leaf blower used in traditional natural grass lawns can be used to clear the debris once the grass has been laid and infill has been applied.
Things to watch out for:
The sand applied as infill will finally settle at the bottom. So, once the sand has compressed, a final layer of infill should be applied on the newly laid artificial turf or grass.
