Artificial Grass Fitters Near Me

A lawn is a key aspect of any garden. They are great for children and pets to run around on, perfect for entertaining in the summer, and they also look terrific! But artificial grass or turf offers many advantages over real grass, with the biggest advantage being low maintenance and excellent durability. With the correct maintenance and good growing conditions, a real lawn can look absolutely stunning, but artificial grass doesn't require any watering, can survive the extreme wear and tear caused by pets and children, plus can easily last 20 years or more.

The reality of a real grass lawn is that achieving the perfect-looking lawn that we often see on TV and in magazines is something that is simply not achievable for most of us. For most people, free time is at a premium with our busy lifestyles and finding time to maintain a lawn can be difficult. In addition, most of us have gardens that are less than ideal in terms of the sunlight they receive and the richness of the soil. If you have a lawn which is shadowed or you are surrounded by trees which can suck the moisture out of your soil, then achieving the ideal lawn, even with lots of hard work and money, is next to impossible.

Artificial grass is pet and child resistant, very low maintenance, does not produce any mud or mess, looks great all year round whatever the weather and does not need lots of sunlight or decent soil. Although the initial installation costs for artificial turf are greater than the initial cost of growing a lawn from seeds, the ongoing costs of artificial grass are much less than the cost of ongoing maintenance for a real lawn.

Installing an artificial lawn to replace an existing real lawn is not a terribly complicated job, but it is time-consuming. The first step in installing an artificial lawn is to remove the existing lawn and excavate down to 75mm. This will usually involve hiring a skip at a minimum and, for larger lawns, may involve hiring small plant machinery. Most lawns will involve some sort of edging, which is usually timber or brick, but metal or plastic can also be used.

The next step after excavation is to install a weed membrane to help prevent weed growth. Sub-base material is then placed on top of the membrane, such as granite or limestone dust. For a proper installation, a second layer of weed membrane should be placed on top of the sub-base before finally laying the artificial grass, cutting it to shape and securing it using galvanised nails or adhesive.

How Much Does Artificial Grass Cost?

Installing a typical artificial lawn of approximately 4m x 10m will cost around £2,500, with much of the cost being the artificial grass itself, which will be around £1,200. Machinery hire costs are around £200, the weed membranes will cost around £80, the sub-base material will cost £400, the edging will cost between £40-£100 depending on the material used, and labour costs will be around £400-£500 for a typical two-person team. The job itself will usually take 1-2 days.

This may sound like a lot of money compared to buying some grass seeds and growing a new lawn from scratch, but artificial grass can create an immaculate lawn in just a day or two, whereas a real lawn could take a year or two. There is also no guarantee that real grass will achieve the same appearance as artificial grass. It is possible to spend a lot of time and money growing a lawn that you are not happy with. Artificial turf may cost more initially, but it can provide a neat, finished lawn in a short period of time.