Artificial grass - experiences?

[eltawater]

I take the same view as any other renovations within my household, be it bathroom, kitchen or carpets.

I'm doing it for my enjoyment and not for the benefit of the next owners. Regardless of how "nice" you may feel the end result is today, the next owner may simply think that it's not to their taste and will rip it all out anyway.

It's not like I've built an asbestos filled concrete structure with a rusty iron roof in the back yard.

[Welshbeef]

desolate said:

There is no evidence that it does?

How many people would love a nice sports pitch for their kids?
Loads

For anyone with sporty kids it's got to be a bonus

Fair point.

But I think families with kids who actually play twice a week for a team plus training back garden simply isn’t viable as most houses are 1/3-1/5th an acre plot.
Keep it upie sure but that’s not the same.



I’d say the fact that a natural lawn would cost you zero to get into good condition plus some grass seed if it needed it vs need to take that fake lawn out or the fake lawn is too greens/too long/too thick/thin etc perfect for previous owner but not for all future buyers

[anonymous-user]

Welshbeef said:

Fair point.

But I think families with kids who actually play twice a week for a team plus training back garden simply isn’t viable as most houses are 1/3-1/5th an acre plot.
Keep it upie sure but that’s not the same.

Maybe in the world of Welshbeef houses have that much space back here in the real world people are working with something smaller.

[Welshbeef]

desolate said:

Maybe in the world of Welshbeef houses have that much space back here in the real world people are working with something smaller.

You have a farm and the pics posted up none are small gardens.



Anyway have you had fake lawn in your lifetime as the garden? Clearly I don’t get it I prefer nature / if we were in a tiny garden we’d take the kids down the park to play and kick about

[anonymous-user]

Welshbeef said:

You have a farm and the pics posted up none are small gardens.



Anyway have you had fake lawn in your lifetime as the garden? Clearly I don’t get it I prefer nature / if we were in a tiny garden we’d take the kids down the park to play and kick about

My post was in response to yours about your childhood.

When I was a kid we had tiny gardens that were fked due to me and my brother playing football.. my parents would have loved an artificial lawn.


As it worked out my son isn't into sport and my daughter does stuff that doesn't need grass
We do have a ménage so that's similar I suppose .

My point is a garden is different things for different people.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 15th March 21:25

[Dr Jekyll]

bogie said:

My landscaper explained to me that you have to stop thinking about it as "fake grass" and look at it as an alternative to hard paving. The preparation required is the same, its just the surface finish is not hard.
.

This.

It's not artificial in the sense of imitation or fake, it's just a very practical surface that happens to be man made.

Some of the comments here reminds me of when so called 'synthetic' oils came out and the old guard muttered about how imitation couldn't possibly be as good as the real thing.

[Welshbeef]

Dr Jekyll said:

bogie said:

My landscaper explained to me that you have to stop thinking about it as "fake grass" and look at it as an alternative to hard paving. The preparation required is the same, its just the surface finish is not hard.
.

This.

It's not artificial in the sense of imitation or fake, it's just a very practical surface that happens to be man made.

Some of the comments here reminds me of when so called 'synthetic' oils came out and the old guard muttered about how imitation couldn't possibly be as good as the real thing.

Who (with children) would hard pace their entire lawn?

I rest my case

[boxst]

I just bought a house and it has artificial grass at the front and a small patch at the back and then an acre of 'normal' grass. I hated it with passion, but actually when you get used to it it is actually okay. Stays looking good, although I have to vacuum it every so often!

[anonymous-user]

Welshbeef said:

Who (with children) would hard pace their entire lawn?

I rest my case

You've lost.
With costs to the other side

[Welshbeef]

desolate said:

You've lost.
With costs to the other side

Agreed .

Each to their own

[bogie]

I wonder if it was grey, or available in patterns like stone paving people would think differently about it.

Imagine you can have a soft area in your garden for kids to play on, that blends in with the rest of your hard landscaping and no-one is the wiser......

It seems to be the fact that its green thats causing the issue ......after all plenty of people have areas around their property which do not contain grass

[C&C]

bogie said:

I wonder if it was grey, or available in patterns like stone paving people would think differently about it.

Imagine you can have a soft area in your garden for kids to play on, that blends in with the rest of your hard landscaping and no-one is the wiser......

It seems to be the fact that its green thats causing the issue ......after all plenty of people have areas around their property which do not contain grass

This +1

Although I'd always go for green, other colours are available!

[C&C]

eltawater said:

CandC said:

The premise for this is that it would cover the existing patio (which needs re-laying anyway), and a small section beyond the patio where we were considering extending the patio. Looking to use this area more, with outdoor pool table/table tennis table etc..

Have a chat with your installer for advice on spreading the weight being placed by these tables onto the artificial grass, particularly if they are reasonably heavy or have sharper points to the table legs. Sometimes castors or other accessories can help to avoid an unexpected tear in the fabric.

Thanks for the tip - I'd not thought about this - very good point.

[Ryan-nunm9]

Really interesting thread for me, my personal preference is natural grass.

However the Mrs and I are parting ways and I am in the process of buying a coach house, with a "not bad" sized garden which has artificial grass. It was one of three coash houses I viewed and the only with with artificial grass....and the best looking garden. All three owners mentioned that they couldn't get grass to grow due to the garden being very shaded so much of the year. The other two gardens had concrete or patio laid with plant pots etc.

I don't think "my" new place has particularly expensive artificial grass (no idea of the brand etc) but it'll be something I'll likely look to upgrade next year once I see how my 12 stone dog Tank, and I get on with it. With out asking him I'm sure his preference, in order, would be;
1. A muddy bog
2. Natural grass
3. Articial grass
4. Patio/block paving etc

Thanks for those offering advice on how to look after the artificial grass. Fortunatly for me Tank thinks he way to posh to dump in the garden and only does this in emergencies. Hopefully between a leaf blower, henry the hoover and the karcher I should be okay.

[wjwren]

Reviving old thread..

Ive been battling my lawn on clay soil and the kids wear it out. Ive been thinking more and more about artificial. I had a small patch from Nomow. It was in front of my shed. I found the pile or grass would lay flat and never stand back up. What is the ideal pile size. Any tips please.

[UpTheIron]

wjwren said:

Reviving old thread..

Ive been battling my lawn on clay soil and the kids wear it out. Ive been thinking more and more about artificial. I had a small patch from Nomow. It was in front of my shed. I found the pile or grass would lay flat and never stand back up. What is the ideal pile size. Any tips please.

Sand infill will help/be needed for it to stand up.

[Mr Obertshaw]

We put down some relatively cheap stuff about £10 per sqm. Its totally transformed the garden and made it so much more usable. The kids and the wife love it.

[wjwren]

What mm is recommended. The grass area is only 75 odd sqm so not massive.
I had a lovely lush lawn last year but a lot of it needs seeding and its hard to do it now the kids are off and all over it every day.

[AJB88]

Very quick question how does this stuff stand up to dog poo/wee? got a Husky and Northern Inuit both have made a right mess of the grass (very muddy in winter and its not recovered).

Thinking seriously about artificial stuff now.

[K50 DEL]

AJB88 said:

Very quick question how does this stuff stand up to dog poo/wee? got a Husky and Northern Inuit both have made a right mess of the grass (very muddy in winter and its not recovered).

Thinking seriously about artificial stuff now.

A friend of mine runs a dog-sitting business from her home on a full-time basis, there are always a fair number of dogs there.
2 years ago she had her lawns replaced with astro for exactly the same reasons, last time I was there there's no discoloration, or any issues related to canine usage!