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5 Things You Need to Do Before You Install Synthetic Turf

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Synthetic turf, also called artificial grass, is seeing a recent increase in popularity because of the many advantages it offers homeowners. It is eco-friendly, low maintenance, and visually appealing. If you are interested in creating your own outdoor space out of artificial grass, then you need to be aware of these five things you need to do before you install synthetic turf:

Research. In addition to weighing out the pros and cons of synthetic grass in order to know for sure that you are making the best decision for you, you should also research all of your options when it comes to grass manufacturers and materials. Different types of synthetic turf require different amounts and types of maintenance, and higher grade synthetic lawns will stand up to more wear and tear than lawns of lower grade turf. These are things you should consider before you begin to prep your outdoor space for installation, as synthetic grass is a large investment.

Excavate. Remove the top three to five inches of soil in preparation for your foundation. Do this regardless of your existing lawn material (dirt, weeds, or grass). Once you have properly excavated the upper layer of your lawn, tamp the ground to make it as level as possible.

Apply a weed killer and/or install a weed barrier. You want to prevent any weeds from growing up and pushing into your synthetic turf. Certain tough weeds can actually damage your synthetic lawn over time, and unwanted growth underneath your lawn can stand in the way of proper drainage. Apply a weed killer to exterminate existing weeds, and lay down a weed barrier if you feel your yard is especially susceptible to weed growth.

Build a foundation. Pour a layer of foundation rock aggregate (decomposed granite, pea gravel, road base, etc.) about three inches thick. This foundation will provide a means for easy drainage, and should be graded away from your home, just as a traditional lawn would be. At this stage, you can cap off any existing sprinkler heads, unless you have outdoor pets, in which case you might want to leave them exposed for sanitary reasons.

Prepare the grass. Synthetic turf comes in rolls, which means that when you unroll it, the blades of grass will be compacted and laying flat. Before you install the turf, you should unroll it completely, and then use a broom to brush the grass blades so that they stand at attention. Do this one roll at a time, as this would be a very daunting and labor intensive task if you waited until after the installation.

As you can see, there are some preparatory measures you must take before installing synthetic turf. Follow these tips to get your lawn ready for a whole new, eco-friendly look.

About the Author: Thaddeus Slaney has a small business property where grass simply won’t grow. He had synthetic turf from installitdirect installed and the place now has a welcoming appeal when visitors approach!






I wish we had a pool in our backyard!

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I wish our property were big enough to have a pool!

I got a little envious earlier today when I noticed a neighbor having some pool maintenance done. I was inside my house when this big truck with these huge colored canisters on the back pulled up in front of their house and then the sound of a pump started up. At least I’m fairly certain it was a pool cleaning service.

I wasn’t sure that this house had a pool but earlier in the summer, on a very hot summer day I saw a bunch of kids wander out of the yard wrapped in towels and that along with a truck that said something about pool heat pumps about a month before that confirmed my suspicion … yep … those lucky devils have a pool!

My yard is so small the best I can do is a big hot tub or a pond. LOL

Working very hard in the garden

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I’m so tired. I’ve been working something like 6 days straight in my backyard between preparing for the new fence to go in on one side of the yard and now working on the after effects of the fence in. In other words … getting torn up by roses for 6 days straight.

At least I’ve been getting a lot of exercise! There’s no way I’ll need to look for anything like the best muscle building supplement because working in the garden, lifting trellises and pushing gigantic rose branches out of my way is definitely getting my muscles in shape.

I still have a few days worth of work to do. I had to replace earth from where I had to dig a trench in my garden bed for part of the fence, and now I’m in the process of putting in some new trellises, adding in some manure to the current garden bed earth and then I’ve got to secure the roses to the trellises and plant some annuals.

Yep still lots of work to do. No wonder I’m exhausted. The garden will be very nice by the time I’m done though!

Getting some work done in the backyard this weekend

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This weekend we’re going to work outside in our garden to get it ready for summer. By this I mean we’re going to put together our Patio table, get out all of our solar lights and torches and other garden ornaments and put them in place.

The plants have been growing and blooming nicely. Every day something new is growing or blooming. It’s quite a nice sight to see.

This year we might do something different entertainment wise in the garden. We bought an iPod earlier this year and now I want to maybe get wireless outdoor speakers that will work with the iPod so that we can listen to our music when we’re outside working in the garden or sitting at our patio table enjoying ourselves.

Have you fixed up your backyard so that you can enjoy some summer fun in it?

We’re going to have to do some exterior maintenance on the house this year

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I think this is the year that we’re going to do some work on the outside of the house. There’s some areas that have needed work for a few years and I don’t think we can ignore them much longer.

Our house is triple brick. Actually it’s an older home, built in 1927 which of course means that it’s all lathe and plaster and of course that triple brick. Outside of the house there’s about three feet of foundation? that’s parged and the parging or cement is starting to crumble in some areas. So I think we’re going to have to re-parge part of the exterior.

While we’re at it we might spruce up the look of the house too. I’ve always thought house with exterior shutters looked quite nice … even just cosmetic ones that doesn’t actually close. Perhaps we’ll price some exterior shutters and see if they fit our budget.

I’ve also toyed with the idea of moving some of the plants around in the garden. I created our raised garden beds back in 2002 so many of the plants are now quite mature and they are crowding out some of the smaller plants. I think if I move a few plants around the garden will look quite nice. That will be a big job that will have to be done mainly by me … so we’ll see if I’m feeling up to it in about a month or so.

Are you planning on doing some work on the exterior of your house this year too? Perhaps some maintenance work like the parging I discussed above or possibly putting in a garden or deck?

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