OT: All Knowing Board - Install of Synthetic Grass - Yes or No

[MrTailgate]

Trying to save some money and wanted to ask

1- I’ve watched the videos, is install of synthetic grass/turf a nightmare DIY project or reasonably simple/straightforward?

2- Any learnings that will make the outcome better that you gained understanding as you went along?

3- Any pitfalls to avoid? What was the most difficult aspect and tips you can pass along to minimize whatever the difficulties were?

4- Any specific product you recommend?

Thanks. I’m in FL and maintaining grass can be challenging so I’m thinking of going the turf route. After you completed, are you happy you did and like the result?

 

[Tom McAndrew]

@MtNittany -- any chance you can chime in here? You probably know more about this than anybody else on the board.

 

[MtNittany]

@MtNittany -- any chance you can chime in here? You probably know more about this than anybody else on the board.

Off to work for the day at TCC. Will chime in when I get back around dinner time.

 

[MrTailgate]

Thanks @Tom McAndrew and @MtNittany. Appreciate any steer you can offer. This Board is the best.

 

[MtNittany]

Thanks @Tom McAndrew and @MtNittany. Appreciate any steer you can offer. This Board is the best.

MrTailgate - Square footage? Access - wide open, fence gate, etc.?

Normal lawn installations go like this:
1) Removal/disposal of sod (all of it) - can't skip this step.
2) 3" or so of crushed screenings. In FL look for crushed concrete screenings 1/4" minus (meaning the smallest piece on the truck should be no bigger than 1/4" - this can't be skipped either.
3) Compaction of the base material w/ a plate compactor to 90 % (10% air at most)
4) Laying of turf, cutting perimeter waste
5) Seaming of turf - carpet skills come in handy here
6) Securing perimeter by burying 5-6" of turf, then backfilling against it (beds, etc.)
7) Infilling w/ a good silica sand (must be bagged and pretty fine) - can't be even a bit wet - using a drop spreader
8) Brooming in infill to get it to the bottom of the turf w/ a power broom (or a push broom on smaller jobs)

Done.

As for the turf itself, buy it online in 15' widths hopefully. Should always ship from Dalton, GA. If it comes from CA, it's chinese and you don't want that - especially w/ kids or pets.

 

[LionJim]

Lol, great post.

 

[MtNittany]

Base material formula (to get 3" of base material):

Square footage X 34 = lbs. That number divided by 2000 obviously gets you tons. Some stone places deal in tons, some in cubic yards. We usually dealt in tons, but sometimes yards. There's a conversion for that, but it depends on the dampness of the rock. I'd tell them tons and have them figure it out if they wanted to charge us in yards.

 

[A2nit]

Screen-shotted this s&@t, awesome Mt Nit

 

[MtNittany]

Screen-shotted this s&@t, awesome Mt Nit

Weird - AI is apparently scanning the web and anointing world records. Someone sent me this link a few weeks ago - so I'm a world record holder. I worked on this job on and off for 3 years from lead to completion. George Clifton - original architect is a great guy. He let me do whatever we wanted. I added the island and we increased the elevation for drainage. I helped start a company on this job - and then started another company from the proceeds. Cool project.

Talk about seams - lawn seams are easy beans. Putting green seams are really, really hard to do. They have to be invisible. Lawns can be covered up w/ infill. Some of these seams on this green are 160 feet long.

The green is just under an acre and the longest putt is 110 yards.

 

[MrTailgate]

MrTailgate - Square footage? Access - wide open, fence gate, etc.?

Normal lawn installations go like this:
1) Removal/disposal of sod (all of it) - can't skip this step.
2) 3" or so of crushed screenings. In FL look for crushed concrete screenings 1/4" minus (meaning the smallest piece on the truck should be no bigger than 1/4" - this can't be skipped either.
3) Compaction of the base material w/ a plate compactor to 90 % (10% air at most)
4) Laying of turf, cutting perimeter waste
5) Seaming of turf - carpet skills come in handy here
6) Securing perimeter by burying 5-6" of turf, then backfilling against it (beds, etc.)
7) Infilling w/ a good silica sand (must be bagged and pretty fine) - can't be even a bit wet - using a drop spreader
8) Brooming in infill to get it to the bottom of the turf w/ a power broom (or a push broom on smaller jobs)

Done.

As for the turf itself, buy it online in 15' widths hopefully. Should always ship from Dalton, GA. If it comes from CA, it's chinese and you don't want that - especially w/ kids or pets.

Thanks so much. I watched a lot of videos and I was concerned about the need to grade the area. I understand that you want the area level but some videos suggest grading to better allow for drainage and the water not gathering. Do I need to grade even if I am dealing with a flat area?

Also the videos say that you need to dispose of the 3-4 inches of dirt. They were saying that the excavated dirt should be placed in a dumpster that will then be disposed of. Any comments on that?

Finally, do you think you can have a landscape company just prep the area and I can then do everything else? Just trying to manage costs.

I have easy access to the area being turfed.

 

[MtNittany]

Thanks so much. I watched a lot of videos and I was concerned about the need to grade the area. I understand that you want the area level but some videos suggest grading to better allow for drainage and the water not gathering. Do I need to grade even if I am dealing with a flat area?

Also the videos say that you need to dispose of the 3-4 inches of dirt. They were saying that the excavated dirt should be placed in a dumpster that will then be disposed of. Any comments on that?

Finally, do you think you can have a landscape company just prep the area and I can then do everything else? Just trying to manage costs.

I have easy access to the area being turfed.

I would never want a lawn area "level". It should be pitched away from the foundation of the house like a patio. You can do that w/ the screenings pre-compaction.

Well, it needs to go somewhere. We would get walk in dumpsters delivered to job sites and call them to have it picked up when we were done.

Yes - and I used to encourage DIY customers to do that. Whether it's the front end (removal, base, compaction) or the back end (turf laying, shaping, seaming, securing, infilling) - if you can cut costs by doing one or the other instead of a turnkey installation, by all means do it.

Easy access is important because there's a big difference between a truckload of stone being dumped on your driveway (and wheelbarrow-ed in) and it being dumped directly on the project footprint. BIG difference.

I'd find a landscape crew that would maybe want to work a Saturday or a Sunday and have them dig up your yard. If they need a sod cutter, rent it for them. Pay them cash. Have them spread the stone and compact it as well if you want.

Cash is king.

 

[MrTailgate]

I would never want a lawn area "level". It should be pitched away from the foundation of the house like a patio. You can do that w/ the screenings pre-compaction.

Well, it needs to go somewhere. We would get walk in dumpsters delivered to job sites and call them to have it picked up when we were done.

Yes - and I used to encourage DIY customers to do that. Whether it's the front end (removal, base, compaction) or the back end (turf laying, shaping, seaming, securing, infilling) - if you can cut costs by doing one or the other instead of a turnkey installation, by all means do it.

Easy access is important because there's a big difference between a truckload of stone being dumped on your driveway (and wheelbarrow-ed in) and it being dumped directly on the project footprint. BIG difference.

I'd find a landscape crew that would maybe want to work a Saturday or a Sunday and have them dig up your yard. If they need a sod cutter, rent it for them. Pay them cash. Have them spread the stone and compact it as well if you want.

Cash is king.

Got it. Thanks so much for your input, really appreciate it.

 

[MtNittany]

Got it. Thanks so much for your input, really appreciate it.

Good luck with your project. Any issues email me at [email protected]

 

[MtNittany]

Got it. Thanks so much for your input, really appreciate it.

Last thought - and this goes for a lot of home/lawn improvement work etc. When we would send a crew out (4 guys) for a small job (say 3 days) I would estimate $1k/day in labor alone. Larger jobs are different obviously.

The materials are what they are - a fixed cost.

So anything you can ever do to cut 4 days into 3 or 3 into 2 w/ any outside contractor is good for you and good for them. They get paid and move on to another job a day earlier. You save money.

Again - if you need a quote on something ($1-$20k) - get it. Then ask if there's a cash price.

 

[PSU87]

MrTailgate - Square footage? Access - wide open, fence gate, etc.?

Normal lawn installations go like this:
1) Removal/disposal of sod (all of it) - can't skip this step.
2) 3" or so of crushed screenings. In FL look for crushed concrete screenings 1/4" minus (meaning the smallest piece on the truck should be no bigger than 1/4" - this can't be skipped either.
3) Compaction of the base material w/ a plate compactor to 90 % (10% air at most)
4) Laying of turf, cutting perimeter waste
5) Seaming of turf - carpet skills come in handy here
6) Securing perimeter by burying 5-6" of turf, then backfilling against it (beds, etc.)
7) Infilling w/ a good silica sand (must be bagged and pretty fine) - can't be even a bit wet - using a drop spreader
8) Brooming in infill to get it to the bottom of the turf w/ a power broom (or a push broom on smaller jobs)

Done.

As for the turf itself, buy it online in 15' widths hopefully. Should always ship from Dalton, GA. If it comes from CA, it's chinese and you don't want that - especially w/ kids or pets.

Question for you....

Is there a way to bring the edge up to something where you could NOT bury the perimeter edge...like against an existing sidewalk.

 

[MtNittany]

Question for you....

Is there a way to bring the edge up to something where you could NOT bury the perimeter edge...like against an existing sidewalk.

Install a nailer board (at the proper depth) on the vertical face of the sidewalk, then use a staple gun to secure the turf to the top of the nailer board.

 

[leinbacker]

Are you gonna put in a blue turf like Boise?

 

[MtNittany]

One thing I forgot to tell MrTailgate is don't buy anything higher than 1.75" in pile. I'd prefer 1.5" especially in FL. Looks more like golf course grass. Less infill costs as well.

 

[MtNittany]

Install a nailer board (at the proper depth) on the vertical face of the sidewalk, then use a staple gun to secure the turf to the top of the nailer board.

87 - in a situation like that - what you want there is 1/3 of the turf below the sidewalk and 2/3 above. You fill the 1/3 w/ silica and walking from lawn to sidewalk is even. No tripping.

 

[MrTailgate]

Are you gonna put in a blue turf like Boise?

I won’t tell my wife that I want the borders to be the checkerboard blue and white so they look like end zones.