Astro Turf / Artificial Grass

PierremontQuaker03

I am thinking about having the garden lawn done with this artificial grass for the kids so they can play on it more etc etc - just wondering if anyone had any good/bad experiences with it - as per usual it is a mine field and there are so many suppliers - reviews good and bad which has my head in a spin.
The good news from my point of view is that my garden is flat (one level) and I am wanting to make the lawn bigger so I have been doing a lot of the prep work myself to cut down on the cost.
Any advice from anyone?

SailorSam

I imagine the big reason for getting an astro turf lawn is to cut down on maintenance. No mowing the grass. But what happens when weeds start to grow through and make it look untidy.
I've got no experience of it, but have read it's expensive and i wonder is it worth it.

Miiri

The house we bought came with Astro turf and its coming up this year. IMO - its horrid stuff and I can't see how its any less maintenance. I get weeds growing through it so either need to use weedkiller or weed it!

Even more fun - nothing rots away on it - leaf fall.. local fox poo etc!

Can't wait for spring to get proper turf back down

Miiri

matty_hunt

We have plastic grass. I have no idea of brand or type but it is great. Whilst not to modern standards, its one shade of dark green, its at least eight years old and still looks like new. Looks good against dark brown railway sleepers. From my understanding, it has a weed control membrane underneath and whilst there maybe the odd weed near the edges, they easily pluck out. Maybe a handful of weeds a year. Leaves are easy to collect, drains nicely, dog mess easy to pick up, looks good all year round, no dirt brought indoors, for a small garden I wouldn't be without it!

SuzieSue

I had it put down in the summer because I couldn't cope with mowing the lawn. So far, it's been great. There are a few weeds growing around the edges but nothing that weedkiller won't solve. But it was very expensive as we couldn't put it down ourselves - it cost 2 or 3 times what we thought it would cost. We first got a quote 5 years ago but we couldn't justify spending so much money, but another 5 years of mowing persuaded us to bite the bullet.

themull1

My daughter wanted some fake grass for her dolls house, i went on line and got loads and loads of free samples, and it does vary enormously, i would suggest you do that before you decide.x

originator

I just had a chap round to measure up and quote me,can't wait,I hate mowing.He reckons just under 2 grand all in which to me is a bargain!

ncd

We've got it out the front and back of our house and it has been a god send, especially during the winter months. We have had it for approx. 2 years now and still looks as good as new. Yes you do get the odd weed or 2, but then you do on block and tarmac driveways to!. It's easy to maintain with just a stiff broom to give the grass a `brush' once in a while. We get a lot comments from people passing saying how good it looks. We got ours from Easigrass and was impressed with their service.

originator

Easigrass is the one I'm going with.

andrewf75

As much as mowing the lawn can be a chore, I would absolutely not ever consider this!

Its a bloody garden! The whole point is that its a bit of the outdoors/nature in an urban area. I want my kids to experience a bit of grass, mud etc. Enough of the world is being concreted over without replacing what little greenery there is with something artificial. What next? rip out the plants and flowers and replace them with plastic ones so you don't need to trim them and so you get colour all year round?!

martin1959

I agree entirely with Andrew.


There is nothing like the smell of freshly mown grass. We currently have a large garden, and will shortly be moving to a bungalow with a small garden. Whilst I will not miss cutting the 800sqm or so we currently have, I would not consider having plastic put down!


Whilst ranting, I cannot understand people who have CONCRETE block paving. It looks horrible, it fades after a couple of years, it can suffer from oil stains......anyone considering block paving should look at clay pavers..... Ours went down 13 years ago and they still look as good as the day they were laid. I jet wash every couple of years and resand, and it look like it has just been laid.
They may cost a few quid a meter more, but you will never regret it.....