Laying artificial grass myself...

Nathaniel_Essex

Do you think it's a good idea for someone who is not particularly good at DIY? My front garden is around 16m2 and two people have quoted me around £1,000. Cost of the top of the range grass should cost me no more than £450 or so.

I am a bit of a perfectionist and just wanted to know is it hard to mess it up.

Doozergirl

It's pretty easy, and hard to get wrong, imo. Just make sure you prep the base correctly,
go slowly and get your levels right. Everything can be undone, so for a DIY job, it's ideal.

ic

I laid a slightly bigger area in my back garden last bank hol. I lifted the old turf and took to the tip (four car loads). I put down two tonne of stone and a tonne of sand bringing the level up to match that of the patio, using a hired whacker-plate to get it level and firm. I installed treated wooden battens around the edge which provided a level edge to work to, and then stapled the fake grass to this. Afterwards I've brushed in six or seven bags of kiln sand on top. All in the job came to about £500 for me (the turf cost me £320 on a 20% off ebay day). Assuming they're offering to do the same, £500 for the labour on top doesn't sound too bad.

Nathaniel_Essex

ic wrote: »

I laid a slightly bigger area in my back garden last bank hol. I lifted the old turf and took to the tip (four car loads). I put down two tonne of stone and a tonne of sand bringing the level up to match that of the patio, using a hired whacker-plate to get it level and firm. I installed treated wooden battens around the edge which provided a level edge to work to, and then stapled the fake grass to this. Afterwards I've brushed in six or seven bags of kiln sand on top. All in the job came to about £500 for me (the turf cost me £320 on a 20% off ebay day). Assuming they're offering to do the same, £500 for the labour on top doesn't sound too bad.

Did you just use a spade for lift the grass?

pimento

If it's in your front garden, make sure you nail it down..

ic

Nathaniel_Essex wrote: »

Did you just use a spade for lift the grass?

I used a lawn edger to cut it into chunks, but yes lifted with a spade and used rubble sacks to take to the tip. The area wasn't really big enough to warrant a machine to do it, and as I wasn't keeping it to relay (it was at the end of its life anyway) it didn't need to be a neat job.

Oh I forgot to mention that I also put weed membrane down beneath the stone and then again on top of the sand.

Ganga

ic wrote: »

I laid a slightly bigger area in my back garden last bank hol. I lifted the old turf and took to the tip (four car loads). I put down two tonne of stone and a tonne of sand bringing the level up to match that of the patio, using a hired whacker-plate to get it level and firm. I installed treated wooden battens around the edge which provided a level edge to work to, and then stapled the fake grass to this. Afterwards I've brushed in six or seven bags of kiln sand on top. All in the job came to about £500 for me (the turf cost me £320 on a 20% off ebay day). Assuming they're offering to do the same, £500 for the labour on top doesn't sound too bad.

Why did you have to brush sand onto plastic grass? this is not a criticism just curious:rotfl:

getmore4less

How fit are you?

2 fit guys can do a lot of work in a day or two.

Digging out and shifting a few tonne of materials is hard work.

I budget a minimum of double hours for jobs that need you to be fit and they always take longer.

getmore4less

If the current grass come up clean and you have somewhere to stack it you get decent soil once it has had time to break down.

powerful_Rogue

I did this a few months ago in the rear garden.

Dug down and got rid of the current grass (or more like weeds!). Leveled it out, put down a high quality membrane and then put the artifical grass on top. Just pegged it down then.

Looks great and no issues so far.

Head_The_Ball

Ganga wrote: »

Why did you have to brush sand onto plastic grass? this is not a criticism just curious:rotfl:

We had artificial grass installed last year and the installers spread sand on it.

Sand stabilises the grass and prolongs its useful life.

The extra weight means that the grass stays in place and doesn't need to be fixed in any other way. The sand provides stability and protects the turf. As a result, no wrinkles or folds develop through use. The sand also surrounds the long blades of artificial grass and ensures that they remain erect.