Anyone put Artifical Turf in their Yard?

[rwest]

Hi,

Getting sick of the sloppy backyard and cleaning up the dog, so I saw a sign about artifical turf up the street and I went to the website and if my math is correct, it would be either $6,000 for me to do it, or $11,000 for them to supply the labor. Now my backyard is tiny 30'x24', so if my math is correct that is 720 sqft and they give prices of $8 a sqft DIY and $14 if they do it- seems very pricey.

www.thebestturf.com is their website, it appears that their system uses a plastic plate sort of sub system, which probably accounts for the high cost.

Question is: has anyone put in artifical turf, what kind, price and how do you like it?

Thanks,
Rutager

[ted]

I heard its not dog friendly.
Too hot in the summer time.

[fxeditor]

I've had it in my back yard for almost 10 years now and LOVE it! We bought it especially for our dogs and they are perfectly happy doing their business on it. It was expensive but I figured by not having to re-sod every few years because the dogs destroy the grass and the fact I don't have to water it, the cost would almost even out. Now with the drought restrictions here in Los Angeles I'm extra happy with my decision!

With the dogs Urinating and defecating on the syn-lawn, I wash it down with Simple Green every 3 weeks or so. That's really the only maintenance I do to it. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I'll get outside and snap a few pics of the back yard so you can see my setup.

Good luck!
Michael

[rwest]

Good information, not too worried about the heat since my yard is well shaded and the dog is paralyzed, so I have to go out with him to help him "go." He also wants to be near me, so doesn't like being left outside by himself.

Any special prep work needed? I have clay soil and most of the grass is dead from the pee already.

I see Home Depot has it by the custom roll and it didn't seem too pricey, more like a couple bucks a square foot.

Do you pin it down or secure it and what about any seams?

Thanks.

[Jim Richards]

Michael, which brand did you go with? Thanks.

Regards,

[Gogar]

Ms Gogar has it on her small backyard; the dogs don't mind it a bit. Make sure the underlying layers are set up to drain well. You need to rinse it fairly often if you have dogs.

[Christien]

We have a kind of useless 7x5 patch at the side of our house, so we made that into the dog "toilet" with turf, and trained them to use it. It is indeed very expensive - I think we paid $2-300 for the turf just for that small patch. We were redoing the backyard completely, so we laid 1/4" stone down, then held the turf down with big spikes into the soil below. Our prime concern here was drainage, because we knew we'd be washing it down a lot in the summer. So far so good. The dog uses it happily, and it holds the odour in really well. We do hit it with some white vinegar every couple weeks, especially in late July and August when it's really hot.

[Mark Henry]

I hate cutting the grass, how much do you think 2 acres would cost?

[rcooled]

There's quite a range in quality for artificial turf. The less expensive stuff looks like green indoor/outdoor carpet that you'd get at the hardware store...not very appealing. The better quality turf has brown 'blades' woven in with the green to look more like real grass. Short 'blades' look more like carpet, while longer ones tend to look a bit more realistic, 'cause the lay of the 'blades' will vary over the surface. This is important...'blades' that all lay in one direction look really fake. You can 'comb' the longer turfs with a blower to vary the surface texture. The best turf has 'blades' of different lengths...this looks the most like real grass.

Installers will either spread tiny rubber particles or sand into the 'lawn' to provide lubricity so the 'blades' don't get torn out when you scuff over the turf. Sand is better for this...the rubber is usually ground-up tires and can be toxic.

Some installers will even vary the surface of the decomposed granite bed under the turf so it looks more natural. Turf that’s billiard table flat doesn’t look very realistic.

[Nate2046]

We had a similarly sized backyard if not smaller. Incorporated a mulched area that flowed from the edges of the property that was reserved for the dogs 'business'. A few months of rabbit fence separating the area and positive reinforcement and they only used the mulched area. Worked really well for us, having a small area of nice grass and an easily cleaned mulch area. Much cheaper too.

[Jeff Alton]

We have it our backyard for 3 years now. Pricing and required a lot of prep. All worth it. Our Boxers love it and have not been able to harm it all... They destroyed grass just running around...

cheers

[rwest]

You guys are making me feel good about doing it; do any of you happen to remember any brand names?

[tabs]

I had to buy an artificial lawnmower to cut the dam stuff. Also weeds will grow in the sand that is used as the base material and along the edges..

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by tabs

I had to buy an artificial lawnmower to cut the dam stuff. Also weeds will grow in the sand that is used as the base material and along the edges..

Meh...good luck...I tried to bait them with my 2 acre comment, no joy.

[scottmandue]

I'm also interested it this, I was hard against it because it looks so fake (as said like indoor outdoor carpet)... but last time at Home Depot I saw they have great progress (as said varied length and colors of blades).

We were considering going to a rock/gravel with succulents/cactus in the front yard (about 40'x40') wonder how the two compare price wise?

No dog now... would we have to purchase an artificial dog to go with our artificial lawn?

[tabs]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

I'm also interested it this, I was hard against it because it looks so fake (as said like indoor outdoor carpet)... but last time at Home Depot I saw they have great progress (as said varied length and colors of blades).

We were considering going to a rock/gravel with succulents/cactus in the front yard (about 40'x40') wonder how the two compare price wise?

No dog now... would we have to purchase an artificial dog to go with our artificial lawn?

No just artificial poop....

Both of my dogs would poop and pee on the stuff, when they had the rest of the backyard to go on.

Gravel is much cheaper... especialy 1600 sq

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by tabs

Gravel is much cheaper... especialy 1600 sq

I don't think I will be going to artificial turf for my two dogs anytime soon, I mow 2 acres (60,000 sqft for TABS), and have another 8 acres of creek/treeline and pastureland. I will say, I have NEVER picked up a pile of dog poop in 21 years of living here, and never had to rinse the back yard off either.

[rwest]

I only have 720 sqft to do, it's a mess right now between the pee and melting snow. My dog is paralyzed, so he drags his rear legs around and they can get pretty muddy, so I really think artifical turf would be the "cat's meow" for a dog.

[fxeditor]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

Michael, which brand did you go with? Thanks.

Regards,

Sorry Jim I have been out of town and didn't see your message. I used Syn-Lawn for my install. The took care of all the installation, leveling, sand, ect. I think they did an excellent job. The lawn is almost a decade old and still looks great! If you're ever in Burbank you are welcome to check it out!

Good luck,

Michael

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by rwest

My dog is paralyzed, so he drags his rear legs around...

Nothing more to add about artificial turf, but have you ever considered a rig like this for your dog?