How to Increase the Lifespan of Artificial Grass

We are being asked by more and more customers to help sort out their badly installed artificial grass lawns.

The lifespan of artificial grass should be anything up to 15 years but in the majority of cases we are seeing it lasting a lot less. The reason for this is simple. Lawns are being badly installed by novices and by people who cut corners to make a quick buck. This results in lawns needing to be completely taken out and re-installed properly in a matter of months. Not what you want when you have invested thousands of pounds!

Here I will show you how to increase the lifespan of artificial grass so you are not left having wasted thousands of pounds on an inferior lawn.

Firstly I would suggest you read our guide on choosing a good artificial grass installer if you are not sure on the questions to ask when choosing an artificial grass company.

These are some of the things to be aware of once you have chosen your artificial grass installer so you can keep an eye on the work. This is based on a recent garden installation we were asked to redo as it had been done poorly the first time by one of these so called ‘professional installers.’

Here we would like to share with you the problems we found:

• The main piece of grass was laid in the opposite direction to the other piece. This made the two sections of grass look completely different from each other and therefore not natural. In this case the company in question refused to relay it.

• On inspection the ground works were dreadful. No fixings were put in to attach the grass securely to. No Type 1 sub base was put down to provide a solid platform for the grass to sit on. Instead just a simple layer of sharp sand had been used as an underlay. This is how artificial grass was fitted twenty years ago and from experience we now know it isn’t a good longterm solution.

• The grass was poorly fitted with gaps around the edge. It was running to different levels making it not very pleasing on the eye.

The customer was fortunate is this instance for they managed to reclaim the cost of the original install from their insurance company and therefore could pay to have it put in properly.

Have a look at the photos below which I believe speak for themselves.

Inferior groundworks consisting of a thin layer of sand

Poor surface on which to lay artificial grass

Steps we took to improving the lifespan of this lawn

Having taken out the existing artificial grass lawn we prepared the sub base for the new one. We added a layer of compacted Type 1 and our timber fixings. A final layer of granite dust was applied to the surface before the artificial grass was fitted. Take a look at installing great groundworks in more detail

Type 1 and timber fixings put down

Type 1 compacted and levellled

A final layer of granite dust added

Artificial grass lawn fitted

What Perfect Grass recommends to anyone looking to get artificial grass installed

What I recommend to anyone who is looking to get artificial grass installed: Find out what is going under your lawn and how it will be fitted. The vast majority of problems are found in poor groundworks.

We have been installing artificial grass for over 16 years and have adapted out installation techniques accordingly. This helps increases the lifespan of artificial grass in your garden.

We are not interested in taking your money now for the lawn to look substandard within a few years.

I can stress enough the importance of solid groundworks so please ask the person who is quoting how it will be laid, so you can compare like for like when other companies quote.

From experience I would say there are more poor installers out there than good.