Alternatively if you feel confident and strong enough, here is a simple 5 step D.I.Y. guide to installing your artificial grass lawn.
Before starting your artificial grass installation you will want to make sure you have all the necessary tools to make the job as easy as possible. Take a look at the tools I recommend having.
So you have this garden lawn that you want to make more useable. You have decided to install artificial grass. The first step in installing your new artificial grass lawn is to remove the old lawn.
You can either do this manually with a shovel and plenty of hard work or you can opt for the easier method and hire a turf lifter for the day. The turf lifter or cutter, as it is often called, is very easy to use and with just a little practice you should be able to remove your existing garden lawn to a constant level.
Unfortunately any paving or pathways that you want removing will have to be taken out by hand. If you have paving to remove you may want to consider hiring a skip to dispose of it along with the turf you have removed.
Once the area has been cleared, we lay our landscape material (mypex) in strips making sure it is overlapping. Once the strips have been laid we then cut it into the designated shape and nail it down. Other companies may choose to put this on top of the base but we have found that it can move whilst you are getting your grass into place which can cause unsightly bumps.
When installing artificial grass our team always insert fixings around the perimeters. Usually this will consist of concreted in hidden timbers or a simple concrete fillet.These will sit just below the level you wish your grass to be cut too. Once the grass has been fitted simply nail/or stick to these fixings.
We often get asked about how well artificial grass drains. It depends on the purpose of the lawn and how well the ground drains. If you have poor drainage and get puddles on your lawn or, if you are going to have a lot of traffic over your new artificial lawn, we suggest putting in a sub-base of type 1 (available from most garden centres or builders yards) to the depth of 3-4 inches. If drainage is not an issue and it will be used for general garden purposes 2 inches will be fine. We sometimes use 10 mm granite chippings or a mixture of both to create a solid level sub-base. The actual artificial grass drainage is very good so this should not be a problem. You can see the permeability of each of our grasses on the artificial grass product page.
Once the sub-base is roughly level we compact it thoroughly using our Wacka plate. The top layer is very important as this is where your grass will eventually sit. We use granite dust, to the depth of an inch. We find granite dust bonds together better than sharp sand (if you cannot find this sharp sand will do). After compacting the area again, it Is time to put the final preparation to your base. Remember how much time you dedicate to getting it level will affect how good the artificial grass will look at the end, so take your time!
Perfect Grass use roof-fitting Stanley knife blades (you will need a few because they are easily blunted) and a bolster chisel. Simply roll out your new perfect grass and get it into position.
You then use the bolster chisel to push it into the edges and cut carefully. Take care as the joins can be tricky, firstly cut 2 nice straight lines along the seams of the 2 grasses you wish to join and then lay the joining tape under both pieces making sure there are no gaps.
The next step is to add glue to the joining tape and gently start from one end butting it together, down the length of the join. You can then cut the grass to shape as before.
Once the grass is joined and cut, simply nail or glue onto your fixings and give it a good brush!
For more information on installation of your artificial grass, or to arrange an installation, get in touch today by calling 020 81664168. To view images from hundreds of artificial grass installations take a look at our Facebook page
