Protect And Sand The Turf
Small things add up to natural looking turf. Around 12kg of sand will be needed per square meter of fake turf.
Gently spread the sand throughout the artificial piece of grass. Use the rake to gently spread out the fine sand and make sure its even throughout the whole area.
You can also use a seed dropper to spread out the sand. However, if youre working on a larger area we advise you to rent a sand spreader.
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Mistake : Failure To Excavate Soft Spots In The Subgrade
After excavating your existing lawn, check the subgrade/soil for soft spots.
Soft spots are areas in which the ground begins to sink under your body weight. You can test this by walking over the exposed earth.
If you find your feet sinking into the ground you should excavate the offending area and backfill with sub-base material.
Failure to remove soft spots may potentially result in certain areas of your lawn sinking.
Solution: Remove any soft spots during the excavation works. Remember its better to remove too much than not enough.
How To Install On Decks Patios And Balconies
Step 1: Your Artificial Grass can easily be installed onto any existing concrete or hard smooth surface, as long as it drains well including previously decked areas. If your area is exposed to the weather it is recommended that you also install drain matting under your turf. Drain mat channels the water out and allows air flow under your turf, allowing your turf to dry faster.
Step 2: Remove and clear off any debris from the area you wish to cover.
Step 3: Lay your Artificial Grass onto the area. If you are using drain mat, put the drain mat down first. Do not put the drain mat right up to the edges as you need about 2 to 3 inches to apply adhesive to your artificial grass.
Step 4: Stretch out your Artificial Lawn to remove any ripples, either directly over the concrete or on top of the drain mat. TIP: if you patio is not level, and easy way raise the area, is to place roofing roofing shingles in the low spots and put your drain mat or turf over them.
Step 5: To affix your turf, go around the perimeter using the Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive or indoor outdoor double sided tape. The area should be dry before applying any adhesive or tape.
Step 6: If you need to seam, you can use seam tape with construction adhesive or indoor/outdoor double sided carpet tape.
Step 7: The most important thing to ensure when joining two or more pieces of artificial grass, is that the pile runs in the same direction.
NOTE: Seaming instructions are below if needed.
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Match The Pile Direction On Both Sides
The pile refers to the height of the grass blades in your artificial lawn. This is a big factor in determining the look and function of the lawn.
For example, short piles are suitable for putting greens, while long piles feel springy and are ideal for back yard lawns.
In many cases, you may notice the pile has a tendency to lean slightly in one direction. When installing the artificial lawn, you must match the pile direction of both pieces.
On the contrary, if you line-up the pieces opposite one another, its going to make the joint even more pronounced.
For best results, point the pile direction towards your house. This provides the best viewing angle for most lawns, and will keep the joins hidden.
Bonding The Joints Between Sections Of Artificial Turf
With the cut edges of the artificial turf meeting correctly the 2 sections can now be joined permanently. Sections and rolls of artificial turf are joined together using a jointing tape and a special adhesive.
Measure the joint between the 2 sections of artificial turf and cut an equivalent length of joining tape. Lay the joining tape blotting side up, shiny side down beneath the turf and on top of the weed membrane. Ensure that the tape is spaced equally beneath the 2 cut edges of the artificial turf and fix it in place with 6 inch galvanised nails along each side of the tape at 20cm intervals.
Check the alignment of the 2 cut edges of turf to ensure that they meet perfectly. Then trim the turf slightly where the cut edges meet perimeter edge so that it is not disturbed once the adhesive is applied. The adhesive is applied using a mastic gun. Roll back one side of the cut turf edge and apply a constant bead of the artificial grass glue under the turf edge followed by an identical bead just in front of this edge for the second section of turf. Now carefully roll back the second section of turf until the two edges meet perfectly taking care not to bury any of the pile or grass strands.
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Different Types Of Artificial Nails
Bright common nails: these are the most popular choice for artificial grass installation. Theyre made of galvanized steel and cost around $0.50 per nail, which is cheaper than copper or stainless steel options.
Copper nails: These are more expensive but provide a longer-lasting option that lasts up to twenty years with proper care and maintenance.
Stainless steel nails: These are the best choice for people who want to use artificial grass in high salt, acidic or coastal environments that require protection from corrosion. What Size Nails for Artificial Grass using these may be more expensive but they last about twenty-five years with proper care and maintenance!
Ground spikes: These can be difficult to install but are a good option for people who have lawns that slope too steeply.
For low pile artificial grass, you can get nails with green heads that are relatively inexpensive. They will make them blend in much better than non-colored nails.
Decide on What Size Nails for Best Artificial Grass for Putting Green before installation so you get the best results!
How Many Nails Do I Need For Artificial Grass
Nailing the turf is an important step in making your lawn look more beautiful. For this nail, you should use 5-6 inch nails that are spaced about 4 apart around the perimeter and seams of each piece of material. You also want to leave 1 between pieces near edges for easier installation 18 2 spacing will work best depending on how much space it is available.
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What Causes Artificial Turf To Wrinkle
There are a few factors that can lead to wrinkles in artificial turf after it is installed. These are best approached during the planning and installation stages, but some of these may occur post-installation.
Poor Quality Turf
Poorly manufactured artificial turf may simply not be up to the task of long-term, actual, use. This is usually a cost-saving decision but can have many ill effects, including wrinkles after installation . A commercial-grade high-quality turf product may also be out of reach for those on a small budget. In this case, it is best to shop for a quality used artificial turf product that has been recovered from these commercial applications.
Poor Securing
When artificial turf is installed it is secured to the substrate by the use of gardening nails and staples. The complete lack of these will for sure lead to wrinkles, but also not utilizing enough or having them to sparsely placed will also lead to wrinkle issues. The wrong size nail or staple may also lead to wrinkles if they release from the substrate.
Infill Mishaps
Infill is a product spread over the installed turf. It helps the artificial turf blades stay erect and offers shock absorption underfoot. This leads to a more natural-looking and feeling artificial turf area. But one of the main aspects of infill is that it acts like a ballast, or weight, to help keep the artificial turf laying flat and staying in place after installation.
Extreme Heat
Make Your Cuts Properly
Have you ever heard the old saying: Measure twice, cut once?
Its an important adage with your artificial lawn installation. Make sure you concentrate and cut properly, or its going to be an expensive mistake.
When cutting your lawn to size, make sure you cut as close as possible to the stitch, but not into it. Cutting into the stitches will result in a very visible seam.
Also, change your blades every 20-feet to prevent dull blades from going off-course.
It is also important to avoid cutting the grass blades near the seam. If you cut these fibers off, you will leave a gap without any grass, and the infill will sink into this gap, making the seam very obvious from the surface.
It also goes without saying that you should make your cuts from the underside of the grass, and not from the top down.
We highly recommend laying both pieces down and making your measurements before actually cutting them to size.
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Install Free Drainage Foam/shock Pad
Cover your entire area with foam/shock pads. Because concrete is a hard surface, youll need the foam/shock pads for support in case anyone falls on the surface. If there are different sections of foam or shock pads tape them together with masking tape. Lift it to one side so you can easily spread the glue.
Mix the glue and hardener. Apply it directly to your surface and scatter. Use about 2-3mm of glue to make sure everything sticks. Work quickly because the glue hardens fast.
We Decide The Best Direction To Lay Your Grass
Firstly we need to decide whether to lay the grass length ways or across the lawn. Apart from being very heavy and difficult to move my main decision is based on the layout of the lawn I want to cover. I always try and lay the grass in as small a pieces as possible i.e. if the lawn is 11m x 6m I lay three 4m x 6m sections rather than a 4m x 11m and 2m x 11m section as the joins are smaller and easier to butt together.
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Cutting And Fixing The Grass In Place
I take the first roll of artificial grass and unroll it into position in the chosen direction. I use Hook Blades on the Stanley Knife to reduce the grass to size allowing at least 10cm extra all the way round the perimeter edges before we start to make the final cuts. We always cut against the lip or fence rather than from directly above. I have plenty of Hook Blades on hand as they are easily blunted. Once the sides have been cut I make sure it is fixed in place by nailing it on to the hidden timbers using an OX Tools Bolster Chisel and a Paslode Nail Gun with small headed nails. I do this so that should we ever need to lift the grass it will be easier.
Find Artificial Grass In Your City
Global Syn-Turf, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and wholesaler of high-quality artificial grass in the United States and Canada. The company offers an extensive selection of products for commercial and residential landscapes, playgrounds, sports athletic fields, municipalities, golf putting greens and pet areas. Global Syn-Turf, Inc. provides innovative, environmentally friendly synthetic turf systems which require little maintenance, no water, pesticides, or fertilizers through multiple company-owned distribution centers across the United States. The state-of-the-art artificial grass offers realism, drainage, performance, safety, and durability. Global Syn-Turf is the exclusive artificial grass partner of San Francisco 49ers.
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Functions Of Artificial Grass Nails
The U shape nails and straight nails have the same function in artificial grass installationfixing. Here are how they work in detail.
1.Fixing the geotextile, which prevents the natural grass growing.
2. Fixing the joint tape. In installation progress, if you use joint tape & glue to seam two parts of artificial grass. It is better to nail down the joint tape before putting glue on it. In this way, the joint tape will not move accidentally.
3.Fixing the grass temporarily, after rolling out the grass and putting it in place, better to fix it temporarily to avoid move accidentally when you are doing other works.
4.Fixing the grass around the perimeter and where necessary to keep your grass flat. The artificial grass straight nails are mostly used for this fixing. They are generally installed every 8cm to 15cm alongside the perimeter and around every 60cm on the centre of the site. The quantity of nails used depends on the on-site usage frequency.
5.Seaming two parts of artificial grass. Seaming can be done by joint tape and glue, and also can be done by artificial grass nails. Seaming by nails is an easy, quick and low-cost option.
Generally, U shape artificial grass nails are recommended for seaming. Because its trapezoidal shape help adds additional tension into the soil, quick and secure way to mount into the ground. The U shape artificial grass nails need to be installed two to three inches just like a zipper seaming artificial grass.
Start Cutting 3 Tufts From The Edge
Artificial grass comes in rolls. Modern day designs feature tufts of grass blades arranged in long rows of stitches along the length of the roll.
Artificial grass also comes in a range of gauges, with varying distances between the tufts to provide a range of looks to suit any yard.
Heres the mistake that many installers make in joining the artificial grass:
If you cut the edges improperly, you will end up with the mohawk effect. This occurs when grass blades along the edges of each piece push together, forming a line of dense grass visible on the surface.
When installing artificial grass, you must first understand what the selvedge are in your lawn.
This is the strip at the edge of the roll that does not have grass blades on it. The backing of your artificial grass extends past the fibers in the roll of lawn, forming the selvedge.
When installing the grass, youll need to trim 3 stitches past the selvedge. This is because the first three rows of grass at the edge slant outwards towards the edge, which is what creates the mohawk effect.
Also, avoid cutting into the stitches themselves, as it causes fibers to pull out in high-traffic areas. See the next section for more tips on this.
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Removing The Old Turf And Preparing The Ground For Artificial Grass
Artificial grass requires a solid and stable base if it is to remain taut, smooth and looking its best and therefore it is necessary to remove the existing turf. This can be done by hand with a sharp spade or a quicker and easier option for large areas is to use a mechanical turf cutter which can be hired for around £70 per day.
Once the old turf has been removed use a sharp spade to create a slight chamfer around the perimeter edge of the lawn so that the finished level is set approximately 30-35mm below the edgings.
In areas where the artificial turf meets paving or edging stone use a disk cutter to trim any mortar haunching flush with the paving, creating a neat edge for the turf to run into and be fixed in place.
Use a rake to level the ground so that a flat clean surface, free from high points and large stones, is achieved in preparation for installing the base on which the artificial turf will be laid. Take care not to rake surface material into the newly chamfered edges.
An Idea Of How Many Nails It Will Take
If youre looking for a 50 lb. box, we have one that is good for an average installation up to 1,000 square feet in size!
This 25-pound box is a perfect starting point for an average installation up to 500 square feet in size.
The 10lb box of nails is good for an average installation that covers 200 square feet.
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What Nails Do You Use For Artificial Grass
Artificial grass is a popular and very common solution for homeowners, and knowing what kind of nails you need for artificial grass can make or break your experience. Here we explain how to do it and how to choose the right nails.
Artificial grass is a great alternative to real grass, and it saves a lot of money, but its also very hard to maintain, so youll need some tools to help you. If you dont use synthetic nails for artificial grass, youll need to use plastic clips, which are not so good for your nails. They might get damaged, and they arent so helpful for artificial grass, if you use it for playing soccer. On the other hand, if you use artificial nails, you will need to clean them regularly, especially in the winter, because they can get dirty very quickly, but theyre really useful to fix the grass after the rain.
Types Of Edging System For Artificial Grass
An important aspect of any artificial grass installation is to put in a suitable edging system.
An edging system serves two main purposes.
The first is to act as a restraint for the aggregates used in the groundworks.
For a typical fake grass installation, youll need to excavate your existing lawn and install a sub-base consisting of a minimum of 50mm of MOT Type 1.
On top of the sub-base, a laying course of granite limestone dust is then levelled and compressed.
In order for the installation to be successful, youll need to ensure that the aggregates you put underneath your artificial grass are retained on every side to prevent any subsidence of the sub-base or laying course.
This is achieved by installing a suitable edge restraint.
The second reason to install an edging system is to provide you with an anchoring point for the perimeter of your artificial turf.
It will need to be secured at the edges to prevent it from being lifted.
Your artificial grass can be secured in a variety of ways and it really depends on the type of edging that you have chosen to install as to which method would be best.
When it comes to choosing your edging, you have lots of options.
In this article were going to be looking at the different options in detail to help you decide which edging system would be best for your application and budget.
Youll see that there is no one-size-fits-all and there are pros and cons to every type of edging, as described below.
Timber Edging
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