Artificial grass for home use?

Will the dogs pee on it?

Interesting idea, but I would worry about mold and moss if it is not in the sun. Do you get any moss issues there in the shady spots?

Get some artifical trees, birds, squirrels and plants to go along with it. It will be soo nice.

Some communities have ordinances against it.

Is $10,000 for a 1000 foot lawn in your budget?

Only in San Fransissy would someone even think of doing that ;-)

Rick

My daughter put it at their house. It is a smallish area, probably 750 sf. They love it. I was skeptical, but it has weathered very well for being two years old. This is in Las Vegas where the sun is brutal. No fading. Yet. They did have two pug dogs for over a year, and their presence did not affect the grass.

My SIL is the type who researches everything to death. In the process of selecting a contractor, he learned that there are different grades, different warranties, different substrates, different thicknesses of substrates, etc. Not just a piece of AstroTurf you can slam down anywhere.

Somewhat spendy, or I would consider it for the 1,000 sf of friggin Bermuda we have to dig out and poison out over the next few months until September

1. We may change our minds before Sept. 1, and just go with the lawn you vacuum.

Ask your local contractors for satisfied customers you can contact. If they don't have any, or won't provide any, that should tell you something about that particular contractor. Don't buy from anything but a contractor. You will pay more, but you will not be searching for them if something goes wrong down the road. Shop around. Educate yourself on the different grades and substrates. You will be spending a considerable chunk of ca$h, so research it.

Steve Steve

My yard is next to a schoolyard cum public park. The public park grass has overwhelmed my Kentucky grass sodded lawn more than a decade ago. I love it for its hardiness and low maintenance. I don't water my lawn and had only applied fertilizer maybe four times over 25 years. In a dry spell it may look scrawny and brown. But it is never bare dirt and the moment it rains the grass rebounds overnight and I have to mow within a week. The recommendation then is to find out the grass the local park uses and seed you lawn with that.

How about a moss lawn? I heard it's the next big thing.

It's cool to walk on with bare feet. Water squishes up between your toes.

I looked into artifical turff for some selected areas, with 4 dogs they are creatures of habit and have a road system of muddy paths. its unreal expensive:( unfortunately they drag the mud indoors in wet winter weather:("(

In the spring I will probably go with sakrette pavers for the road system.

its wierd even visiting dogs follow the exact same path, including some zigs for no apparent reason.

Which communities are those?

It might be.

And what enlightened city do you live in, Rickie?

Do you happen to know the brand of turn they ended up buying and the approximate cost/sq ft?

That is a good suggestion -- especially if I find a grass that is doing well in a heavily shaded area. Thanks.

My front yard is mostly moss. It's wonderful to walk on most of the time but right now it's littered with sticks and itchy-balls.

"LurfysMa" wrote

I will ask and post it. Surprising that one of the know-it-alls hasn't posted that information yet. ;-)

Steve

You can also check with local landscapers or nurseries to see what they may recommend. There are certainly blends of grass recommended for shady locations. If you can't find one that you like, there are a lot of non-grass alternatives that you may find aesthetically pleasing. Are you set on having a lawn, or are you open to other sorts of ground cover?

I confess a prejudice against synthetic grass without a lot of research or knowledge of the current products. If/when I go back to Vegas I'll check out the installation at Wynn. If a product can look good and weather well in that environment, I'd have to reconsider my opinion.

mark

How long could you run grow-lamps for the price of the artificial turf? What else would grow there if you weren't bent on grass?

Artificial "grass" is junk, IMO. My only experience with it was a door-mat, which always wanted to blow away. We have a few spots around the building where nothing, or very little, will grow. We used landscape cloth and river rock to cover them; some also have large stepping stones in the area. Very few weeds, water drains fine through landscape cloth. You can stick some shade loving plants in the area, or put pots on it. Much nicer than plastic :o) I do not like lava rock, for a number of reasons, which is also used as ground cover. River rock stays in place if you use leaf blower to clean it off, unlike lava r. The area is still usable, as chairs or barbecue can be placed on it.