So, you’ve decided you want the pleasure and year-round beauty of a synthetic lawn for your home and you’re considering installing it yourself.
Self-installation of today’s next-generation products, such as NewGrass™ from NewGrass, Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., is not for the faint of heart. The company always recommends letting the professionals tackle the job to get top-notch results.
But if you’re up to the challenge, if you have landscaping or gardening skills, and if you don’t mind a little work, you should give self-installation some thought.
Handling your own installation can save you quite a bit of money. Of course, it will also provide the satisfaction of accomplishing a home-improvement job with your own two hands. Well, a job accomplished with your own two hands and a little bit of help.
The basic steps for installing an artificial lawn are:
- Planning
- Designing and layout in detail (you don’t want surprises later!)
- Installing what is called a ground stabilization tarp; this provides a long-lasting, solid foundation
- Installing your base material
- Placing the grass, which will probably require seaming two or more sections together
- Installing fill material (various sands, small rocks, stone dust and compounded earth that help keep your grass blades rooted and lifted)
- Cutting and trimming
Ask Questions, Expect Answers
Planning your installation and designing the layout for your new lawn are absolutely the most crucial steps. You should seek good advice and ask lots of questions from your artificial grass salesperson. A reputable and professional artificial grass dealer will be happy to answer your questions for your self-installation project.
Distributors of NewGrass™, for example, are trained to not only answer questions about NewGrass™ and provide expert installation if you want it. They also understand that even if you choose to install the product yourself, what matters at the end of the day is that you have a perfectly installed lawn that you are proud of and meets your expectations.
What You’ll Need – The Basics
If you’re going to install your own artificial lawn, here’s a quick list of the equipment you’re likely to need. This may help you decide if it’s a job you want to tackle yourself.
- Carpet cutter (industrial style)
- Chalk line
- Drop spreader
- Hammer
- Landscaping rake
- Plate tamper or small riding roller (rental)
- Self-leveling rake or chain screen
- Shovel
- Sod cutter (if necessary)
- Spray nozzle and water hose
- Stiff bristle broom
- Straight edge (for seaming)
- Wheelbarrow or Bobcat (recommended for larger lawns)
Here are the materials you’re likely to need to install your synthetic grass, like NewGrass™, yourself.
- “5-minute” epoxy adhesive
- Base Materials For Crushed Aggregate – crusher fines, screenings, StoneDust (1.9 tons per 100 Square Feet) or Concrete (3 ½ inches fiber filled)
- Seaming material (see manual for choice)
- Top dressing material
