Congratulations! After investing plenty of time and thought, and consulting with local lawn landscaping experts, you’ve finally created a plan for your ultimate dream yard, to be built on a foundation of artificial turf. Whether it’s for your home or place of business, saying, “Yes,” to artificial turf is a big deal. But the real question is: what’s next? What should you do with your existing natural grass before the upgrade?
A Simple Solution
Our recommendation is simple: let your existing grass die off before installing your new artificial turf. This helps to provide an even surface for the new turf and gives you better drainage in the long term.
A couple weeks ahead of the big project is the best time to begin spraying your lawn with a weed killer. This will start to take care of any vegetation in the area, and allow enough time for the vegetation to die away all the way down to the roots.
Getting from Start to Finish
Once your existing lawn is dead and gone, here is what will happen during the installation of your turf:
- All of your dead grass will be pulled out of the ground and the top level (1- 2 inches) of soil may be removed to create an even space for the new base of your lawn.
- If your natural soil is not well suited for turf drainage, a drainage system may be added. However, even if your soil drains well, it is still a good idea for your installer to leave small drainage gaps around the corner of the base.
- Your installer will add a border to the grass area to keep the lawn from becoming uneven or sinking in on itself.
- About 3-4 inches of base material like crushed rock, decomposed granite, or gravel, will be added to the lawn area to help improve drainage and prevent the border from collapsing.
- Your installer will level out the base using a rake. The base will be then moistened but not overwatered, and it will then continue to be compacted using a plate compactor or other landscaping tool.
- Your beautiful new turf will typically be transported in a roll and will need time to flatten out before being installed. This stage is called ‘rolling out’.
- You will know that your turf is ready to be put down when the base is smooth and compact. Once it is, your installer will trim your turf in strips to be seamed together using a bonding compound.
- Next, the edges of the turf will be pinned down to keep the turf from shifting. Infill will be added to put more weight onto the turf.
- Final touches to the installation will make the artificial turf look beautiful – these include brushing the infill and watering the new turf to help everything settle properly.
Have more questions about transitioning your yard from natural grass to artificial turf. Get in touch with the lawn experts at Hill Horticulture for a personal consultation here.
