Jacksonville Artificial Grass Expert Installation Guide

Installing artificial grass involves many steps, each one equally as important as the others. In this post, you will learn about:

1. Pre-Installation Considerations
2. Preparing the Sub-Base
3. Base Compaction
4. Laying the Turf
5. Custom Trimming
6. Securing the Turf
7. Applying the Infill
8. Post Installation: Things to Know

1. Remove any existing materials. Demolition involves the removal of any existing materials whether it is soil, grass, mulch, gravel, or anything else that may be present. We will be laying the artificial grass on a 4-inch sub-base of natural stone gravel. During the rough grade of the area, we will uncover everything underneath, which may include sprinkler pipes, low-voltage lighting wiring, any type of conduit, etc, we will achieve a solid sub-base for our installation.Cap Sprinklers. In this phase we also cap any existing sprinklers that will not be used within the area. In some cases, sprinklers are kept within the area to flush down pet urine, and also for the occasional turf cool down for the kids on a hot summer day.Install Edging—the installation of BendaBoard (our favorite choice for edging) is an important step as it provides a clean line and separation for adjacent landscape beds. It is important to note that BendaBoard edging is optional, as the artificial turf can act as an edging itself, as the pile height is typically anywhere between 1.5 inches and 2 inches tall.
2. Granite or Limestone Base Installation—the next step is to install the base material. Here in the Jacksonville area, when available, we opt to either use a granite or limestone sub-base. We aim for a ratio of 75% 3/4 inch gravel and 25% stone sand. Install to a height of 3 inches.Grade away from an adjacent buildings and smooth evenly to prevent humps or “birdbaths.”
3. Compaction—Using a walk behind vibratory plate compactor, compact the base after wetting the area thoroughly. This is a crucial step to prevent future settling. At a proper rate of compaction, this will serve as an acceptable anchor when it comes time to secure the turf with 6-inch steel spikes.
4. Turf Installation. Now it’s finally time to lay the turf. After consulting the turf layout plan, the turf is laid in proper orientation, being careful to “match the grain” when joining two pieces of turf together. Also, when joining (also called seaming), the goal is to recreate the distance between the rows of yard—-this is called the gauge. Industry specific seam paper and adhesive is used, being careful not to trap any fibers in the adhesive. Trim the turf along the perimeter with a carpet knife; secure the turf with 6″ spikes for residential applications. Use a nailerboard for high-traffic commercial use areas.
5. Apply Infill. Applying infill, and the right amount, is one of the most important steps in the process. Residential projects usually call for infill in the form of silica sand, while some commercial-grade sports fields use crumb rubber. Infill provides 3 major benefits: (1) It gives the turf weight, or as we call it in the industry, ballast, to prevent wrinkling. (2) It helps the individual synthetic grass fiber go from a laid over orientation to one where the blade is vertical. (3) It protects the point at which the turf is connecting to the turf backing. The infill is applied in stages; we use between 3.0 and 4.0 pounds of infill on most of our projects.

Across the Synthetic Turf industry you will find companies that make many claims about how to install turf.  Since the late 1990’s and for over 20 years in Jacksonville, Grass!365 has been serving customers with proper design and installation.  Aggregate bases have to be thick to support decades of activity.  Drainage has to be planned and installed properly.  Skipping infill is a marketing technique to help the manufacturer and installer save money while delivering an inferior product.  Don’t skip steps, don’t diminish the importance of each, there are the design and installation tennant of Grass!365 Jacksonville.