Artificial grass - Garden

Seeing as there are, probably,less than one in a thousand who have the stuff and, equally considering the profile of members on here,
I think you may be asking in the wrong area.

Seriously I only ever have seen it once, and that is on a property in the village.

It looks ridiculous, and is well matched by everything else they have done, which can only be described as in the school of absolute "Twee"!

Ghastly stuff, should be banned.

Apologies for my usual bad punctuation, and a correction, as I think one in ten thousand could be closer to the truth!

They opened a Hungry Horse (The Steam Turbine)in Rugby last year near Currys PC World, spotted it on the way to Currys.  Artificial grass, plastic plants including  plastic palm trees!!!. I had a walk around the garden just to satisfy myself that I was not dreaming, fck knows what the food is like. The whole thing looked ridiculous. Chavvey and Twee does not describe it adequately.

Yes but, did they have a windmill and a Flamingo on one leg?

AP, I think I saw a plastic rabbit and plastic Koi in the fake pool it would actually be appropriate as the place is frequented by Diddy-Koi's, apparently!!

My next door neighbour has it, part patio the rest astroturf. It looks ok but wouldn't be for me. The previous owner did it and from what I can remember he did it himself and was relatively inexpensive.

By the way A.P. what exactly, in your opinion is "the profile of members on here"?

Slippy why do you want to know about our "members" and their profiles, I don't think anything  has changed it's either Cavalier or Roundhead,

I don't btf, I was just curious as to what AP's opinion was of people on here as he stated that considering the profile of the members it's unlikely anyone would know anything about artificial grass which I thought was a rather odd thing to say!

Just joshing Slippy,

Don't expect to be able to lie out on your "lawn" in the summer. The thermal mass of this stuff means it stores vast amounts of heat on sunny days. Any pets won't be able to walk on it.

Also will soon look a mess if you have kids playing on it and wearing it down. This stuff doesn't grow back.

great for practicing your chipping

If you go for the right stuff it's brilliant. Mines taken a pounding and still looks good.

Don't go for anything too long (30mm) as it will flatten easily. Also, go for the type that has the brownish moss effect layer woven in.

Try ordering samples from Tiger Turf.

Fitting wise - Over chalk you'll need to compact about 1 1/2 - 2" of sharp sand with a compacting plate (slightly more for clay) use a long straight edge to get the sand flat.
It also looks better if it's butted up to perimeter walls/ sleepers etc (tacking it down at the edges is optional). Once fitted throw on a dusting a patio sand.

And no, it doesn't get hot in the summer.

I've only seen it once in a private setting. Looked hideous tbh. Hardly wildlife friendly either.

Product details

If you're after a super natural look then the Nomow Luxury Artificial grass is for you. The long four colour pile and rich thatch has a show garden appearance.

Effect: Very realistic. Long length soft pile produces top quality rich realistic results to wow the neighbours.
Usage: Excellent for pets, gardens and play areas. Pet safe and good for children.
Width: 4m roll.
Height: 30mm.
Length: Enter into the quantity box, the number of metres you require for your length. For example, 5 will give you a length of 5m (20sq m coverage).
All orders will be received as 1 roll of artificial grass, not in metre strips.

Imo....

"Copying" anything is inherently "dubious". 

Copying something "natural" magnifies the difficulty.

I'm a hard marker.

SOME of the artificial grass I see (and I see alot), base prepared and layed PROPERLY ,

can't deny it........it looks fantastic.

Apart from the "no-mow" angle, the (variable) water restrictions in Australia made it very popular.

As for getting "hot"...I think Australian consumers would have made a serious noise about that...I haven't heard it.

Cheers

A family down the road had their front garden done over a year ago, it was professionally done.  At first I thought it looked too perfect too artificial.  But now with a year of sun and rain on it I would say it looks ok although I wouldn't have it myself.

Thanks for the advice, it would have to look very close to the real thing in order for me to do it. I don't want an astro turf look.

Have to look just out of interest....

The Touch of Luxury is created with our silky soft fibres; enriched with a deep thatch to create a feeling of lying down on a cloud!.

What a load of *****!

Be aware that having installed an artificial lawn you will then be required to install 2 grand's worth of stereo in your motor, enter the People's Postcode Lottery and buy the wife a Burberry handbag.

Just wondering if they do it with stripes, or if you have to do your own!

never tried artificial ....

is it the same buzz as grass?

I laid artificial turf myself in my back garden. We had a patch of dirt about 8m long and 2m wide.

I was quite lucky because the dirt was already packed in so I only needed to do a bit of preparation before I could lay it. 

The only issue I had was carrying the roll I bought because it weighed a ton, so make sure you get some help.  Also, make sure you pay a bit extra for the good stuff.

Laying it was a doddle, and a couple of years later it still looks really good.

Also, if you need help or ideas check out YouTube. There are plenty of videos on there offering help.

how often do you need to hoover it?

A family down the road had an artificial lawn professionally done a year ago, I have just nipped out and took a photo for you, just waiting for 'pending approval' on here and you can see it.

At first it did look ridiculously green and fake, it doesn't look so bad now from a slight distance, but close-up it does look artificial. I'd say if you are going to get one use a good quality artificial grass and have it installed properly.

Do you have to cut it with an artificial mower?

If all this plastic/simulated rubbish goes much further, it will be like "Leggo Land".

Painted roofs

Plastic doors and windows

That hideous plastic tile edging etc.

I recall a few years back someone tried to sell those illuminated, white plastic road centre signs to the Germans.

The German's response was  "Wir sind noch nicht bereit für die Kunststoff auf den Straßen"!

Well, you cant argue with that, and indeed, why would you?

Here's that pic of a neighbour's artificial lawn.  From a distance it looks like the real thing and looks just like a very well kept lawn, almost too perfect. But no matter how expensive it will always look false close-up. I was also wondering about the drainage, because natural turf will soak up the rain, not sure about this stuff (?)

Personally I'd never have it, but depends what you want I suppose, advantages and disadvantages to it.

Brutal for our wildlife.

Don't be surprised if you have it, and wake up to find it gone!

The gypsies and travelers would think nothing of rolling it up and away!

Stick in a few plastic dandelions and some clover for authenticity.

Love the join down the middle.

Also the cunning way they've laid the plastic right up to the house wall, preventing damp from evaporating.

(AP: "Wir sind noch nicht bereit für den Kunststoff auf den Straßen!")

I suppose it wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying a house. All I'd need is a 20 grand discount for the cost and hassle of removing the plastic, finding somebody prepared to accept it all for disposal and then buying and laying turf.

Thanks sfbtw....

Wir sind noch nicht bereit für Kunststoff auf den Straßen!

pic looks nothing like the quality I have seen

^ the very worst quality ones look like that stuff you see in the greengrocers.

lay real turf you lazy oiks   

a little tip when laying turf,

Remember - it's Green side up