Astro turf

Anyone installed this in your garden?

We've got concrete in our back garden and haven't got round to digging it up yet but was thinking of installing this instead.

Can you simply lay it on top or would I still have to dig up the concrete first?

I bought a house last year that had artificial grass in the back garden. I was a bit sniffy about it but after a year of trying it I will not be reverting back to grass.

Not certain but I think you may have drainage problems if you lay the artificial grass directly onto concrete. If you have children playing on the surface the removal of the concrete would help them should they fall on it.

It's worth shopping around as some artificial grass looks very real.

Had a fairly small shaded lawn which needed replacing after some building work and ended up going for artificial grass a couple of years ago and we find it very good. Plus points are:

• With a small lawn like ours you can take it right the way up to walls
  
• Kids can play outside all year round and not a) Ruin the lawn b) come in too mucky
  
• No mowing
  
• No problem with shaded area's.
  
• You can leave things on it for ages without the grass dying underneath (have a small goal and couple of crash mats that I would have to move around regularly if it were real grass).
  

Downsides are:

• Not real grass
  
• You have to go over it every so often and pick out things like leaves that would normally get absorbed by a normal lawn.
  
• Will need replacing at some point, but allegedly good for 10 years at least.
  

Laid ours by compacting down the remaining soil, then a compacted layer of sand then the artificial turf. Got one that you have rake dry sand into which helps keep the 'grass' looking more natural and the weight of it means there is no need to fix it down. Not sure about putting it directly on concrete as think its better to have something closer to the consistency of soil underneath. If you can I would recommend putting in an inch or two of sand/soil before laying it if you keep the concrete.

Here is a piccy from just after I put it down.

Out of interest, how much did that cost pedg? I like the idea, as we only have a small area of grass, of which some is quite shady so the grass doesn't grow very well. It's also a hassle getting the lawnmower out for such a small area, so it always looks a mess. A smaller lawn also has a larger proportion of 'edge', which is always difficult to keep tidy.

Out of interest, how much did that cost pedg? I like the idea, as we only have a small area of grass, of which some is quite shady so the grass doesn't grow very well. It's also a hassle getting the lawnmower out for such a small area, so it always looks a mess. A smaller lawn also has a larger proportion of 'edge', which is always difficult to keep tidy.

I got it off ebay as there are some firms who do larger jobs then sell their offcuts there. It was 4 metres wide (usual width I think) and 8 metres long and cost £319 plus about £60 delivery.

And don't stub your fags out on it as it burns it.

I got it off ebay as there are some firms who do larger jobs then sell their offcuts there. It was 4 metres wide (usual width I think) and 8 metres long and cost £319 plus about £60 delivery.

Ws that installed or just materials and delivery?

Ws that installed or just materials and delivery?

Just materials and delivery. You can obviously get people to do the whole thing but that's likely to cost you quite a bit more. It is quite an expense but the convenience makes up for it as far as we are concerned.