How to Lay Artificial Grass Yourself
Have you found yourself wondering how to lay artificial grass yourself? Perhaps you want a summer project, or you simply want to save some money on the overall cost of your new investment. Whatever the case, we're here to help explain the important steps involved with laying your own artificial turf. Luckily, installing artificial grass yourself can be a highly rewarding and straightforward process, but ensure to check out our top tips first to avoid any avoidable headaches. With this handy guide, the installation process will be a lot smoother and stress free – and leave you with a final product that looks stunning every time you look outside.
Planning is everything
The first and most important step of the process is to appropriately plan the area you would like your new grass to cover. Whether you're looking to lay artificial grass on a balcony, terrace, or large garden area, planning is crucial to ensure that your turf is cut to the correct dimensions. You must then remove any existing turf to a depth of around two inches using a turf cutter. Be sure to remove any stones or debris from the area as you don't want these to cause problems further down the line!
Create an edge
After you have planned out the area and removed the existing turf, it's now time to lay the edges of your new artificial grass. You must install edging to create a clear perimeter of your grass, alongside creating a desirable finish. There are many different types of edges to use: From paving slabs and decking to steel edging, there are a whole range of different types of edges to use to suit the aesthetics of your space. For the highest quality edging, we recommend our VertEdge system. This system provides a safe and strong perimeter to your lawn whilst solving the problem of existing methods which can lift and become a trip hazard.
Lay the base
Your artificial grass needs to be laid on top of a robust base layer in order to maintain its excellent condition in the future. A crushed stone base works perfectly; however, ensure that you keep a ruler handy at this point. It is recommended that a depth of around 50mm is suitable.
Apply weed membrane
Don’t forget, your new artificial grass needs a weed membrane layer to ensure that those pesky weeds can’t grow through. Not only does the weed membrane layer prevent weed growth, but it also allows for water drainage too.
Lay grass and trim edges
Now for the exciting part! After your lawn area has been appropriately prepared with a base and membrane layer, you are now ready to lay the turf. Carefully roll your artificial lawn over the area and position into place. You may find there are excess parts of turf at this stage: if so, trim the excess neatly with a knife.
With these handy steps, installing your own artificial grass will be a simple, enjoyable project. We wish you all the best of luck! For more information on how to lay your new lawn using the Vertedge edging and fixing system click HERE to see our videos and guides on the best practice and installation methods we recommend using.