More and more San Jose residents are replacing their scruffy worn out sod lawns with fake grass. This trend was first identified during the drought years of 2007 and 2008 when water shortages and the cost of watering thirsty lawns reached record levels. The association seemed sensible at the time but the reality was that San Jose homeowners continued to install artificial grass in increasing numbers through the El Nino winter of 2009 and all of 2010. What was prompting an ever-increasing number of synthetic lawn installations? The answer is simple: San Jose citizens were tired of looking at their scraggly lawns.
South Bay residents enjoy sunny hot summer days and they enjoy spending that time out in their yards, whether it’s having bar-b-ques, letting the kids run through the sprinklers or having a friendly game of football. They are all about enjoying their outdoor living, unfortunately their lawns take a beating in the process. Inevitably, the rainy season turns those well-worn lawns into mud and slime. The following summer, the muddy areas have become bare and so the cycle continues: the mess and the wear and tear. Consequently, San Jose home owners are now investing in fake lawns in increasing numbers. Today’s artificial grass looks fantastic all year around, year after year. There is one catch, however.
Not all San Jose artificial lawns are equal: most of them use infill to help keep the blades of grass standing up. Infill is a mixture of sand and rubber pellets made from old car tires. Most people have seen infill on astro-turf type soccer fields around the South Bay. Unfortunately, infill is messy. It gets in your shoes, it gets in your pet’s paws, and wind and water move it around. In short, it migrates into places that you would rather not find it, like your house, your car, your carpet and your clothing. Why would anyone trade one type of mess for another?
That was the question the owners of onelawn® asked themselves when they were searching for an eco-friendly, beautiful alternative to the traditional sod lawn. Their search took them all the way to Dalton, Georgia where they discovered an artificial lawn company that could provide them with a luxurious estate quality residential synthetic grass that look and feels like real grass without any infill! The onelawn® product line is now the fake grass that more and more San Jose and South Bay residents are installing in increasing numbers.
For more information about this unique product, you can contact the friendly folks at onelawn® by calling 415-479-1234 or go their website at www.onelawn.com.
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Are you researching the possibility of installing an artificial lawn for your home? Do the different companies and the artificial grass that they offer seem to all be about the same? Perhaps one of the biggest differences is what you CAN’T see, and that is what’s hidden beneath the blades. This is the definitive guide to how an artificial lawn is installed – from start to finish with details on what should be best practice, and what you should watch out for.
First, make sure to take the time to investigate each company’s specific installation methods. Synthetic lawns should last 15 to 20 years. It is important that the installation process and materials are of the highest quality. There are good ways to go about installing an artificial lawn and there is the best way to go about the job. You need to know the difference.
Here are the procedures for installing an artificial lawn.
1. Excavation: Standard procedure in the industry for installing a residential artificial lawn is to first excavate the area to a depth of 3 ½ to 4 inches. If there is an existing irrigation system, most companies will cap it off or redirect your water for free. Removing the soil should also be part of the installation cost. If you do not need any excavation, a per square foot price reduction should apply.
2. Bender Board Installation: The best bender board is made entirely from recycled products. It is waterproof and won’t crack, rot or chip. It should measure 3 ½ by 1½, not 3 ½ by ¾. The best method of installation is to install the plastic bender board around the entire perimeter. This provides a secure edge for the installers to staple the grass to. They should use galvanized staples placed at three inch intervals.
Some companies will only put bender board where there are no existing concrete borders, such as the soft landscape areas that border flower beds. Unfortunately, this does not guarantee that tripping hazards will not develop over time or that critters will not lift up or burrow under the edges that are without bender board. This short-cut may save their company time and money but it is not best practice.
Some installers will use wooden stakes to secure the bender board in place. This is fine when the bender board is up against concrete boarders such as sidewalks and driveways because ultimately it will be pinned in place between the compacted substrate and existing concrete, but remember this: wood rots. Make sure that the installers use plastic stakes, not wooden stakes, out in the soft landscape areas, otherwise, the wooden stakes will rot over time and the bender board may capsize, ruining your lawn.
Most companies guarantee their installation for five years. It may take five years plus for the wooden stakes to rot and you could end up paying for the repairs yourself. Again, the bender board and stakes should be part of the installation cost.
3. Substrate Installation: Crushed granite will be brought in and raked out and compacted to 100% compaction. This provides excellent drainage for your lawn. The crushed granite should be installed in such a way that there is a slight crown in the middle which insures proper water run-off. Some companies use two inches or more of base rock and top it off with decomposed granite. This is how pathways in parks are constructed.
The problem with this method is that the decomposed granite gets harder and harder over time and also, it continues to decompose. Synthetic grass installed over decomposed granite feels like a carpet lying on pavement. The crushed granite remains firm but never hardens, which results in a more natural feel. Crushed granite is more expensive, which is why so few companies use it.
4. The Turf: First, a little information about the grass itself. Artificial lawns are basically large carpeted areas. In fact, there are only seven manufacturers of synthetic lawns in the United States and six of them are located in Dalton, Georgia, (the carpet capital of the United States).
The synthetic grass comes in 15’ rolls and has a variety of backings. The best backing is made from polyolefin. It is also know as Duroflo. It has a number of advantages over the more commonly used urethane backings: it is completely permeable throughout, rather than relying on holes punched into the backing for drainage, which can become clogged. It also functions as a weed barrier, which the hole punch variety can not guarantee. Finally, the backing and grass fibers are 100% recyclable. Synthetic turf using urethane backings are not.
5. Artificial Lawn Installation: The installers will roll out the artificial lawn and install it with some of the same tools that a carpet layer uses. They will custom cut and fit the lawn to the designated areas as they go using carpet knifes and carpet kickers. The perimeter will be stapled in place with pneumatic staple guns and galvanized staples. The area in the middle, known as the field, will be anchored in place with six inch galvanized foundation spikes placed at one foot centers. Think of these as really big nails.
Some companies use u-shaped ground hooks to anchor the grass down. These wire u-hooks are most commonly used to hold drip system tubing in place. They are easy to put in but unfortunately they also come out easily. They are very thin and they are not galvanized so consequently they will rust away over time. They will not last for the lifetime of your lawn. Companies use them because they cost about three cents a piece which is about ten percent of the cost of the foundation spikes.
6. Blooming: Once the lawn is in place, the installers will use power brooms to ‘bloom’ the fibers to get them to stand up straight. If you have purchased a no-fill product, this is the final step. If not, the installers will fill in between the blades with sand and a top coat of rubber granules made from recycled tires.
A word about infill: it can be messy. It gets in your shoes and if you have kids, it will get in their shoes and clothes. If you have any pets, it will get into their paws. Water and wind move it around. It migrates. The reason no-fill products don’t need fill is because they have more blades per square inch and they also have an additional thatch layer which lives between the backing and about half way up the length of the blades. Think of it as the distinction between fine linen and regular bedsheets where the stitching per square inch makes the all difference.
Once your lawn is installed, the only tools you will need to maintain it is a nylon rake, which the synthetic grass company should provide, and perhaps a leaf blower.
If you happen to live in the San Francisco Bay Area and would like to speak to someone about installing an artificial lawn, feel free to call the professionals at onelawn. They will happily walk you through the process of installing an artificial lawn whether you buy from their or not. They can be reached at 1-877-661-5296 or one through the contact form on site.
American homeowners and their helpers are just plain clumsy. That’s right, I said it. Clumsy.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American homeowners spill 17 million gallons of gasoline annually in their bungling, fumbling attempts to add fuel to lawn and garden equipment.
17 MILLION GALLONS of gasoline spilled all across America! Why isn’t this phenomena making national headlines?
Just to give this fact some perspective, imagine this: The Exxon Valdez oil spill is considered one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters of all time. That vessel spilled 10.8 million of gallons of crude oil, or 37% less than the gardeners of America spill each year.
These spills result in a huge volume of emissions of hazardous air pollutants like nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, like carbon monoxide. They also contribute to soil and water contamination.
So how can the gardeners of America go green and still enjoy lawns that have the look and feel of a sod lawn? The answer is to install artificial grass.
For those homeowners who live in The San Francisco Bay Area, onelawn™, a line of estate-quality synthetic grass developed and installed by The Good Nature Company, is the most realistic and affordable artificial lawn available. Contact onelawn™ for a free, no obligation in-home consultation today.
Even though it’s still winter here in the Bay Area, it won’t be long before people start thinking of getting out the old lawn mower on a regular basis to cut the grass. Perhaps this might be a good time to reflect on whether you should have a synthetic lawn installed.
”Why?”, you ask? Well, apart from the most obvious benefits of artificial grass such as saving on water, helping to reduce air and water pollution and saving hours of labor, mowing ‘natural’ grass can lead to accidents and injuries.
According to a report carried out over a period of 5 years in the USA, well over 60,000 Americans were admitted to hospital emergency rooms because of lawn mower accidents. The most common injuries were cuts and bruises but there were cases of bone fractures, limb amputations and even a number of deaths. Admittedly, the ride-on type of lawn mower was a contributor to these type of accidents, however, power mowers and even push mowers were responsible for the lion share of injuries.
So what’s the solution? Well, you can start reading up on how to avoid lawn mower injuries OR you can decide to install an artificial lawn for a greener solution. Long term you are likely to reap far greater benefits than just avoiding lawn mower accidents – you’ll be helping the environment, saving on needless lawn watering and of course spending more time in your garden at leisure because you don’t have to spend countless hours mowing the grass and emptying the grass clippings!
In the San Francisco Bay Area, The Good Nature Company’s onelawn is a cut above the rest (pun intended). You can visit their website at www.onelawn.com or call them, toll free at:
1-877-661-5296. That’s 1-8-77-66-1LAWN.
A national professional “landcare” organization sent me a list of tips for conserving water and this statement: a healthy lawn is good for the environment. Is it?
Turf grass does take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, and the roots can filter water.
Lawns also suck up an incredible amount of water and the run off from fertilizers and pesticides gets into ground water supplies. This is especially problematic in places like the Bay Area that have been recently susceptible to drought.
If you really want to save water, get rid of the lawn and replace it with native plants, shrubs, trees. If you want a lawn but want to conserve water, then please consider using artificial grass, which doesn’t need to be watered, mowed or chemically-enhanced. If you happen to live in the Bay Area and are thinking about an artificial lawn as a solution, contact onelawn by going to our website: www.onelawn.com or call 1-877-5296.
Synthetic grass has come a long way since the first installation of Astroturf at the dome in Houston in 1965. The first generation of artificial grass gained a reputation for its unrealistic look and feel. With the advances in materials and construction over the past 40 years, the improvements have led to a product that is virtually indistinguishable from traditional sod in appearance and texture. The Good Nature Company’s onelawn™ is the next generation of artificial grass.
Welcome to Onelawn’s new and improved Artificial Lawn Blog. We wanted to create a place where we can regularly expound on the benefits of installing an Artificial Lawn for your Bay Area home. Not only will we elaborate on the cost saving and eco-friendly benefits of Synthetic Grass, but we’ll also touch on local San Francisco events, tell you how you can improve your golf game, ways to make child safe playgrounds and more. Please check back for frequent updates, and thanks for reading.
San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Solano and in such cities as San Jose, Oakland, Fremont, Santa Rosa, Hayward, Sunnyvale, Concord, Vallejo and Daly City.