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Landscape Design DIY

Artificial turf on a budget - can it be done?

last year

I have a 1200 sq ft front yard. I want to cover the yard with artificial turf; I've researched a little, and found turf around $2-$3 per sq ft. Installation however (Home Depot) brings the total project to about $19,000. So I'm looking for DIY ways to do it. The big deal I've found is preparing the ground, digging about 4" deep and filling with substrate that can be pricey. Here's my question: since the surface is already pretty smooth, can I just install the turf over the existing dirt? I know it will wind up with an uneven surface, but no one walks on this hardly at all, there are concrete paths. I'm hoping that the uneven surface will still look pretty natural. There are only a handful of plants that will stay, otherwise uneven grass I think will not really be noticeable. What do folks think?

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

last year

Gonna agree 100% with the first poster. A DIY installation of an artificial lawn is certainly doable but one heck of a lot of work to do it right. And if you don't do it right it will look a mess, won't hold up well and you have just thrown away all that time, effort and $$. Do it right or hire a professional.

If you check the math, the $19K is not an unreasonable price tag. It is about midway between the national average ($12.33/sf) and the high range of $18.75/sf.

I would only just add that $2-3/sf for artificial turf puts it at the low end of the quality scale so that's another thought for consideration.

Is it possible to reduce the square footage or put it to another use (planting beds, patio or other hardscaping) to lower the cost of lawn installation?

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Comments (6)

mojavemaria
last year
19,000 is a lot of money. Why don't you get bids from landscapers directly so you can cut out home depots markup. Yelp and annies list are places you can find reviews. I would be surprised if you can’t get this done for a lot less.

Alternately you could put down landscape fabric and gravel which would be low prep but would look best with some plants and landcape boulders to give interest.
Dinah Danby thanked mojavemaria
rainyseason
last year
Of course, everything is local, but I recently got a landscaper’s quote for the same— 750 sq ft was about 7k, so yes, less per sq foot than your quote but still very expensive.
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"What maintenance related issues are you envisioning?" I typically ignore titles because they are, for the most part, useless. Then, occasionally, someone puts their main question, or a key ingredient, in the title and throws me off. I didn't see the reference to artificial turf until just after submitting my answer. I wasn't able to delete the comment about maintenance concerns until after you read it. Haha ... I thought you were talking about real turf that needs mowing! Anyway, I can't see that if this was to be a sandbox, that any turf, artificial or real, would be of value. Just make the whole thing a sandbox. It's about the right size for a real sandbox. Kids will put the 3 levels to use making mining operations and such.
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Well, had the youngest baby's BD party on our AT and it was a big success! We ended up paying about $5,000 for the yard. The AT has a cooling agent (or the under stuff does) and the kids and dogs have so far been loving the yard! The dog actually spends a lot of his life living on this turf! When the temps get above 80*, I go out and test the turf, and it's just fine. The babies are happy and so am I! I still have some real lawn in the front yard, just trying to help with drought conditions that will (even though they say it's over in CA) continue in CA. I'm pleased! Enjoy your day!
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mojavemaria
last year
I have seen some profesionals here stripping sod, compacting soil and putting about an inch of sand which they compact again and installing sod over that. A lot less work and money than 4 inches of compacted base but the areas have been much shallower than your 1200 sf is. A lot would probally depend on how solid your base soil is.
ginatay124
last year
Think of artificial turf like outdoor carpet. It looks terrible if not perfectly smooth or contoured. Also the quality of the product from Home Depot is on the low end. There are companies that specialize in artificial turf that offer much more natural looking products and a quality installation. I’ve been contemplating this for my back yard but I would also reduce and re-shape the area of “lawn” to be covered with artificial turf (it makes the project more affordable)and add wide, curved planting beds on a drip irrigation line. Here is a local installation:
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Revitalyze Landskapes
last year
100% doable. Thats how i started my own artificial turf business. The base is the most critical part of the process. You will have to remove no more than 2-3". Build a frame with either treated lumber or benderboard, then weed block, road base, compact, level to grade to drains. Lay down turf, cut and then staple. It is definitely not easy but definitely doable if you have time. That there will save you chunks of $. Agree that home depot doesnt have the best quality of turf.

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