Depends on the quality of the turf and who is doing the installation but the average cost is $12-13 per square foot. So potentially as much as $20K for your area.

Location will also play a factor in the cost.

That gives me an idea, anyway. I'll start researching and get some estimates. Thanks!

The advantages of artificial turf include low need for care, elasticity and attractive appearance. All this makes artificial grass a popular alternative to other floor coverings, especially natural grass, more information here. Therefore, buying such a lawn, you do not lose anything. Maybe in ten years it will have to be updated.

Congratulations!! That is wonderful. Babies are enchanting.

If you are able to spend some $$, it might be worthwhile to look at a gray water system, if you are already digging things up.

Also, maybe somebody needs gravel, and would come take it up for you in exchange. You never know. How much of the space is the gravel in - the whole thing?

The cheapest thing to do would be to get some dump trucks full of dirt and bury the sharp rocks under a few inches of soil and then put down grass seed. Might cost under a grand if you do the spreading and seeding. Depends on local costs and delivery fees.

The downside is your lawn will be a few inches higher. Might not be an issue. And some rocks may poke through over time. Plus there will almost certainly be a few bare spots for the first year or two. But, the spots won't be dangerous to the kids.

Suggesting to plant any kind of traditional lawn in drought ravaged CA is irresponsible. Most SoCal counties are paying homeowners to remove existing lawns. Artificial turf is an excellent alterative.

Cheapest is rarely ever the best option and in this case, not what the OP wanted to know. If you did not consider this a viable alterative, why would you even suggest it? Unnecessary AND irresponsible!

Thanks GG. And besides adding soil over the horrible sharp gravel would cost a mint, as everything will have to be wheelbarrowed in and out of the yard!

Looks like the Home Depot artificial grass starts around $2.19 per square foot. So a little over $3,000 in parts for a bottom of the line plastic lawn. Installation will increase the cost.

I doubt the kids will want to play on it, because the Sun will heat it up much hotter than the air temperature. It's 100 degrees outside currently and my real grass is 84 degrees. A plastic lawn might be 100 degrees or more, but the kicker is that the heat transfer from plastic to skin is faster than from grass to skin. In other words, if feels much hotter than it is. Artificial lawns are not kid friendly. One way to help keep it cool is to put a shade cloth over top of the turf. Another is to water it well an hour or so before the kids want to play and then again right before they go out.

Clearly you are not a fan of the gravel used by the previous owner. We get it. Personally I love the stuff and wish I could find more sources for it around San Antonio.

dchall This gravel is horrible! It's vey sharp! The twins were here at Easter and they were struggling trying to find eggs! (they were about 18 months at the time)

There is a tree in the yard and other shade.

Anything is better than this sharp nasty rock!

The picture in my mind of chipped stone is this.

I would not want to walk on the 3/4-inch chips, but I'm sure when I was a kid running around barefoot everywhere, I walked on stuff like this.

Maybe you have obsidian pieces leftover from making arrowheads.

Well, it ends up our yard guy is willing to wheelbarrow the horrible gravel from the back to the frontyard! Much better, and no dumping charges! It also covers the yukky wood mulch that has been deteriorating and is a fire hazard!!

l

We're also going to contact the business next door to see if they want gravel in their helstrip. I'll even plant succulents for them if they'll take the rock!

If I’m not too late with this, I would pull up all the wood mulch before putting down gravel so as not to combine them . . .

Wood mulch is separate from the gravel. Right now, the gravel is being removed from most of the backyard. We have heavy duty weed cloth under the gravel. Oops, sorry, looked at the post above. Most of the wood chips in the front yard had been absorbed by the yard! Gravel is going on top a couple of inches.