Anyone got artificial grass?

[pinklady]

I got sent a brochure from a company selling artificial grass and I'm seriously considering getting a quote for my back garden.
I have a very large oak tree and nothing, including grass grows in my garden. My 'lawn' is just a mud bath at the moment and it would be so lovely to have a garden that mindees could play in all year round. It's a lovely day to day, if a little cold but the garden is just yuck right now.

Have any of you got artificial grass or considered it?

[little chickee]

When i look at the state of my garden at the moment with all the snow and rain i would seriously consider it.
Its actually quite a nice day here today and i have 2 under 2 years old so it would be nice to get outside but the grass just isnt suitable as its so wet and muddy.

So i feel we cant play outside - artifical grass would seem to be the solution but dont think i'll get my hubby to agree.

[little chickee]

whats the name of the company you have got - i'd like to have a look at the brochure.

[little miss chatterbox]

me too!!! not something i'd thought about but it may be lovely! Not sure on the dogs tho!

[pinklady]

http://www.nomow.co.uk/



Little Miss Chatterbox, people in house behind me have artificial grass (although it doesn't look as nice as the nomow) and they have 2 dogs.

[thinkfun]

I had the same problem as you, back garden with a mud bath for six months of the year. We put artificial grass down a few years ago, one of the best things we ever did and would highly recommend it. Just tell hubby that he won’t have to spend his weekends cutting the grass and cleaning all the toys.

[Jen 10]

I got that brouchure too. We only just got our garden returfed last year so OH would not be impressed if I wanted artificial turf now.

Would artificial need hosing down? Weird question!

Also I think you wouldn't get any wildlife with artificial.

I'd probably get an area of artificial if my garen was big enough to have real as well.

[Jelly Baby]

Ha i had this book last week too and threw it in the bin..only because i can imagine it being very expensive..remembered the website though and showed it to dd as she was laughing saying the rabbit would try and eat it!! and it looks great. We have a lovely top bit of our garden but the bottom is quite waterlogged and imo useless for the kids to go on unless the weather is hot and dry..by the time this happens its getting damp again! We are getting the bottom decked but would look at this as an alternative if i didnt think it would break the bank.!

[thinkfun]

You can hose it down if it needs it, I just give mine a sweep every now and then. The only wildlife I ever got in my old grass was worms, I have lot of plants in my garden so still have lots of bugs for the children to find.

[cabby]

i came on here to ask the same question:)

at the moment we have decking and gravel. but want to replace the gravel with artificial grass, OH has agreed to it:clapping: :clapping: now just looking for the best one.x

[Jelly Baby]

You can hose it down if it needs it, I just give mine a sweep every now and then. The only wildlife I ever got in my old grass was worms, I have lot of plants in my garden so still have lots of bugs for the children to find.

HI i'm not asking for you to divulge how much you paid but is it really expensive? I know the area will vary the price but a rough guess!
Thanks

[thinkfun]

About £500.00 for an area of 4x6m, but I did buy the more expensive one, with grass that has different lengths. laid it myself with some help from my family.

[Jelly Baby]

Ah thinkfun thanks..was that from nomow? our decking is coming in at £1k so may be the same price for the grass as sure it's only a bit bigger than that..may be wrong though..never was any good with a tape measure!!
Thanks

[thinkfun]

Can’t remember the name of the company who supplied the grass. We had to buy the widest width as I didn’t want to join two lengths together so had a loads left over.

[Jelly Baby]

Ah thanks..ours is a funny L shape so may need to do the same but may be worth getting them out for a quote now..take it you are happy with yours?! do you have any pets? just wondering how they get on with it?
Thanks

[thinkfun]

I have 3 cats and a rabbit, the cats are find with the grass and love playing with the little left over bits and the rabbit lives on the patio, we grow her grass in trays, which the children enjoy helping with.

[sweets]

i'm sorry but i dont like it at all! theres nothing like the feel and look of proper grass. babies should be able to feel natural grass when crawling about and not plastic!

i understand that people have drainage problems with grass but for the money that would be spent on artificial grass i bet you could get some sort of drainage put in.

Wheres the nature in plastic!

[little miss chatterbox]

Just ordered a brochure!

I suggested it to DH and his first words were - it would save cutting it!

Pinklady - your neighbours who have dogs - do their dogs have a seperate area or do they use the main artifical grass and wash it down?

Thanks

[mumx3]

I am really interested in this as our garden is unusable at the moment. I have just phoned up to ask for a brochure and samples

[Jelly Baby]

Hi thinkfun thanks we have 2 cats and a bunny so that's good!

sweets i kind of agree to a certain extent but i am lucky enough to have i guess 2 gardens (top/bottom) so the kids (and rabbit) could have either real or fake lol! Also im not sure it feels quite as plasticky as it sounds..maybe im wrong though?!

little miss chatterbox seeing as i cut the lawn i agree with your hubbys comments, it would make my life a lot easier!! the top of our lawn is flat and easy to maintain but the bottom isn't and is always muddy looking and damp..it's a new house too but we are on a slope so its a bit wonky too..like i said earlier pointless!
I was interested on the washing down point too?

Thanks

[Jelly Baby]

I am really interested in this as our garden is unusable at the moment. I have just phoned up to ask for a brochure and samples

Didn't know you could get samples..missed that..right off i go to order some!

[pinklady]

Just ordered a brochure!

I suggested it to DH and his first words were - it would save cutting it!

Pinklady - your neighbours who have dogs - do their dogs have a seperate area or do they use the main artifical grass and wash it down?

Thanks

Dogs use the artificial area and they just wash it down :thumbsup:

[haribo]

i have and its fantastic :thumbsup: cost me £700 and the best investment ive ever made :clapping: its only a small area but its like having an extra room . if it rains it dries quickly so the kids can play on it and the best thing is no mud trailed into the house and the toys stay clean . the kids love it and like to lie on it( its a lovely texture) the older ones have said its like a grass carpet and want it in their bedrooms lol. i have a fenced off area for the dogs loo -if she poos its easy to pick up and rain washes residue away :littleangel: and yes you can hose it down but shouldnt need to lol. i agree theres nothing like real grass but we go on the park for that , we came home this morning muddy as anything :panic: have a look at asgoodasgrass.co.uk sorry cant do links:blush:

[thinkfun]

I brought one with different lengths of grass and believe me it looks like real grass. I tried improving the drainage but nothing worked, my garden is very shady and grass just doesn’t grow well, there’s no fun in being covered in mud every time you go outside. The children get plenty of opportunities to play where there is real grass both short and long. It’s was I feel better than the alternative which was cold, hard slabs which would have become slippery during the winter months and to dangers for the children to play outside.

[TheBTeam]

We got artificial grass from a company called asgoodasgrass about a year ago, and we absolutely love it, no mowing, no dirty muck and crawling babies do not get filthy, for childminding it means i can have so much more variety of toys in my garden which stay clean and we can play out in virtually all weather without getting filthy.

Ours was the more expensive one from the company, but for the benefits it has given us it was worth every penny. We still use parks and fields so see lots of real grass, just dont have dirty feet and clothes traipsing back in our house!

[Jelly Baby]

Oooh you have me wanting it more than the decking now!! will be talking to dh later about it as we had a bit of a disagreement about the fact it is shady and will not grow no matter what he does!

One thing i wanted to know is for those of you who have it..do you tell them it is for childminding or just as 'grass'? have you ever seen that prog where the couple go into the bakers and say 'oh we like that cake' and the lady says 'certainly thats £40' then they say 'it's for our wedding so we will add some bits to it' and the lady says 'oh a wedding..ah well in that case it's £100'!! just wondered if the kids stuff is far more than the grass..or is just better..just thinking how much we actually use it thats all.
Also our garden is in the shade so no amount of draining would help!

[haribo]

Oooh you have me wanting it more than the decking now!! will be talking to dh later about it as we had a bit of a disagreement about the fact it is shady and will not grow no matter what he does!

One thing i wanted to know is for those of you who have it..do you tell them it is for childminding or just as 'grass'? have you ever seen that prog where the couple go into the bakers and say 'oh we like that cake' and the lady says 'certainly thats £40' then they say 'it's for our wedding so we will add some bits to it' and the lady says 'oh a wedding..ah well in that case it's £100'!! just wondered if the kids stuff is far more than the grass..or is just better..just thinking how much we actually use it thats all.
Also our garden is in the shade so no amount of draining would help!

no i dont think they would do that i did say it was for kids to play on and they advise you on the best product from the range. theres a budget one which is a bit basic i went for a velvet feel one cant remember what its called will have a little look see if i can find it .

[haribo]

no i dont think they would do that i did say it was for kids to play on and they advise you on the best product from the range. theres a budget one which is a bit basic i went for a velvet feel one cant remember what its called will have a little look see if i can find it .

ok just had a look and i think we went for the terrazo:thumbsup: i cant believe it withstood everything its been put through tbh , it still looks as good as the day it was laid . think the only problem is they arent nationwide they are based in preston i think and charge more the furher they travel but you will probably find its equivilent in any area .

[Jelly Baby]

Thanks..did see that and i'm in Devon so!..glad to hear it's lasted looks lovely..can i ask may sound daft but how do they lay it? i have visions of it wrinkling up and just being all wonky like the garden now!! i know they dont but humour me!!

[TheBTeam]

ok just had a look and i think we went for the terrazo:thumbsup: i cant believe it withstood everything its been put through tbh , it still looks as good as the day it was laid . think the only problem is they arent nationwide they are based in preston i think and charge more the furher they travel but you will probably find its equivilent in any area .

we used asgoodasgrass and when i rang them they gave me a quote based on a couple of different ones and sent a few samples to me to choose, i chose the dearest because i liked the look and feel, but others are as good and i use the samples in my sensory/treasure basket.

[mum2two]

I looked into it, but a company came out to give me a quote for about 4m x 3m, and wanted £900!!! :eek:

I've looked on e-bay, and it's loads cheaper on there. I can do both sides of my garden for about £400 if hubby lays it himself. We just need to look into how to lay it properly, as I think it needs gravel & sand for drainage.

Me & hubby both really want it though.

xx

[haribo]

they dug out my old turf ( plus lots and lots of mud :rolleyes: ) they then level it all up and lay a base of small stones to allow drainage they then fix an edging of wood all the way round which the `grass ` is nailed onto to ensure it doesnt wrinkle up :panic: they took 1 and a half days and they were really professional . my hubby could have done it and saved a fortune BUT we would probably still be finishing it off lol and plus not sure would have had the 10 yr guarantee :cool: i would say if money is tight its probably easy to diy though :thumbsup:

[TheBTeam]

they dug out my old turf ( plus lots and lots of mud :rolleyes: ) they then level it all up and lay a base of small stones to allow drainage they then fix an edging of wood all the way round which the `grass ` is nailed onto to ensure it doesnt wrinkle up :panic: they took 1 and a half days and they were really professional . my hubby could have done it and saved a fortune BUT we would probably still be finishing it off lol and plus not sure would have had the 10 yr guarantee :cool: i would say if money is tight its probably easy to diy though :thumbsup:

After we had ours we found out some acquantainces of ours had it in a large area and they laid it themselves as there was quite a random edge, which didnt need to look straight, so wasnt that difficult. Ours on the other hand had to fit snuggled between three sides of decking and a side of patio and be a neat square, (i am a straightline freak) and so we had ours done by the company, and we wanted it done quickly as we never have a minute to do such things we just paid to get the job done, the cost for our area was about 50/50 buy/fit split. But it is brilliant and worth every penny, even in time saved mowing!

[pinklady]

Thanks everyone....great to hear that it's worth having:thumbsup:

[pinklady]

Sorry just one more question :blush: For those of you that have artificial grass..have any of you got squirrels in your garden? If so, do they dig it up?

Thanks!

[TheBTeam]

Sorry just one more question :blush: For those of you that have artificial grass..have any of you got squirrels in your garden? If so, do they dig it up?

Thanks!

We used to get squirrels and they used to bury their conkers, but they havent tried digging up the grass they just dont come to the garden now, but this is better cos it gives us the fun of seeing them running around on our walk to school across the park at the back of our house.

[bexcee]

How long does it last? Would it need to be replaced after a few years?

[Cazz]

What a fantastic idea!

I hadn't thought of doing this but am liking it. Unfortunately I don't think I would be able to afford to do our garden size at the moment :( . Something to think about for the future though.

[Cazz]

What a fantastic idea!

I hadn't thought of doing this but am liking it :D Unfortunately I don't think I would be able to afford to do our garden size at the moment :( . Something to think about for the future though.

[mushpea]

we considered artificial grass but in the end decided to blok pave the whole garden as the grass was to expensive and also OH nos how to lay the paving. he has been working on it the last couple of weeks and we now have half a back garden pathed and already its looking so much better than all that muddy grass.
as for wildlife we have an allotment we go to, plants in the front garden the children are growing and the local woods is very close.

[Chell]

How long does it last? Would it need to be replaced after a few years?
That was what I was wondering, does the sun fade it?

Our garden is on a slope so it becomes a boggy mess. The children can't play on it for a hight percentage of the year.

[haribo]

i dont think sun fades it ,mines only been through one summer so far but looks just the same , even dog urine which spoils grass doesnt affect it ( my dog has a fenced off spot where she wees ) .. its guaranteed for ten years i think :clapping: think of it as carpet lol but much much more hardwearing :clapping:

[TheBTeam]

I think although it is only guaranteed for 10 years, they reckon even with a lot of use it is good for 20+ years.

[shellib]

Just ordered my nomow brochure :clapping: !!

[babs]

after reading all posts i was really considering this but one post put me off squirrels nolonger come into garden:( :( :( :( b the squirrels that come into my garden are like our pets and dont really want to scare them away so ill be out with the mower this summer......

[synturf]

How long does it last? Would it need to be replaced after a few years?

Our artificial grass can last between 10 years and 30 years. It is certain that the grass will keep its beauty during this time.

__________________________
artificial lawn (http://www.azluxurylawns.com)

[Tazmin68]

Hi
Have had nomow lawn now for 2 years. The children love it. No problem with the dog also.
Love it

[Vickster]

I have it and it is great, it drys so quickly. It is like having a carpet outside.

[Buttonsjan]

I want it!!

Like other we have a big tree and our grass really struggles!