9 replies to this topic

[Sandman]

Considering replacing ~1000sq/ft of lawn in my backyard with turf. Anyone out there with turf that can chime in.

What did you pay per sq/ft?
Would you do it again?

[Steve Heard]

Chad Vanderveen is the expert on the stuff. 

[Chad Vander Veen]

Hey there Sandman - I work for a company called Purchase Green artificial grass. We're located just west of Hazel on Folsom Blvd. in the same center as Ammo Depot. I can answer any question you have. I also invite you to come down and see the grass yourself. It's really a product you want to see and feel. I can promise you we have the best prices and by far the most selection. 

 

Our grasses start at $0.99/sq ft and go up to the mid $3 range. Installation price per square foot usually starts around $6 and goes up from there depending on the difficulty of the job. You can get a free estimate and free samples as well. We can also set you up with a professional install or show you everything you need to know about DIYing it. 

 

Check out the website here and let me know if you have other questions: https://www.purchasegreen.com

[SCA]

Thanks, Chad.  I've also thought about this option for our yard so I appreciate the info.  I looked at the pictures on your site and the longer blades look more realistic to me.  We have three separate lawn areas in our backyard.  For budgeting purposes could we replace them one at a time and still have the end product look good?  

[camay2327]

I have thought about this too, but way to expensive. One of our neighbors with a small yard spent over $11,000 to get his done.

[giacomo]

$11K wow.  I too was thinking of putting in turf in a small 250 sqft area since it's mostly shaded and grass doesn't grow well, but figure almost $2k for that wasn't worth it.  Here comes bark and deco stones.  much cheaper.

[tony]

We also have a large area of grassy weeds that we are looking to replace. One concern I have is with the environmental footprint. After the 20-year life of the artificial grass, it most likely goes to a landfill and probably never breaks down. Add that to the cost and the look that I'm not quite warmed up to, and I think we will be going with a more natural low-water option. 

[JMB83]

I consult, design, sell and install synthetic turf projects, for 16 years now. It isn't my primary business though. If you have dogs or kids and can't keep your lawn in good (non-muddy/dead) shape, go synthetic. If your old lawn is mostly decorative yard cover that isn't used by dogs or kids, go with bark, rocks and other minimal water using vegetation... unless you just really need a perfect green lawn on your property.  Nobody I've worked with has ever regretted putting in synthetic turf.  But the majority of people I help figure everything out for can't get over the price, which is mostly short term thinking. 

The actual turf isn't expensive in the grand scheme of things. Figure $2/SF for turf you probably won't be impressed with, and $3-$5/SF for turf that can fool the lawn care guys that go door-to-door trying to get your lawn care business.  But, turf projects can get spendy. Why? Cause turf is just one piece of the sandwich. I'll break it down for you, for a typical project:

 

-Remove/off-haul old turf and upwards of 4" of dirt in most cases: Factor $1 or more per square foot  (this can be done by you)

-Cap sprinklers, address drainage, possibly modify the footprint of the area, install base materials: Factor about $3.50/SF (this can be done by you)

-Purchase turf: Factor $2-$5/SF depending on product

-Install turf, including trimming, seaming, infill and clean-up: Factor about $2/SF

There are also few other variables that can add to the cost: Gopher guard if you have gophers; nailer boards if your dogs are destructive and inclined to pull up the edges of the turf; some sort of perimeter border (bender board, cement "mow strip", rocks, etc.); golf cups and pins.

 

You can call 10 turf companies and most will end up quoting between $8/SF and $15/SF installed.  The $8/SF guy is likely cutting corners and the $15/SF guy is possibly ripping you off or you just have a lot of things involved with your project.  Most of our projects pencil out between $9 and $11/sf... and believe me, neither I nor my contractor who does all the dirty work is getting rich off these projects.

Understand that turf is like carpet. In most cases it comes in rolls that are 15' wide (by any length). If you have a lawn area that is roughly 18' wide by 35' long, a whole bunch of extra turf needs to be ordered to cover that space... so I encourage clients to alter the footprint (if possible) to 15'x35' or 18'x30', which saves some money.

Purchase Greens has some really nice turf products and we have installed it for clients. We've received referrals from Purchase Greens as well. They have a knowledgeable staff and it is worth going to the store to learn more about turf and seeing all the samples. Here's a project we used Purchase Greens Emerald putting green turf and Vista Natural 80 lawn turf:



A handful of other turf projects....

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Feel free to ask me additional questions.  My reputation locally is being great at helping people figure out how to save $ on these projects, while not compromising on turf quality and professional (and highly experienced) installation.  

www.facebook.com/customsportscapes

[JMB83]

Thanks, Chad.  I've also thought about this option for our yard so I appreciate the info.  I looked at the pictures on your site and the longer blades look more realistic to me.  We have three separate lawn areas in our backyard.  For budgeting purposes could we replace them one at a time and still have the end product look good?  

You can do it in phases, but I wouldn't wait years between phases.  In my experience, clients end up saving up to do all the phases at once or turn one of those areas into synthetic lawn and xeriscaping the other 2 areas.

[Chad Vander Veen]

Thanks, Chad.  I've also thought about this option for our yard so I appreciate the info.  I looked at the pictures on your site and the longer blades look more realistic to me.  We have three separate lawn areas in our backyard.  For budgeting purposes could we replace them one at a time and still have the end product look good?

Yeah - as long as they're not going to be connected physically. The reason for that is that even though the product is the same you may get a different dye lot so the color may be slightly mismatched. But that may not be a big deal to you either. Something to keep in mind though

 

We also have a large area of grassy weeds that we are looking to replace. One concern I have is with the environmental footprint. After the 20-year life of the artificial grass, it most likely goes to a landfill and probably never breaks down. Add that to the cost and the look that I'm not quite warmed up to, and I think we will be going with a more natural low-water option.

Actually, our grass is made of entirely recyclable components. We even have a grass made in part with soy. The problem is presently there are few options for disassembling the grass into its individual recyclable parts. So for most it's cheaper just to toss it. Our industry is working on making recycling easier. 

 

$11K wow.  I too was thinking of putting in turf in a small 250 sqft area since it's mostly shaded and grass doesn't grow well, but figure almost $2k for that wasn't worth it.  Here comes bark and deco stones.  much cheaper.

In general, with our company, you can expect to pay between $6-$10/square foot for installation. We also have lots of information for DIYers. Here's a video on the process: