IS ARTIFICIAL GRASS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE?

Like many of us, countless homeowners struggle with growing real grass. Many are ready to explore alternatives but are often surprised by the cost when having artificial grass quoted.

 

Artificial grass is not inexpensive compared to a simple re-sodding using real grass. The initial cost of artificial grass is upwards of 6 times the price of re-sodding.  However, when comparing the price of artificial grass vs the never-ending maintenance cost of a real lawn over 15 years, it becomes evident that artificial grass will save sizeable sums of money and all without the everyday annoyance and avoidable efforts of maintaining a real lawn.

 

Design Turf has been installing artificial grass in the GTA and Toronto and beyond for the past 25 years and has an extensive landscape construction background, knows full well the actual cost of maintaining real grass lawns.

 

Homeowners who struggle to grow real grass share difficulties often beyond their control.

The most common list of difficulties include conditions such as

1. Mature tree canopy blocking needed sun for good grass growth.

 

TREES ARE GOOD!  NOT ONLY WILL TREES REDUCE CARBON, but TREES WILL also PROVIDE SHADE NATURALLY COOLING PROPERTIES 10 DEGREES OR MORE

TO OFFSET INDIVIDUAL CARBON EMISSIONS THE AVERAGE FAMILY OF FOUR NEEDS 44 TREES.

 

2. Poor soil conditions, like clay and compaction, deprive water retention. Compacted soil may need aeration, a process of lifting small plugs of turf to create air spaces in the soil. Compacted soil requires annual aeration so that the grass can get the nutrients they need.

Testing the soil’s pH – it should read between 6.5 and 7.0, which is slightly acidic. Soil that is too acidic will need a sprinkling of lime; add sulphur to the soil that’s not acidic enough. Lawns grow best in loamy soils that have a mix of clay, silt, and sand.

 

3. Excessive traffic typical where multiple children or pets congregate.

 

4. The DOUBLE WHAMMY of raccoons ripping up lawns to feed on grubs that feed on the grassroots. Inspect your lawn bi-annually for pests, including grubs, moles, cinch bugs and many more.

 

5. Lack of watering or regular fertilization procedures. Regular deep watering needs to occur for healthy grass development. Overseeding is highly recommended in spring and fall to help fill in patchy areas. Annual thatching and heavy raking need to occur as too much thatch prevents water and nutrients from reaching the grassroots.

 

6. Insufficient weed handpicking prevention often leads to unmanageable weed infestations.

 

 

In the illustration that follows, we hope to demonstrate that the savings of switching to artificial grass based on an average-sized backyard measuring 20’ x 25’ or 500 ft2 are significant.

 

REAL LAWN COST

 

One-time cost (many will have to re-sod every 5-8 years) to install a real lawn, including ground prep, a sprinkler system, and sod cost is $2,375. The cost to maintain the same lawn to include fertilizers, organic weed control, mowing ($250 per month), seeding, watering, soil adjustment etc., is $2,384.85.

Over ten years, a real lawn cost totals $26,215.85.

The price of water is predicted to increase significantly over the coming years.

 

ARTIFICIAL GRASS COST

 

based on the same size a hi-end artificial grass will cost 500 ft2 x $13.50 ft2 + $1.50 for Envirofill/Microban infill = $7,500.00 all in.

Over the lifespan of an excellent artificial grass ( 40 + years) of savings are upwards of $95,000, not including the initial outlay of sod and sprinkler system.

 

Couple those savings and choose Design Turf’s brand-new turf system Fairlawn/ Greenplay, a system that stays almost as cool as real grass.

Artificial grass may even be an environmentally smart thing to do as well.