Who has done it? What do I need to take in consideration in evaluating purchase? We have an 8 month old dog that digs, and a daughter that has a tumble track that continues to kill the grass that is now mud every time it rains and I am not sure I want to re-sod although cheaper in the moment. Any insite is appreciated.

I have done a little research on it. From what I have seen, the payback period is around 6-8 years and turf typically lasts around 15 years.

I have decided that I am not going to do it at my current house, but when we build I am leaning towards turf.

Similar boat. We're in a townhome in the city. When moved in the side yard was pea gravel, the area around the back patio was mulch/beds. Pea gravel gets tracked everywhere and is a giant pain the ass, the mulched areas flooded every time it rained and our dog would decide that's where he needed to use the restroom, so then we'd have to worry about him tracking mud everywhere. The turf has increased our useable space multiple times over.

Never had issues with ours getting too hot. Yeah, we have a lot of shade but I'm always out there barefoot and even in the middle of the day in direct sunlight it's not at all noticeable.

I will say be aware of window reflections as they can melt some turf.

Thanks. Appreciate the response. I do wonder about the smell. Something does seem off by having the dog go to the bathroom on plastic grass.

cmoney00 said:

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Thanks. Appreciate the response. I do wonder about the smell. Something does seem off by having the dog go to the bathroom on plastic grass.

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They use a green sand to fill in that's treated with some kind of biocide kill any bacteria from dog waste. Obviously you still have to pick up crap, though. But we've never once noticed a smell or had to hose it down. Granted, we do live in houston and get rain fairly regularly

We put it in the back courtyard and it's great. They put down a layer of substrate specifically for dogs. Two big dogs and no issues. We hosed it down a few times in the summer to cut down on the urine smell. We did have French drains under it so that may have helped.
Main problem was one section was in a corner with two large windows and that is a little fried from the sun.
HIGHLY recommend going with the 'shade' we have that is not neon green but has some brown blades mixed in.
Not a DIY project.

Do they put any type of French drain under the carpet or is just laid down on top of the soil? Just wondering if the fake stuff holds water and more then regular grass.

We installed turf around our pool instead of normal concrete pool deck. We had irrigation installed in the turf area on its own zone so during the summer we can run the sprinklers for a few minutes to cool it off before going out there. So far I love the turf and it has a 15 year warranty. I will say, there are large differences in quality of turf and installation/prep makes a significant difference. You will get what you pay for, go cheap and it'll look like it.

Curious what kind of costs we're looking at for something like that. My yard had horrible drainage and just stays wet for days after a rain. I'm wondering if this would be a solution to that and avoid my dogs tracking mud into the house for days.

I had my turf installed at just under $9 a sq/ft. And that was a much better price than the big companies. I had a family run business do mine and couldn't of been happier that I supported a family. Most other companies were coming in between $11-13 a sq/ft a year ago.

The drainage will be helped in 2 ways when going to turf. 1 is that they put down a layer of granite or crushed concrete that can absorb more water than soil can when raining. And 2, they can fix any slope issues when putting down the new infill. If you have significant problems, they can absolutely add new drains while they have everything ripped up.

Can anyone give a recommendation for Houston?

I turfed about 1200 square feet with two old dogs and it's all I can do not to turf the front yard to

Bumped an old post..

Wanted to check to see how the turf is holding up for you guys. Especially wanted to know about dogs and pee smell. We are going to do our backyard soon. We have two Great Danes.

Our turf installed by Wakasa in June of 2019 is still looking brand new. I had them come out last summer to put down more of the green sand stuff, just as a maintenance item. Our issue is we have a 8 year old Oak tree and it's growing the roots from under the turf causing the turf to bulge

Get it approved by your HOA if you have one. Our neighbors are in a battle with the HOA over it in their backyard over drainage. They put it in not knowing it needed approval.

Looks nice but I noticed moles have created lots of mole highways under it. And fire ants still found a way under it.

Someone mention this because my dogs urine is killing the Bermuda. Curious if it would work.

MsDoubleD81 said:

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Someone mention this because my dogs urine is killing the Bermuda. Curious if it would work.

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One the reasons we're doing that. Two Great Danes with pee and running around is destroying ours.

From my understand and research, most, if not all turf installers use a special fill or sand that breaks down the urine enzymes. That cuts down on the smell. Also depending on your location and climate, if it rains frequently, that will help a lot too. If you're dry like Arizona, you will have problems.

I'm in Houston, we get good rains year long. They did say if the dog pees in the same spot, you may have to water it down a more often. We have an irrigation system that will do that.

KDubAg said:

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MsDoubleD81 said:

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Someone mention this because my dogs urine is killing the Bermuda. Curious if it would work.

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One the reasons we're doing that. Two Great Danes with pee and running around is destroying ours.

From my understand and research, most, if not all turf installers use a special fill or sand that breaks down the urine enzymes. That cuts down on the smell. Also depending on your location and climate, if it rains frequently, that will help a lot too. If you're dry like Arizona, you will have problems.

I'm in Houston, we get good rains year long. They did say if the dog pees in the same spot, you may have to water it down a more often. We have an irrigation system that will do that.

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First, as someone with artificial turf, I agree with everything you posted.

But.....you will run an irrigation system for your artificial turf?

Just did our backyard. Small yard, partial sun, no pets. Recommend watching videos on installation to be educated when talking to installers. Your installation should be similar to a turf football field. proper subsurface should be built to handle drainage for proper use. They should not be just throwing down turf.

Our installation (no pets):

1) Yard already had 3-4 drains in the yard leading to a pipe that drains to the front yard curb.
2) Installer excavated 4 inches of soil to build a proper turf subsurface.
3) Remaining soil sloped to drain toward the previous drains. (water will flow through turf, hit soil and slope toward dains)
4) Installed heavy weed blocker on soil
5) Backfilled with 3-4 inches of aggregate (rock about the size of the Grey Blackstar gravel)
6) 1 inch of crushed granite on top of aggregate to provide a smoother surface for walking
7) Installed turf on top of crushed granite.
8) A nailing bend board was installed on all sides of the perimeter of the terp to nail the turf in the edges. Allows for a tight turf installation and reduces pulling on the edges.
9) installed "ecogreen infill" filler on top of turf. This is to keep the turf strands standing up. The eco fill is anti-bacterial. You can use sand type infill as well.

Pets: Pet issue is bacteria/smell. With pets, I think they layer the weed blocker differently and recommend the eco-fill product. You also have to spray it periodically with a treatment to keep the smell down. If you have a dog run area, you may want a separate piece of turf that can be replaced more often.

Maintenace:
- Infill on top of turf needs to be periodically replenished and broomed to keep the strands standing up.
- mowing is replaced with leaf blowing.
- Installer recommended having them check it every 6 months. Not sure the steps, but they said one that is maintained will last longer.
- Window glare is an issue and is listed as not covered by manufacturer guarantee.

Have had it a few months and love it.

Thank you for the detailed info. I'm in College Station with irrigation system. Yard gradually slopes to rock bed where there is a French drain.

I'd need to keep irrigation for trees and shrubs.

Does it require a special installer or can any landscaping company do it?

This was a good thread bump!

Semi-related question: does anyone have any product recommendations to reduce heat reflection off Low E windows? Done some internet searching with underwhelming results.

Irrigation to cool off the turf before guests coming over (backyard is full sun all summer) or water down pee (maybe once a week). Don't know exactly how often or not. Two Great Danes have a lot of pee.

Lol. My male Springer still lazily squats to pee. And for a long time!

I just got a quote for $32/sf!!

MsDoubleD81 said:

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I just got a quote for $32/sf!!

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What! Where?

College Station!

MsDoubleD81 said:

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I just got a quote for $32/sf!!

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My god.