7 min read

New Turf or Artificial Grass for Your Garden?

If you are re doing a lawn, you are choosing between laying new turf and installing artificial grass. Both start with removing what is there, so the decision is really about what happens next and what you want to be doing in three years' time.

We install both, so this comparison is written from the position of someone who will happily build either.

The preparation each needs

New turf needs the old lawn stripped, the ground rotavated or forked, weeds removed, good topsoil imported if the existing soil is poor, then levelling, raking and rolling. Get this wrong and the lawn will always be lumpy and thin.

Artificial grass needs the old lawn and topsoil excavated to depth, a compacted stone sub-base, a screeded levelling layer, membrane, edging and then the grass. More material, more spoil removal, more labour.

Time to a usable lawn

Turf is laid in a day but is not really usable for weeks. It needs daily watering through the establishment period, no heavy traffic while it roots, and a full growing season to knit into a proper lawn.

Artificial grass is fully usable the moment the team packs up, which is a significant practical difference for families with young children or dogs.

Shade, clay and problem ground

This is where the decision often makes itself. Turf under mature trees, on the north side of a house, or over compacted clay that stays wet all winter tends to fail regardless of how well it is laid. Roots take the water, shade slows growth and waterlogging kills it off.

Artificial grass on a stone base is indifferent to shade and drains freely, which is why so many of the lawns we replace are ones that have been re turfed unsuccessfully twice already.

The ongoing work

Turf: mowing through the growing season, edging, feeding, moss and weed treatment, scarifying, repairing bare patches, and watering in dry spells.

Artificial grass: brushing, keeping leaves off, an occasional rinse, infill topped up every few years.

Cost and reversibility

Turf is much cheaper to install and costs a little every year afterwards. Artificial grass is a large one off cost and then close to nothing.

Reversibility is worth a thought. Turf can be dug up and the ground planted at any time. An artificial lawn can also be removed, but the stone base has to come out too before anything will grow, which is more work than people assume.

The middle option

Many gardens do best with both: a synthetic area where children and dogs churn the ground, real lawn or generous planted borders elsewhere. It keeps the soil, the wildlife and the smell of a real garden while solving the muddy patch.

Questions people ask us about this

Which is best for a garden that stays wet in winter?

Neither succeeds without addressing the drainage, but once drainage is dealt with an artificial lawn on open stone stays usable in wet months where turf would be soft and muddy.

Can I lay turf now and switch later?

Yes, though the artificial installation will require the same excavation whenever you do it, so the turf spend is not recovered. If you are fairly sure of the destination, going straight there costs less overall.

How long before a new turf lawn takes real use?

Generally several weeks of careful watering and light use before it is rooted enough to take children and pets, and longer if it is laid outside the ideal season.

Does artificial grass ruin the soil underneath?

It does not contaminate it, but soil under a stone base and membrane loses the plant and worm activity of an open lawn. Keeping borders around the lawn preserves most of the garden's soil life.

Do you offer both services?

Yes, we lay turf as part of soft landscaping and install artificial lawns, and both come with our 10 year guarantee on the work.

Let the ground decide it

We will look at the soil, the shade and the drainage in your garden and tell you which lawn will actually thrive there before quoting for either.

Book a lawn assessment View Artificial Grass 07535 661664