I give up, Turf rec's

[bigbevo76 64]

Not going to try to put down sod in the backyard again.  Can't get it to grow so I'm getting some estimates on turf this week.  My only reservation: pets. We have two medium sized dogs, but everyone I know who has turf and dogs say its not a problem.  It's not a huge space, maybe 400 sq ft.  I'm hearing $17 a sq ft installed?

Edited June 12, 2022 by bigbevo76

[mchookem 16404]

no rec on installation as we just bought a roll and had our lawn guy put it down...but just to say it was a smart move and we've never regretted it.

we had a super shady area with tree roots and such that never grew grass (we also tried for at least a decade) and another area adjacent to the pool that just had too much foot traffic and would turn into a muddy mess with kids in the pool.

both those areas are 100% improved. we also have had several dogs...not an issue at all, just pick up the poop and hose it down every once in a while 🙂

kinda weird looking in the winter, but once the yard grass grows in it blends pretty well. good luck.

[TexPx 2325]

Impossible to grow grass in our back yard. Giant Elm tree and 2 dogs.
Just had around 800 sq ft installed in Jan. We used Ideal Turf. Cost was somewhere around 12 to 12.50 sq ft.

[Billy Pilgrim 1984]

Turfed back yard- best decision we made with regards to our house. I see the dog shit better on our turf and actually do a better job picking it up because it stands out and I want to keep the turf looking nice and neat.

[TexPx 2325]

Turfed back yard- best decision we made with regards to our house. I see the dog shit better on our turf and actually do a better job picking it up because it stands out and I want to keep the turf looking nice and neat.

Yeah. We kept the bed along the fence and filled it with mulch. Dogs usually prefer to do their business there. I keep a spray bottle with 50/50 vinegar- water mix in a spray bottle to use if they go on the turf. Also kept the sprinkler system and use it if needed.

[crash_davis 23115]

how much did it cost in total?

Edited June 13, 2022 by crash_davis

[TexPx 2325]

how much did it cost in total?

Between 10 and 11k. Don’t remember exactly.

[conVINCEd 21469]

How long is this stuff supposed to last?  Asking for a friend who is tired of paying $35 per week to have his lawn mowed.

[TexPx 2325]

We got the “Pet Turf” from Ideal Turf.

The lifespan of your synthetic turf lawn will depend on several factors, including the quality of the turf product, the quality of the installation and the amount of traffic it endures over the years. Depending on how these factors come together and the amount of proper maintenance it receives, you can generally expect manufactured grass to last somewhere between 10 and 20 years. You should see a higher-quality turf lawn last closer to 20 years

[TexPx 2325]

Double post

[swonie 71]

I used Southwest Greens in Austin. Chris is the CEO I believe and I dealt directly with him. Feel free to PM me for his cell. His branch in SE Austin also services the Houston area. We love it, no pets though. He did about 1000 sq ft around our pool and came out to around $15/sq ft.

http:// https://www.swgreensaustin.com







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[swonie 71]

I forgot to mention that since I got it done right after the pool they corrected the grade and filled in skid steer ruts at install.


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[gyroprotagonist 2595]

question, the turf is permeable, right?  it would not count against any non-permeable limit for drainage?

We went through 3 iterations of trying to put St Augustine in the backyard.  Found one lawn specialist that said it looked like a fungus specific to St Aug was in the dirt and it would likely never thrive there.  Put in a Palisades Zoysia last year and it's doing great so far in year 2.  If this fails, would likely look at turf.

[swonie 71]

I’m not certain how it counts as far as impervious cover restrictions. We closed our pool permit out first and then installed the turf. The turf installer didn’t need a permit or HOA approval as it was all backyard.


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[Billy Pilgrim 1984]

16 hours ago, TexPx said:

Between 10 and 11k. Don’t remember exactly.

Ours was in this ballpark too. I think the bid came in around 12K, we told the installer we only had 10K in our budget and got a price settled around just under 11.

we also had drainage problems after they finished our pool that was leveled and corrected during turf install.

[Skipper 6207]

PM me if need a guy in Dallas.  We did it spring of '21 and love it.   I think, like everything else, prices have skyrocketed since we installed.  

Edited June 15, 2022 by Skipper

[TexPx 2325]

question, the turf is permeable, right?  it would not count against any non-permeable limit for drainage?
We went through 3 iterations of trying to put St Augustine in the backyard.  Found one lawn specialist that said it looked like a fungus specific to St Aug was in the dirt and it would likely never thrive there.  Put in a Palisades Zoysia last year and it's doing great so far in year 2.  If this fails, would likely look at turf.

Yes it is. Ours corrected some drainage issues. Have had numerous 2+ inch rains and it’s basically dry pretty soon afterwards. Most of the cost is in the prep work and putting down a good base, like with pavers.

[horn4life 3783]

Isn't really the only drawback that if in the sun the turf gets a lot hotter than grass?  I did a ton of research on putting in some turn fields out at T&C years ago, as water was our biggest expense, and found that they actually throw off a lot of heat.  The new products are better looking for sure, but doesn't plastic heat up more than organic matter?  

The good thing with the Dogs is durability. The bad thing is the temp of the surface for their pads 20-50% hotter.  So if there is a lot of sun and the Dogs are outside a lot...

"Surface temperatures of artificial grass are about 20-50° F higher than natural grass and typically reach the same temperature as asphalt pavement. The highest temperature measured during research was 200° F. Wow!"  link

[TexPx 2325]

Isn't really the only drawback that if in the sun the turf gets a lot hotter than grass?  I did a ton of research on putting in some turn fields out at T&C years ago, as water was our biggest expense, and found that they actually throw off a lot of heat.  The new products are better looking for sure, but doesn't plastic heat up more than organic matter?  
The good thing with the Dogs is durability. The bad thing is the temp of the surface for their pads 20-50% hotter.  So if there is a lot of sun and the Dogs are outside a lot...
"Surface temperatures of artificial grass are about 20-50° F higher than natural grass and typically reach the same temperature as asphalt pavement. The highest temperature measured during research was 200° F. Wow!"  link

I imagine it would get pretty warm in hours of full Sun. In my case if I had Sun I wouldn’t need turf. Mine was installed in Jan. and even with bare trees it felt warm in some areas but never hot. Dogs would lay out in it and seemed to enjoy it. I kept my sprinkler heads and I guess could run them to cool it off if needed but haven’t had to.

[swonie 71]

It does get warm in the hottest part of the day, but SW Greens put a type of sand down that’s supposed to keep it cooler. I haven’t found it to be too bad but if it’s really hot I just spray it down. I still play bocce with the kiddo no problem.


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