DIY Fake Grass
Artificial grass lets you enjoy a green lawn without all the associated maintenance effort and costs. Artificial grass does not need watering, mowing, weeding or fertilizing. Simply remove debris using a leaf blower, periodically, to keep it clean. You can also sweep it using a broom to get the grass to stand up and even out the in-fill material, but this is not necessary. Some types of artificial grass can even remove the odor of pet urine. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Turf cutter
- Garden hoe
- Fill dirt
- Crusher fine gravel or decomposed granite
- Wide contractor rake
- Water
- Plate tamper or plate compactor
- Marker utility knife
- Fake grass
- Joint tape
- Trowel
- Joint tape adhesive
- In-fill material
- Shovel, stiff-bristled push broom, plastic leaf rake or motorized power broom
Instructions
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Use a measuring tape to take measurements of the area on which you want to lay the fake grass, and draw a map of the area on a piece of graph paper. Check the size of each piece of fake grass and map out the grass pieces on the same graph paper to determine how many pieces to use and where to lay them.
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2
Use a turf cutter to remove any existing ground cover. Also use a garden hoe to remove other plants or debris in the area, including sprinklers, rocks and gravel.
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3
Mark the desired soil height after installation. The natural soil should be 3 to 4 inches lower, so remove excess soil to reduce the current height or add fill dirt to increase the height.
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4
Place 1/4-inch minus crusher fine gravel or decomposed granite on the area. It should be about 3 inches thick. This layer provides a base for the fake grass and allows for drainage.
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Use a wide contractor rake to spread the crusher fine around the area to fit your preferences.
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Spray some water lightly over the gravel to dampen it.
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Use a plate tamper or a plate compactor to make the gravel layer compact. Go over the area two or three times to make the layer as hard as possible.
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Lay the grass upside down on the area and use a marker to draw cuts so grass will fit around trees and flower beds. Lay all grass in the same direction because the blades usually bend in a certain direction.
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Use a utility knife to cut the fake grass to fit the shape and size of your yard.
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Lay the fake grass on the area and step back to make sure you like the way it looks.
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Fold back the part of the fake grass where two pieces meet by about 1 foot along the length of the joint.
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12
Lay the joint tape along the line where the two pieces of fake grass would meet. Both sides should get the same width of tape.
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13
Use a trowel to apply the adhesive along the joint tape.
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Fold the fake grass down to meet the joint tape and leave the adhesive to dry for about 30 minutes.
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Spread the in-fill material on the fake grass, up to about 1/3 of the pile height. Depending on the type of grass, you need to use sand or rubber. Use a shovel, a stiff-bristled push broom, a plastic leaf rake or a motorized power broom to spread the in-fill material evenly, ensuring that the grass fibers remain upright.
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Tips & Warnings
You can rent tools such as plate compactor and turf cutter by the day from equipment rental stores.
References
- Photo Credit fake grass image by MB from Fotolia.com
