Why use Smiling Rock’s Artificial Grass?
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibres made to emulate the look & feel of natural grass. Over the years, the adoption of artificial grass has drastically increased due to a variety of reasons. Ranging from its effectiveness in cost to its environmental benefits, below are the top reasons for switching to artificial turf:
1) Aesthetic Appeal
With a range of approximately 8 types of artificial lawn, we at Smiling Rock aspire to provide our customers with synthetic turf so real, it is difficult to tell the difference when compared with REAL lawn.
2) Environmentally Friendly & Safe for Children & Pets
Aside from attaining an aesthetic look, we focus heavily on product quality. Unlike natural lawn that may require fertilizers and weed killing chemicals, which contributes to pollutants in the ecosystem, we offer our customers certified proof concerning our lead and chemical free artificial grass. Thus making Smiling Rock’s artificial turf safe for pets, children and the environment. With proper care, our artificial grass has a service life of up to 25 years. Families with kids and dogs can now run around and play on the lawn any time of the day without having to worry about muddy feet or paws!
3) Multiple applications & UV protection
Our artificial lawn has a variety of applications ranging from residential landscape gardens, playgrounds, road verges, to schools and pet areas etc. Furthermore, all of Smiling Rock’s synthetic turf are non-fading with a 7-year UV protection. Each grass type possesses both straight and curly yarns that not only help prevent it from getting hotter in summer, but with brown ‘bits’ amongst the luscious green grass-blades, contributes to its realism. Among the biggest concerns for artificial turf is the heat during summer. Yes, artificial turf will indeed get hot during summer. This is an unavoidable fact given that artificial turf is made out of plastic, and retailers that do not admit this are simply being dishonest. However, this is a small issue that can be easily resolved by lightly hosing down your artificial lawn prior to stepping out.
4) Water conservation & cost effectiveness
Natural grass requires constant watering, which can be very expensive and time consuming. Did you know that just 1 square metre of real lawn takes an average of approx.1,500L of watering a year? That’s 45,000L of water EVERY year just for your average area of 30sqms of lawn! Say good-bye to forking out large sums of money for water bills, lawn mowers, fertilizers and/or cost to hire a gardener to look after your lawn for you. With Smiling Rock’s artificial Lawn installed, you can save on water bills and invest in time for you and your family.
5) Easy installation & maintenance
All you need are some tools, such as:
a) Stanley knife
b) Cracker dust/ Blue metal dust
c) White sand
d) Measuring tape
e) Joint tapes (Optional)
f) Artificial grass pegs
g) Power broom/ broom
h) Shovel
How to Install Smiling Rock’s Artificial Grass
When it comes to a huge area to landscape, just thinking about the work load and time commitment for artificial grass to be installed may be alarming.
But not to worry! Just follow this easy 4-step artificial lawn installation guide and you’ll be looking down proudly at your newly done-up backyard in no time.
NO MORE WEEDING OR FERTILISING! NO MORE MOWING! NO MORE HIGH WATER BILLS!
STEP ONE – EXCAVATION OF EXISTING AREA
Once you have marked out the area for your new synthetic lawn, remove the existing lawn (and soil) up to a depth of 70mm, and be ready to fill the area with 60mm of blue metal dust. If prepping for a medium-to-high vehicular traffic area (such as the verge), clear the area to a depth of 100mm, fill with 80mm of road base, and 10mm of blue metal dust. If reticulation is present it is simply a matter of capping each pop up sprinkler.
Tip: It is well worth hiring a turf-cutter if you have existing lawn to remove, which will save you a considerable amount of time and effort. Don’t forget to hire a skip bin for the disposal of soil and leftover aggregate.
Calculating the right amount of aggregate to order is simple.
For example: If your total area is 40sqm, multiply it by the thickness of roadbase/crackerdust in mm. (e.g 0.06 for 60mm or 0.09 for 90mm (80mm roadbase + 10mm rackerdust).
So 40 x 0.06 = 2.4 cubic metres is the amount of crackerdust you’ll need.
The same equation applies to bin size.
STEP TWO – INSTALLING THE BASE
It’s time to compact the base for your artificial lawn. Fill the area with blue metal dust. Carefully screed the area and thoroughly compact it using a vibrating plate compactor. (Compacting will bring the thickness down approx. 10mm). Lightly dampen the area with water to help bind the dust, which will allow you to identify any sunken areas that needs to be filled as you go. Compact for the second time.
Tip: Spend extra time on the base work as the result will be the difference between an average installation job and a professional installation! Try to give the area some contour and body because an overly flat lawn can look “fake”.
STEP THREE – INSTALLING THE SYNTHETIC LAWN
Synthetic lawn is manufactured with the fibres aligned in a single direction. Hence, it is very important to ensure that the grains are running in the same direction when laying out the full pieces of lawn. Cut your lawn to the desired shape with a sharp Stanley knife, depending on your area there may be joins where the pieces meet. Hence, you will need to ensure that the seams are cut as close to the “rib” or “grain” to allow for better placement of the two pieces when joining later.
First, lay the lawn down and cut, leaving about 50mm around all the edges before placing the lawn together so that the joins are not visible. This may vary slightly from one lawn to another. Stand back and take a look before joining together. Trust your eyes!
Now that you are happy with everything, fold back each piece about 400mm and lay the joining tape (adhesive side up) down the centre of the two pieces. Using lawn pins anchor the tape down at each end. Peel off the protection tape of the adhesive and simply place the two pieces back together.
Once done, trim all the edges (Again remember to leave 10-20mm excess), pin around the outside edges approx 30mm in and 50cm apart. You may also pin either side of the joining tape for extra strength.
Tip: Take care not to trap the blades of lawn under the pins.
STEP FOUR – FILLING WITH WHITE SAND
For the optimum look, brush the artificial lawn up with a stiff garden broom against the grain. Spread the washed white sand over the lawn as evenly as possible either by hand or shovel. Brush each lot to distribute the sand evenly. Aim for a depth of approximately 5-10mm depending on the pile height of the lawn. (Note: always start with less sand and add more as you go along if you feel the need to). Job well done!
Tip: The sand infill is very important so do not compromise. Not only does it improve the look of the lawn but also more importantly it protects the backing from the UV rays.
How to Properly Maintain Smiling Rock’s Artificial Grass?
With a service life of up to 25 years, there’s not a whole lot of maintenance to do. Below are some examples:
1) Adding more white sand onto the artificial lawn & brushing it up when the grass blades appear to be going flat.
2) Cleaning up after your pets regularly and. Regular hosing down or using a white vinegar solution mixed with water (50/50 ratio) can remove any stubborn smells.
3) Sweeping off dead leaves to keep the artificial lawn looking neat & tidy.
4) Avoid harsh chemicals coming in contact with your artificial grass.
5) Cigarette burns/ashes and smouldering charcoal can damage your artificial turf.