Artificial Grass

Artificial Grass in Los Angeles

Artificial grass removes an irrigated lawn from your water bill completely and permanently, and in a city where outdoor use is the largest slice of household water, that is a real and immediate saving. It is also the right answer for the strips and side yards where grass was never going to survive anyway. What we will not do is pretend it is an all-purpose environmental upgrade, because a synthetic lawn gets considerably hotter than a living one and that has consequences for how and where you use it.

What this saves you

• Water

A permanent end to lawn irrigation, which in Los Angeles is the biggest single line of outdoor water use.

• Outdoor use is more than 30% of household water and up to 60% in arid regions, and as much as half of it is lost to inefficient irrigation. Removing the lawn removes that line entirely.

  Source: U.S. EPA WaterSense

• Published savings from replacing a lawn span 11 to 76 gallons per square foot per year, depending mostly on how heavily it was watered before.

  Source: UCLA Institute of the Environment

• No mowing means no petrol mower, and no fertiliser or weed treatment running off into the storm drain.

The straight answer

Two things you should hear before you buy. Synthetic turf runs 35 to 55°F hotter than natural grass in full sun, with surface temperatures recorded as high as 200°F on a 98°F day, so it is not a heat-island fix and we will never sell it to you as one. And it does not qualify for the LADWP turf replacement rebate, which requires live planting. If the rebate matters more than the maintenance, drought-tolerant planting is the better route and we do that too.

Works best with: Landscape & Hardscape

Savings depend on your house, your equipment and how you use it. We will not quote you a guaranteed number, and neither should anyone else. See the rebates currently available

Where it earns its money

Front lawns and parkways under water restriction, side yards and shaded strips where grass never establishes, dog runs, rooftop and balcony spaces, pool surrounds, and putting greens. Anywhere you are irrigating a lawn you barely use, the water bill alone builds the case.

Installation is the difference between eight years and twenty

Excavation and a compacted aggregate base, weed barrier, correct drainage so the base does not hold water, seams glued and hidden rather than stitched down the middle of a lawn, edges secured, and infill brushed in to hold the blades upright. A turf laid straight onto soil looks fine for one summer and then ripples, holds water and flattens.

Choosing the product honestly

Pile height, blade shape, face weight and backing permeability all matter more than the price per square foot. For dog runs we specify a permeable backing and an antimicrobial infill. For full-sun areas we will talk to you about lighter blade colours and about shade, because that is the honest way to manage the heat rather than pretending it is not there.

What’s included

• Ends lawn irrigation permanently, no watering and no mowing
• Compacted base, weed barrier and drainage built to last
• Seams glued and hidden, edges secured, infill brushed in
• Pet-friendly permeable backing and antimicrobial infill options
• Putting greens, dog runs, parkways, pool surrounds and rooftops
• Straight advice on where live planting is the better choice

Questions we get about Artificial Grass